Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint keeps getting spicier

A pair of key preps for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last Saturday produced a few viable challengers to the likely favorites, Covfefe and Come Dancing.

Spiced Perfection, making her first start in more than five months, put forth an extraordinary effort in holding off a late-closing Dawn the Destroyer in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland, while Lady Ninja nipped the comebacking Selcourt in winning the Grade 3 L.A. Woman at Santa Anita.

Spiced Perfection won despite stumbling at the break and finding herself trailing the field in the opening stages of the TCA.

“She was incredible,” winning trainer Peter Miller said. “I just hope she didn’t run her Breeders’ Cup race right there.”

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The top two from each race are expected back, stretching out to a slightly longer distance, in the seven-furlong BC Filly and Mare Sprint, to be run Nov. 2 at Santa Anita. The TCA was run at six furlongs and the L.A. Woman at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Meanwhile, Covfefe and Come Dancing both resumed work schedules last week at their respective home bases of Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. Both were last-out winners of their final preps on the weekend of Sept. 21-22 and are Grade 1 winners on the year.

Among other prime considerations in what’s shaping up as a rich renewal are Guarana and Secret Spice, both of whom are possible for the Distaff and would be turning back in distance if opting into the Filly and Mare Sprint.