Bear River continued his upward trajectory in the turf sprint division with a course record-setting half-length win in the $1.87 million Grade 2 Mint Kentucky Turf Sprint Stakes Aug. 30 at Kentucky Downs.

Sent of at 19-1, the 4-year-old Bear River led every step of the way beneath jockey James Graham through fractions of :22.42 and :44.69 before stopping the clock in a six-furlong Kentucky Downs record time of 1:06.91. Howard Wolowitz, who found himself in traffic through the lane, was closing quickly but ran out of ground and settled for second. Irish-bred Khaadem, who was second in this same race last year, finished third.

Click to subscribe!

Making the 22nd start of his career for trainer Keith Desormeaux, Bear River appears to be developing into one of the nation's finest turf sprinters. Taking his third stakes in his last four starts on grass, he exited a victory in the $250,000 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Preview Stakes at Ellis Park Aug. 3.

Five-for-13 last year, Desormeaux took his time bringing Bear River back to the races after a seventh-place finish in an off-the-turf stakes in January.

"He's just got another dimension of speed and finishing power as a 4-year-old," Desormeaux said. "Maybe I ran him too much as a 3-year-old. He ran hard as a 2-year-old. He's a top-level horse. We gave him the time and he just came back a monster."

Graham said he felt the ridgling has gotten bigger and he has progressively gotten away from the gate sharper in each start this season.

"He's one of those horses you want to be around because he's kind," Graham said when calling him the best sprinter he's ridden. "He's good to deal with. He tries every time."

The Kentucky Turf Sprint was a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series "Win and You're In" race. Now, with this graded stakes win under his belt, Bear River will have the opportunity to prove just how good he is in the $1 million Prevagen Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 1.

Desormeaux said he was not a big fan of the five-furlong distance of the Breeders' Cup race, but conceded, "maybe it's right up his alley."