Half-brothers battle in Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

Stormy Liberal will attempt to win the Breeders’ Cup turf Sprint for a third consecutive year on Saturday, and one of those trying to stop him will be his half-brother Leinster.

Stormy Liberal and Leinster, both out of the Royal Academy mare Vassar, will become the fourth pair of half- or full siblings to face each other in a Breeders’ Cup event. The first such matchup occured in the 1994 Sprint, when Honor the Hero finished seventh, with half-brother Prenup 13th. Half-brothers Good Journey and Aldebaran were third and 11th in the 2002 Mile. The only pair of full siblings to meet in a Breeders’ Cup race had their matchup in the 2008 Dirt Mile, when Slew’s Tiznow and Slew’s Tizzy were 10th and 11th.

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Vassar was bred in Kentucky by Twin Hopes Farm and was privately sold to race in France, taking one of seven starts during her career. She is now the dam of seven winners from as many starters, led by her pair of Turf Sprint candidates.

Stormy Liberal, the 2018 Eclipse Award champion turf male, is a son of Stormy Atlantic bred by Dapple Bloodstock and Gryphon Investments. He races for Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen.

Leinster, by Majestic Warrior, won the Grade 3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga over the summer. Bred in the name of Gryphon Investments, he races for Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley, Westrock Stables, and Jean Wilkinson.

Vassar is also the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Calling Moment, Grade 1-placed Coast Guard, and stakes-placed Garifine. She is the dam of a yearling colt by Distorted Humor, and was bred to Uncle Mo for 2020.

If Leinster should win the Turf Sprint, Vassar would become the sixth mare to produce multiple Breeders’ Cup winners. In alphabetical order, the mares to hold that distinction are Hasili, the dam of 2001 Filly and Mare Turf winner Banks Hill and 2005 winner Intercontinental; Leslie’s Lady, dam of three-time Breeders’ Cup heroine Beholder and Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn; Primal Force, the dam of 1998 Classic winner Awesome Again and 2000 Juvenile winner Macho Uno; Sweet Life, dam of 2004 Juvenile Fillies winner Sweet Catomine and 2009 Ladies’ Classic winner Life Is Sweet; and Win Approval, dam of a pair of Mile winners in Miesque’s Approval (2006) and World Approval (2017).