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PREVIEW: Filly & Mare Sprint, 7f, dirt
This was shaping up to be one of the better runnings of this somewhat quirky event for female horses over seven furlongs, which does not count as a sprint trip in Europe but apparently does on this side of the pond.
The vets, however, decided to scratch nearly a third of the field this morning, including two of the big-name runners, Sweet Azteca and Tamara – the veteran rider Mike Smith’s best chance to become the oldest winning jockey in Breeders’ Cup history.
It has been left looking decidedly thin as a result, though Bob Baffert has been handed a huge chance to notch a 20th Breeders’ Cup win, which would put him alongside the late D Wayne Lukas and just one behind Aidan O’Brien in the all-time list. Baffert fields Richi, the runner-up in the Zenyatta Stakes last time, and Splendora, a winner over a mile at Del Mar in September, while Hope Road, the Grade One Ballerina Stakes winner at Saratoga looks likely to be the main threat to the Baffert duo.
KEY FORM:
G1 Ballerina Stakes, Saratoga, 7f, 23 Aug 25 (Hope Road)
G2 Santa Maria Stakes, Santa Anita, 8.5f, 19 Apr 25 (Richi, Splendora)
SELECTION: HOPE ROAD
Here’s the full running order at Del Mar today, with times in GMT:
19.00: Filly & Mare Sprint
19.41: Turf Sprint
20.21: Sprint
21.01: Distaff
21.41: Turf
22.25: Classic
23.05: Mile
23.45: Dirt Mile
00.25: Filly & Mare Turf
Preamble
Hello from Del Mar racetrack near San Diego, where it is day two of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup and it is also, in case you’ve just returned from Mars, Frankie Dettori’s final day as a top-level jockey. His mutterings about taking a few rides in South America before finally calling it a day spoil the sense of finality just a little, but there is no doubt that Khaadem, in the Turf Sprint (19.41 GMT), Wimbledon Hawkeye in the Turf (21.41 GMT) and Argine, in the Mile (23.05 GMT), will be the last Grade One rides of a remarkable 40-year career.
All three fall into the category of live each-way chances, and all three were winners at a high level last time out. Even so, Dettori will need to conjure up a career-best performance from somewhere among them if he is to bow out with one last flying dismount.
Dettori is far from being the only legend on the card, however. Rebel’s Romance, one of the best and most consistent Group One performers in the game, will join Beholder and Goldikova as a three-times Breeders’ Cup winner if he can get another victory in the Turf on the board. Charlie Appleby’s gelding is up against Minnie Hauk, the Arc runner-up, and last year’s King George winner, Goliath, in one of the best renewals of one of the seven original Breeders’ Cup races.
Goliath is joined by two stable companions at the Francis-Henri Graffard yard, Sahlan in the Mile and Gezora, in the concluding Filly & Mare Turf, as France’s new champion trainer bids to end a cold streak for French-trained horses at the meeting that dates back to 2017. And in addition to the European interest in the four contests on turf, the action on the dirt includes a renewal of the Classic that pits the first three home in last year’s race against two of the first three home in the Kentucky Derby.
There has been some drama here already this morning, as Tamara and Sweet Azteca, two of the top three in the betting for the Filly & Mare Sprint, were among the “veterinary scratches” announced earlier this morning, along with another runner in the same race, Fee Blanche, and Donnacha O’Brien’s Atsila, in the Filly & Mare Turf. With the much fancied Arizona Blaze having been ruled out of the Turf Sprint yesterday, that takes the total of veterinary scratches on today’s card to six.
The main card at the Breeders’ Cup is always a giddy ride which throws up commanding performances, compelling finishes and, as a rule, a big upset or two along the way. Picks for the nine races are here (if you scroll to the end), the action is underway with the Filly & Mare Sprint on the dirt at 19.00 GMT, and I’ll be tapping away trackside to keep you up to date with all the news and results until the final horse home in the Filly & Mare Turf is across the line.
