Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint: Bell's the One out with minor injury, will be sold at Fasig-Tipton
LEXINGTON, Ky. – What could have been a storybook ending to an outstanding career simply will not be.
Bell’s the One, the most accomplished horse ever trained by Neil Pessin in his 37-year career, has been withdrawn from consideration for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint because of what Pessin termed “a minor setback.”
Owned by the Lothenbach Stable of Bob Lothenbach, Bell’s the One would have been making her 28th and final start. The 6-year-old Majesticperfection mare won 13 times, including 11 stakes, for earnings of $2,000,675. Her final start, a victory in the Sept. 17 Open Mind at Churchill Downs, nudged her past the $2 million mark.
Bell’s the One will be sold Nov. 6 at the November Sale at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington.
Missing the Nov. 5 BC Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland “is disappointing,” Pessin said early Wednesday from Churchill.
“Everything had been right on schedule before a little something came up all of a sudden,” he said. “She was going to breeze two more times, and then she was going to make her last start in the Breeders’ Cup.
“I’ll keep her in light training just to keep her tone for the sale. If I’d had another three weeks or so, she probably could’ve run. But she’s been so good to me that to run her at 95 or 99 percent would’ve been wrong. This is the right thing to do. I talked to Mr. Lothenbach and he was fine with it.”
Bell’s the One began her career with four straight wins, starting with a six-furlong maiden triumph over Polytrack at Arlington Park on Sept. 1, 2018. Using a devastating stretch kick from the outset, she went on to win five graded races, led by the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff in 2020. At Keeneland, she won the Grade 2 Raven Run in 2019 and the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America in 2021. Her lone Breeders’ Cup start came in the Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland in 2020, when she was third at 6-1 behind winner Gamine.
“We were very much looking forward to running her again at Keeneland,” said Pessin. “But it is what it is. I’m just grateful for everything she accomplished for us in five seasons of racing.”
Bell’s the One was 20-1 on the early Daily Racing Form line for the Filly and Mare Sprint prior to her withdrawal. The favorite for the seven-furlong race is Kimari, although she is expected to run instead versus males in the six-furlong BC Sprint, leaving Ce Ce, Goodnight Olive, and Obligatory as likely favorites. All pre-entries for the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup are due Monday.
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