Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint: Hard to say goodbye to Groupie Doll

A fair number of Breeders’ Cup horses will be making their final starts Friday and Saturday. Win or lose, that means some teary farewells are in store, whether in front of television cameras or back in the relative privacy of the stables.

That’s sure to be the case with the people who have worked closely with Groupie Doll for the last 2 1/2 years. Jada Schlenk, who has exercised Groupie Doll on an almost daily basis since the horse first came into the Buff Bradley stable in March 2011, already was fighting back her emotions a full week before the Filly and Mare Sprint, in which the 5-year-old mare will defend her title Saturday.

“She’s been an absolute dream, just one of a kind,” Schlenk said before climbing aboard Groupie Doll for her final prerace workout last Saturday at Santa Anita.

Groupie Doll will be sold next Wednesday at auction at Keeneland as a racing and broodmare prospect. Other key members of the Bradley team include his wife, Kim, and three children at their Kentucky farm, along with racetrack assistants Maria Kabel and Matt Hebert.

“We’re all going to be so sad seeing her go,” said Schlenk, a former jockey and trainer. “We all love her.”

[BREEDERS’ CUP 2013: Fields with DRF odds and comments]