Breeders’ Cup 2016: Haveyougoneaway, Alsvid Share Humble Beginnings

Breeders’ Cup 2016: Haveyougoneaway, Alsvid Share Humble Beginnings by Jordan Sigmon– As the Breeders’ Cup draws near, we start to pick apart every contender to the very roots of their racing careers. Two contenders for the Sprint and Filly & Mare Sprint respectively, share similar beginnings in the most unlikely of places to find a top Breeders’ Cup prospect.

Seven-year-old Alsvid began his career back in 2011 as a top juvenile on the Remington Park circuit in Oklahoma. After two wins and a fourth, he closed out his 2011 campaign with a win at Zia, and a third at Sunland, both in New Mexico. Flash forward to 2016 and Alsvid is now a three-time GIII winner, as well as being GI placed in California in his most recent start.

Owned by Blackhawk Stables and trained by Chris Hartman, Alsvid may not necessarily be one of the leading contenders for this year’s Breeder’s Cup Sprint, but he has shown time and time again that he belongs with this sort. Though badly beaten in his only Breeders’ Cup attempt last year, that was largely due to him being forced out of his usual front-running style. And since returning to the races this year, Alsvid has only seemed to get better, and faster.

Five-year-old Haveyougoneaway didn’t begin her career until she was three, taking two tries to break her maiden at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas before being thrown to the wolves in the GIII Fantasy where she finished a distant last. Jumping all over the Midwest circuit for two years, it took the chestnut daughter of Congrats quite a while to find her best stride, but since January she has been a whole new horse.

Haveyougoneaway began her season under the care of Allen Milligan rattling off two wins and a second in stakes at Oaklawn before being purchased by Gary Barber and Sequel Racing and being sent to Tom Morely in New York. The horse we see now is a complete 180 from the one we saw two years ago.

Haveyougoneaway began her New York campaign in two state-bred stakes at Belmont, finishing second and first in those races. With the Saratoga meet came bigger and better things for the veteran mare as she rallied to her first graded stakes win in the GII Honorable Miss, and followed that up with her first GI win in the GI Ballerina which also gave her a free berth into the Filly & Mare Sprint.

Another thing that the two share is moderate sale prices, a combined five times through the sales ring (Haveyougoneaway 4 and Alsvid 1) has amounted to just $311,200 spent on the pair. One such pair that has amassed just over $2.2 million in earnings, with 26 combined wins (17 in stakes company) to their names.

Whether or not they find themselves draped in purple and yellow flowers come November, Alsvid, Haveyougoneaway, and all of their connections have shown us that the “little guys” can make it in the big leagues with a little perseverance and a lot of hard work.

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA. on November 4-5 and televised live by the NBC Sports Group.