Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and Breeders' Cup Sprint Top Contenders
by Patricia Woo | Oct 25 2010
The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and the
Breeders' Cup Sprint will pit some of the best speedsters against each other on Nov. 5-6.
Top female sprinters will be competing for the $1M purse in the
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, a 7-furlong race held this year on Nov. 5. William Calhoun has a top contender in 5-year-old Dubai Majesty, a Florida-bred daughter of Essence of Dubai. Dubai Majesty won the Gr. 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 9 and has impressed her connections enough to warrant supplementation to the race; she is a contender on dirt, turf and synthetics.
Winner of the Gr. 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga in August is Rightly So, a 4-year-old Anthony Dutrow trainee who is also pointing to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She hasn't finished worse than third all year and boasts a 2010 record of 5-2-2-1. And 6-year-old Jessica Is Back, a daughter of Put It Back, earned an automatic berth to the Sprint by winning the Gr. 1 Princess Rooney Stakes at Calder Racecourse in July; she is trained by Martin Wolfson for Farnsworth Stables. James Cassidy's 3-year-old trainee Evening Jewel could also show up in this division; she has won three of her last four races and finished second in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in April.
The Breeders' Cup Sprint is a 6-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up and carries a grade 1 title and a purse of $2M. It will be held this year on Nov. 6. The Sprint is loaded with exceptional talent – despite the absence of two notable names. Last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Dancing in Silks has not been training well and will bypass the race, according to trainer Carla Gaines; 3-year-old sprint star Discreetly Mine has been injured and will also be absent.
One of the standouts this year is 3-year-old Smiling Tiger, who defeated older horses in the Gr. 1 Ancient Title Stakes at Hollywood Park on Oct. 9. This Jeff Blonde trainee has won three of his last four outings and two of those have been at 6 furlongs. The dirt surface at Churchill Downs is the only question mark for this son of Hold That Tiger: he has raced almost exclusively on synthetic tracks.
Big Drama is the other horse to watch in the Sprint division. David Fawkes trains this 4-year-old son of Montbrook, who has been training up to the Breeders' Cup Sprint since his runner-up performance in the Gr. 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga in September; he has been turning in solid works at Calder Racecourse.
Supreme Summit, who impressed trainer Mike Puype with his late rally to finish second in the Ancient Title Stakes on Oct. 9, will be supplemented to the Sprint; Gr. 3 Phoenix Stakes winner Wise Dan, trained by Charles Lopresti, is also expected.
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