LEXINGTON, Ky. – Cinderella arrived on time for Europe, as Glass Slippers emerged from a wild pack in the stretch and then held off Wet Your Whistle by a half-length to become the first internationally-based winner of the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Saturday at Keeneland. No European-based horse had ever won the Turf Sprint, added to the Breeders' Cup program in 2008, with the common criticism being that European runners struggled with the sharp left-handed turns of American turf sprints, as many of the top international sprint races are contested on a straightaway. However, Glass Slippers ($22.40) did not have that vulnerability, with prior experience racing around turns at Chester, winning there – although against softer competition – in September 2018. “She’s handled the undulations at Goodwood in the straight line,” trainer Kevin Ryan noted pre-race of Glass Slippers, who secured a berth into the Breeders' Cup by winning the Group 1 Flying Five at The Curragh in Ireland. The Dream Ahead filly, a homebred for Terry Holdcroft's Bearstone Stud, then finished a close second in the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye, a race she won last year, in early October. “She’s just very versatile, and going around the bend’s no worry at all,” Ryan said. :: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more. Glass Slippers, under jockey Tom Eaves, was 10th in the full field of 14 heading into that that turn on the Keeneland course, which was officially rated good. Meanwhile, Into Mystic had been sharp away from the gate, and, under pressure from Wildman Jack on her hip, took the field through an opening quarter in 21.26 seconds. Into Mystic still grimly held on to a half-length lead over her foe into the stretch, but the pack quickly descended, with the stretch run evolving into a wild battle that became eventful for some of the top choices. With the top six horses in the field separated by less than two lengths in midstretch as the leaders began to fade, locally-based betting favorite Leinster, who had been saving ground toward the inside, shifted out to look for a clear lane to run; meanwhile, Got Stormy, who was coming off a graded win on the Keeneland turf, loomed a threat as she came with her late run five paths wide. Glass Slippers had continued to save ground under Eaves while beginning to advance as she swung around the turn. As the field cut the corner, she was full of run, with Eaves moving her to the three path to split horses. She moved quickly enough to find an open seam, bumping slightly with a tiring Texas Wedge as she did so. “I talked to Ryan Moore who rode her in her last race," Eaves said. "He knows the track well. That was the right thing to sit down there and ride for a bit of luck. It paid off.” Going for a similar running lane was third-choice Imprimis, but his hole moved faster than he did and he was forced to steady hard nearing the furlong grounds, quickly dropping out of contention. Wildman Jack put away Into Mystic, but the tiring speed horse found Glass Slippers at his throatlatch as the filly burst through between foes to seize the lead as the wire loomed. Wet Your Whistle, winner of the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational in his prior outing, came flying on the outside after a slow break, but ran out of ground, coming up a half-length short at the wire. The final time for the 5 1/2 furlongs was 1:01.53, which translated into a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. After those top two, it was another half-length to Leinster in third, as he edged familiar foe Extravagant Kid by a head for that position. “He ran his butt off, he did," trainer Rusty Arnold said of favored Leinster, who was coming off consecutive graded stakes wins at Keeneland. "When they come over and do that you can’t complain. When they run that hard for you, no complaints. I loved where he was at and he had his run at them. He ran great. They all closed and Luis [Saez] said even until the last 50 yards he thought he was going to be able to win.” Another length behind Extravagant Kid was Got Stormy, whose run flattened out late, in fifth. They were followed, in order, by Front Run the Fed, a game Wildman Jack, Bombard, Oleksandra, Big Runnuer, Texas Wedge, the fading Into Mystic, the troubled Imprimis, and Just Might. The also-eligibles Equilateral, Chaos Theory, Archidust, and Bulletproof One did not draw into the field and were scratched. Equilateral also had shipped to Kentucky from Europe, and when he was not selected into the field, only Glass Slippers remained in the dance for the international contingent. One was all they needed. And Glass Slippers may return for another dance in the 2021 Turf Sprint at Del Mar, as Holdcroft indicated postrace that he plans to keep the filly in training for another season.