Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Preview

Horseracing Betting Lines

10/27/2011 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Female sprinters take center stage for the fifth running of the Grade 1 $1-million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint held for the second straight year at Churchill Downs on the Friday card of the Championships.

Horse-for-course Dubai Majesty, a two-time heroine of the G3 Winning Colors at Churchill, added to her resume beneath the Twin Spires with a 2 1/4-length win in last year's edition. With Jamie Theriot in the irons, the daughter of Essence of Dubai sat within striking distance in fourth through a half mile in :45.44, and began to roll four wide on the turn for home. She took command in the stretch and was never seriously threatened by California invaders Switch and Evening Jewel, who settled for second and third, respectively. Champagne d'Oro, the lukewarm favorite at 4-1, stayed on for fourth after pressing the early pace. Defending champ Informed Decision failed to land a blow in seventh. Sent off at odds of 8-1, Dubai Majesty stopped the clock for seven furlongs in 1:22.31. The Florida-bred earned a lifetime-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

"We were excited about running her here at Churchill," trainer Bret Calhoun said after saddling his first Breeders' Cup winner. "She's been very consistent, very honest for us all along. She's a wonderful mare."

The 6-year-old was subsequently retired with a record of 34-12-7-6 and earnings of $1,509,243. Campaigned by Martin Racing Stable LLC and Dan Morgan, Dubai Majesty fetched $1.1 million from Japanese interests as a broodmare prospect at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale just two days after registering her Breeders' Cup victory.

Will another Churchill specialist follow in her hoofprints Nov. 4?

Sassy Image certainly has the credentials to make it happen. The chestnut won three of four attempts in Louisville as a juvenile in 2009, including the G2 Golden Rod and G3 Pocahontas, and continued her love affair with her old Kentucky home this term in sprints with tallies in the G1 Humana Distaff Stakes on the Derby undercard and the Winning Colors on Memorial Day, earning career high Beyer Speed Figures of 105 and 99 in the process.

"She loves it here; she loves Churchill," trainer Dale Romans said following Sassy Image's decisive 16-1 upset victory in the Humana Distaff. "When [Robby Albarado] took her off the turn, she just exploded. Yes, the Breeders' Cup here in the fall is something to think about, for sure."

The 4-year-old daughter of Broken Vow shipped to Calder for a dramatic last- to-first win going six furlongs in the G1 Princess Rooney in July, rallying from an astounding 15 lengths back to record her second win at the highest level. However. Sassy Image's dream season hit a speed bump in her next attempt at Saratoga. Favored over five rivals in the G1 Ballerina, she leapt at the start, bolted on the turn for home, and finished 26 3/4 lengths behind the visually impressive winner Hilda's Passion. It was later revealed that Sassy Image had a valid excuse that day, grabbing a quarter.

The victory also took its toll on the speedy Hilda's Passion. She emerged from her dazzling 9 1/4-length win with a season-ending non-displaced condylar fracture of her right front leg and is scheduled to go under the hammer as a racing or broodmare prospect at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Romans, currently enjoying a banner year after winning his first Classic with Shackleford in the Preakness, annexed his first Breeders' Cup race with Tapitsfly two years ago in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita. He trains Sassy Image on behalf of his older brother Jerry.

The talented Turbulent Descent looks to become the first sophomore to defeat older fillies and mares in this event. Astutely turned back to one-turn affairs this spring, the G1 Hollywood Starlet and G1 Santa Anita Oaks victress dismantled five rivals in Keeneland's G2 Beaumont in April, then had to settle for second as the heavy favorite behind the sharp It's Tricky going a mile over a saturated Belmont main track in the G1 Acorn on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Freshened since, the daughter of Congrats got back on track in a big way, blowing the doors off with a sparkling 3 3/4-length decision in the prestigious G1 Test at Saratoga. Turbulent Descent, owned by a partnership group headed by Blinkers On Racing Stable, is perfect in three attempts at the Filly & Mare Sprint distance of seven furlongs.

"She'll take on any horse out there at this distance," trainer Mike Puype said following the Test. "It puts her right to the top of the division. She's the favorite to win the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint."

Puype has been represented by two previous Breeders' Cup starters - Old Trieste (eighth in the 1999 Classic) and Supreme Summit (fourth in the 2010 Sprint).

Fellow 3-year-old Hot Summer punched her ticket to the big dance with a rallying win while cutting back in distance to six furlongs in Saratoga's G3 Victory Ride. The G3 Comely victress was previously third in the nine-furlong G2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico. She will have to step up her game in the speed figure department to get the job done here though. Hot Summer earned a career high Beyer of 89 in the Victory Ride. Trainer David Fawkes and owner Harold Queen teamed up for a victory in last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint with Big Drama.

Veteran mare Tar Heel Mom, trained by Stanley Hough, owns the experience edge amongst the top contenders and has the ability to hang up triple-digit speed figures. She has enjoyed one of her best seasons as a 6-year-old, holding on by a neck to defeat the aforementioned rocketship Hilda's Passion in the G3 Sugar Swirl at Gulfstream back in January, and was a dominating wire-to-wire winner of Saratoga's G2 Honorable Miss in August, earning a 101 Beyer. Tar Heel Mom had her chances compromised after a stumbling beginning in the Ballerina, and crossed the wire a distant second after pressing the pace. She may prefer going a furlong shorter, but does own a graded victory at the seven-furlong distance of the Filly & Mare Sprint in the 2010 G2 Distaff at Aqueduct. The Alex Rankin colorbearer has lined up on the Churchill strip three previous times in her career; her best finish was a second in an $80,000 optional tagger in 2009. From four previous Breeders' Cup starters, Hough's best result was a fifth-place finish with Sensation in the 2005 Juvenile Fillies.

Irish Gypsy, a daughter of 1995 Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Hennessy, and Tanda, lead the way for the West Coast representatives. The former, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, earned an automatic spot in the starting gate for the Filly & Mare Sprint with a game nose victory in the G1 A Gleam at Hollywood in July, but has failed to build off that effort since. Tanda, a close third in that "Win and You're In" prep for trainer Dan Hendricks, turned the tables on Irish Gypsy while making her first start for conditioner Mike Mitchell with a 1 1/4-length win in Del Mar's G3 Rancho Bernardo, a race Irish Gypsy tired to be third. The Sweetsouthernsaint filly ran well in her only previous start on conventional dirt as a sophomore in 2010, rallying from far back to complete the trifecta in Belmont's Acorn.

The G2 Presque Isle Downs Masters, held in early September, has quickly become a key prep race for the Filly & Mare Sprint producing the last two winners. The improving 4-year-old Musical Romance, second beaten only a neck to Sassy Image in the Princess Rooney, got it done this year stalking the early leaders and holding on by a neck over the fast finishing Canadian shipper Ariana D, who came flying on the outside from last after a rough trip. It was a half-length back to 2011 G1 Vinery Madison Stakes heroine Shotgun Gulch, who also rallied from out of the clouds to finish third.

Three of the four winners of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint - Maryfield (2007), Informed Decision (2009) and Dubai Majesty (2010) - have been crowned Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter. The brilliant Indian Blessing failed to withstand the explosive rally of Ventura in the 2008 edition, but a trio of Grade 1 wins that season in the La Brea, Prioress, and Test proved enough for her to bring home the hardware. With a mixed bag of winners in this term's prep races, it looks like a championship is likely to be on the line once again.