Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Celestine, Catch a Glimpse help swell pre-entry list to 28

About the only thing missing from the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at this stage is a partridge in the pear tree.

Grade 1-winning fillies Celestine and Catch a Glimpse, both of whom would be cutting back in distance, were recent intriguing additions to an overflow cast of pre-entries for the Turf Sprint, a mixed bag that also includes defending winner Mongolian Saturday, stalwart Lady Shipman, several California-based downhill turf specialists, and a handful of European invaders.

In all, they number 28 – and only half of those, 14, may start. With none of the four Win and You’re In qualifiers pre-entered, the first seven horses into the field will be determined based on points earned in graded stakes, and the remainder based on panel selection.

Celestine has focused on one-mile events this year, setting a stakes record in winning the Grade 1 Just a Game in dazzling fashion at Belmont Park and then coming off a four-month break to finish third to Photo Call and champion Tepin in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland. But in three starts at less than a mile on turf last year, the Bill Mott-trained Celestine won twice, at five and seven furlongs, and was second once.

“She won a seven-furlong race at Belmont, and she showed a lot of speed at Gulfstream when she broke her maiden and won a little overnight stakes,” assistant trainer Rodolphe Brisset said. “We feel pretty comfortable shortening her up. She bounced back really, really good from [the First Lady].”

Catch a Glimpse has not started at less than a mile since she won her turf debut at seven furlongs in August 2015. The front-running Catch a Glimpse followed with seven straight graded stakes wins, including the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks at 1 1/14 miles. However, she most recently has dropped back-to-back starts, fading to seventh in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland after setting the pace.

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“It was a bit of a head-scratcher,” said assistant David Carroll, who oversees the filly’s training at Keeneland for Mark Casse. “Not so much that she lost but how she lost. She had no fight, and that’s not her.”

Catch a Glimpse has first preference in the Turf Sprint but is also pre-entered in the Filly and Mare Turf. She is one of six cross-entered horses in the Turf Sprint, many of whom would be major pace influences. All six cross-entered horses are also ranked in the main body of the field for the Turf Sprint, meaning those on the outside looking in will be anxiously awaiting those developments.

In order of preference, Holy Lute and Lady Shipman are the first two horses on deck for a spot.

California-based Obviously and Om, who would also be cutting back in distance, both have first preference in the Mile, as do European invaders Home of The Brave and Karar.

The latter pair were among a surprising five European-based pre-entries for a race that has been dominated by Americans – including local runners when held at Santa Anita – since its inception in 2008. Although dual Group 1 winner Limato was only pre-entered in the Mile, Suedois and Karar have been chasing him in major events this summer and fall, making them logical alternatives. Suedois has second preference in the Mile.

After an adventurous, if fruitless, international campaign that included stops in Hong Kong, Dubai, and England, Mongolian Saturday got back on track with a victory in the Grade 3 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland in early October, the gelding’s first win since last year’s Turf Sprint. Lady Shipman, second by a neck to Mongolian Saturday in the 2015 Turf Sprint, loomed large in this division all year but appeared vulnerable after a sixth in the Grade 3 Eddie D, the local prep, in September. She has remained at Santa Anita to train and familiarize herself with the course.

Ambitious Brew and Holy Lute won their respective divisions of the Eddie D to put themselves in the picture. Other California-based pre-entries include Guns Loaded, third as the favorite in Holy Lute’s division, and Hunt, third to Ambitious Brew.