2021 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint: TCA not expected to move the needle
There’s still one more Win and You’re In event toward the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, but it figures to have minimal impact on the big picture.
The Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America is that final prep on the road to the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, but it will have little effect on Gamine being a huge favorite in the seven-furlong race set for Nov. 6 at Del Mar.
Frank’s Rockette, Estilo Talentoso, and Inthemidstofbiz are among those expected for the TCA Stakes, a six-furlong prep to be run Saturday at Keeneland. The winner would have to do something spectacular to join the upper tier of Filly and Mare Sprint contenders listing Gamine as an even-money favorite and Bella Sofia the 4-1 second choice in the latest Daily Racing Form rankings.
Ce Ce, who already had earned an expenses-paid berth to the Filly and Mare Sprint by winning the Princess Rooney on July 3 at Gulfstream Park, became the 6-1 third choice on the DRF line as an eye-catching winner of the Grade 3 Chillingworth on Sunday at Santa Anita.
“You couldn’t have drawn it up any better than that,” trainer Michael McCarthy said after Ce Ce romped by five lengths in the 6 1/2-furlong Chillingworth, earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. “This ought to set us up just right for the Breeders’ Cup.”
Also at Santa Anita, Gamine is back on a regular work schedule designed by trainer Bob Baffert to have her in peak condition for the Filly and Mare Sprint, a race she won by 6 1/4 lengths last year at Keeneland with a 110 Beyer. This year, the 4-year-old Into Mischief filly has led throughout in winning all four starts, including her latest, the Grade 1 Ballerina on Aug. 28 at Saratoga, which resulted in a 104 Beyer.
Meanwhile, a couple of 4-year-olds ranked in the top 10 last week are no longer on the list for the Filly and Mare Sprint. Kimari, winner of the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland in her most recent start in April, will train straight into the BC Turf Sprint, trainer Wesley Ward said this week at Keeneland. Also, Venetian Harbor, a two-time graded winner for Richard Baltas, was not flown this week to Kentucky from her Southern California base for the TCA Stakes, diminishing the likelihood she will compete in the Breeders’ Cup off a dismal last-out effort in the Ladies Sprint on Sept. 11 at Kentucky Downs.