LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The shadows of the late afternoon were quickly enveloping Churchill Downs on Saturday, and right amid the ones cast in the paddock by the saddling stalls was trainer John Sadler, and the scene could not have been more appropriate. Here he was at the end of a long weekend in which Sadler would have four chances to finally get an elusive first Breeders’ Cup victory. He had sent out three runners earlier in the day, and watched two of them run dreadfully, and one of them, Catapult in the Mile, get nailed in the final strides. He had now sent out 44 runners in Breeders’ Cup races, with nary a victory, as his horse Accelerate neared the gate for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. Sadler peered at the large video screen above the paddock, trying to ignore the hand-held camera from the NBC telecast that rightly was focused on him by cameraman Tom Stone, as his story was  understandably a major plot point of this Breeders’ Cup. Sadler, however, does not like having a camera tracking him before a race, a superstition that has caused him on occasion to try to shoo away video crews. The minutes until the horses got to the gate seemed to take forever, and then Accelerate balked at loading into the gate. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. And the shadows grew darker still. And then, a little more than two minutes later, it finally happened. Accelerate took the lead entering the stretch of the 1 1/4-mile Classic and held off a late run from Gunnevera to win the Classic and, at long last, give Sadler his first Breeders’ Cup win. Sadler, a wide smile creasing his face, exchanged hugs and then kisses on the cheek with co-owner Kosta Hronis. Rival trainer Bob Baffert, who had two horses in the race and watched the Classic only yards from Sadler, quickly rushed to shake Sadler’s hand. “Congratulations, John, you’re 1 for 40!” he cracked. Sadler laughed. “I feel like I’m 1 for 200,” Sadler said moments later. “We got the big one. It’s been a really good day,” said Sadler, who now has four runner-up finishes and seven third-place finishes in the Breeders’ Cup. “We’ve brought a lot of horses here over the years, so I think we should get a lot of credit for that.” But he was clearly trying to put up a good front over what it meant. “If I get caught up in it, I’m gonna cry,” he said. Accelerate ($7.40) was favored over his 13 rivals. He drew the outside post in the field of 14 and got an ideal stalking trip under Joel Rosario before seizing command after a mile. He crossed the wire in 2:02.93 for 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track. Gunnevera, 11th early, closed strongly to take second, three-quarters of a length in front of Thunder Snow, who nosed out Yoshida for third. Mendelssohn, the early pacesetter, faded to fifth, then came Lone Sailor, West Coast, Discreet Lover, Axelrod, Pavel, Mind Your Biscuits, McKinzie, Catholic Boy, and Roaring Lion. The outside draw was beneficial for Accelerate, as he was in the clear the whole way under Rosario. Well inside of him, Lone Sailor was off poorly, and Catholic Boy was shuffled back badly from his draw toward the inside of the field. “He broke really well,” Rosario said. “I used him a little to get position. It’s a long run to the first turn, but I didn’t want to be too wide.” Accelerate banked into the first turn three paths wide while in fifth, as Mendelssohn set off at a rapid clip. Mendelssohn smoked the opening quarter in 22.68 seconds, went in 46.46 to the half, and clipped off six furlongs in 1:10.61. McKinzie and his Baffert-trained stablemate, West Coast, were in close pursuit, and Thunder Snow used his inside draw to tuck into a dangerous spot, hugging the rail behind Mendelssohn. Accelerate advanced four paths wide on the far turn. McKinzie and West Coast started to yield midway on the turn, and though Mendelssohn owned the one-mile fraction in 1:35.90, he was weakening. Accelerate took the lead, then had to stave off a bid from Thunder Snow and lastly from Gunnevera before prevailing through a final quarter in 27.03 seconds. “It was a perfect ride from Joel,” said Sadler, who said he chose Rosario as his rider this summer because Accelerate “wants to be ridden.” Rosario replaced Victor Espinoza, who was injured in a training accident and is still sidelined. “I thought Rosario would fit him because he’s so physical,” Sadler said. Accelerate has now won 10 times in 22 starts, but he’s better than ever this year at age 5. He has won six times in seven starts this year, his lone loss coming when beaten a neck by City of Light – the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner on Saturday – in the Oaklawn Handicap in April. Most significantly, Accelerate has won all four of his races this year at 1 1/4 miles, adding the Classic to victories in the Santa Anita Handicap, Gold Cup at Santa Anita, and Pacific Classic. He is a cinch to be named the champion older male and, if not for Triple Crown winner Justify, would be the clear front-runner for Horse of the Year. Hronis, who owns Accelerate with his brother Pete, made his pitch for Accelerate over Justify: “He swept the California Grade 1s and is undefeated at a mile and a quarter,” Hronis said of his 2018 campaign. “People say he came along the wrong year because Justify won the Triple Crown, but maybe Justify won the Triple Crown the wrong year. “It’s Horse of the Year, a body of work. What he’s done the last 12 months, he’s done enough to be of that honor,” Hronis said. That debate will be settled by Eclipse Award voters in a couple of months. For now, Sadler said, Accelerate will head this week to Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Ky., where he will enter stud in February, in order to be shown as a stallion to prospective breeders. Accelerate then will return to Sadler’s barn in California to prepare for the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 26, which will be the final start of his career, “a la Gun Runner,” Sadler said, referring to last year’s Classic winner who made his final start in this year’s Pegasus. Sadler said regardless of what happened Saturday, “I’d still be back at work tomorrow morning.” The shadows of Saturday night will be long gone when he gets to his barn Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. For Sadler, the sun will be shining bright on his temporary Kentucky home. :: Want to get the latest news with your past performances? Try DRF’s new digital PPs