Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Spotlight will be on Cogburn, even before the race
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Cogburn is a hot commodity as he heads toward the Breeders’ Cup – and to his next career.
With less than three weeks to go until the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, Cogburn will be one of the heaviest favorites on the Saturday card when he starts in the Turf Sprint. He is the 9-5 early choice on Brad Free’s line for Daily Racing Form, with Bradsell the second choice at 3-1. The only shorter-priced favorite on the card is Eclipse Award champion Idiomatic, at an early 8-5 to defend her win in the Distaff, with Thorpedo Anna at 2-1.
The Turf Sprint is expected to be the final start for Cogburn, who will retire to WinStar Farm in Kentucky for 2025 as a hot commodity. He is a son of Not This Time, whose versatility – he has sired champions on both dirt and turf – has made him a rising star. Moreover, Not This Time has emerged as the North American heir to Giant’s Causeway, making Cogburn another crucial link in that sireline.
Cogburn’s stud fee will be announced following the Breeders’ Cup, but an early indicator as to his value will come the week of the race. A share in him as a stallion prospect will be offered at the Keeneland Championship sale the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 30, at Del Mar.
“We are super excited to be standing the fastest horse in the world,” WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden said. “We have had a lot of interest for shares, and not many will be available, so we thought it best to give everyone a shot at it through Keeneland’s unique sale at the Breeders’ Cup.”
Cogburn’s dam, In a Jif, carrying a foal by leading sire Into Mischief, and his weanling half-brother by champion Epicenter, another son of Not This Time, are cataloged to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale the night of Nov. 4. Breeders’ Cup success would send their stock soaring as well.
This level of intensity couldn’t have been predicted when Cogburn, trained throughout his career by Steve Asmussen for Clark Brewster and Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, debuted more than three years ago. He was a modest success early on, as he won several times on dirt at the allowance level, and was a Grade 3-placed dirt sprinter at age 3. Last year, he moved to turf sprints and won three stakes, highlighted by the Grade 3 Troy at Saratoga over future and past Breeders’ Cup winners Nobals and Caravel.
This year, at age 5, Cogburn has been untouchable, winning all three of his starts by open lengths.
“We’ve got a sharper horse, spacing his races better, more to his liking,” Asmussen said recently. “And just with maturity, he’s a faster horse.”
Cogburn opened this campaign by winning the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint by 2 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs. He then turned in his virtuoso performance to date rolling by 3 1/2 lengths in the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes at Saratoga. His time of 59.80 seconds for the 5 1/2 furlongs smashed the previous North American mark of 1:00.21. The performance earned him a Beyer Speed Figure of 111, the second-highest turf figure of the year to date.
After an unplanned three-month break when wet weather in Saratoga forced a planned start in the Troy off the turf, Cogburn scored another handy 3 1/4-length win in the Grade 2 Turf Sprint on Sept. 7 at Kentucky Downs. He is now training up to the Breeders’ Cup by design and will ship to California on Tuesday.
“It has been amazing to run him this year, and extremely exciting,” Asmussen said. “Just want the prep to go smooth and get out there in as good a shape as we are right now.”
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