New winner guaranteed in Filly and Mare Sprint

With reigning two-time champion Groupie Doll retired, the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint will have a new winner when the seven-furlong race is run Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.

Artemis Agrotera, Midnight Lucky, and possibly Judy the Beauty appear to be the early favorites for what is shaping up as another fascinating renewal.

There is no hotter horse in the division than Artemis Agrotera, who completed her prep schedule with back-to-back wins in the Ballerina at Saratoga and the Gallant Bloom last weekend at Belmont Park.

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Midnight Lucky has embarked on a workout pattern that will have her racing in the Filly and Mare Sprint off a six-month layoff, having needed time off following her dominant victory in the Humana Distaff. That Kentucky Derby Day race at Churchill Downs has been her only race since she won the Grade 1 Acorn in May 2013.

Judy the Beauty, the runner-up in this race last year, is a strong possibility to run instead against male rivals in the six-furlong Breeders’ Cup Sprint, said owner-trainer Wesley Ward, although Ward is not ruling out another run in here.

Except for turnback prospects out of longer races such as the Beldame, Spinster, and Zenyatta, two notable sprints remain as preps for the Filly and Mare Sprint, both on Oct. 4: the Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland and the L.A. Woman at Santa Anita.

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As for other would-be starters:

◗ It will be interesting in the coming weeks to see what owner Jeff Treadway and trainer Leah Gyarmati choose to do with Sweet Reason after the 3-year-old filly took Untapable to the limit in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion last weekend. She would have to face Untapable again in the $2 million Distaff at 1 1/8 miles, not to mention Beholder and Close Hatches. As the winner of the one-mile Acorn and seven-furlong Test, she would be an obvious threat if this race is chosen.

◗ Kelly Breen said he is not sure whether he will get a prep race into Stonetastic, clearly one of the top 3-year-old filly sprinters following her huge win in the Aug. 30 Prioress. She worked last weekend at Monmouth Park and is nominated to the TCA, with Paco Lopez committed to ride her if she runs.

◗ Living The Life, a winner of both starts in the U.S. since coming to Gary Mandella in California, is scheduled to breeze this weekend at Santa Anita. Earlier this month, the 4-year-old Irish-bred shipped to Pennsylvania to win the Presque Isle Masters, a Tapeta race that has produced four of the last five winners of the Filly and Mare Sprint.

◗ Leigh Court, a romping winner of the Grade 3 Seaway at Woodbine last month for owner-breeder Eugene Melnyk, could make her next start in the TCA. The 4-year-old Grand Slam filly is 6 for 10 lifetime.

◗ Another TCA prospect is R Free Roll, the front-running winner of the Grade 2 Honorable Miss in the Saratoga slop in her last start when racing under the name of trainer Danny Gargan for the first and only time. Kirk Ziadie is listed on the Keeneland nominations sheet as trainer again for the speedy 4-year-old filly.

◗ Linda Rice said the speedy La Verdad, nailed on the wire by Artemis Agrotera in the Gallant Bloom, will be considered for the race, “even though she is not Breeders’ Cup-nominated and the seven furlongs might be a little long.”

◗ Tom Albertrani said Better Lucky will go in the one-mile First Lady on the Keeneland turf on Oct. 4 and that a run in the Filly and Mare Sprint is possible.

◗ The 3-year-olds Thank You Marylou and Fiftyshadesofgold will rematch in the Oct. 18 Raven Run at Keeneland, with a two-week wheel back into the Breeders’ Cup not yet ruled out.

◗ Asked whether Iotapa would be considered for a turnback in the Filly and Mare Sprint, John Sadler said: “I don’t think so.”

◗ Reneesgotzip is more likely for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint or Breeders’ Cup Sprint than this race, said trainer Peter Miller.

◗ Madame Cactus was to return to Santa Anita this weekend following a hiatus and will not make this race, said Peter Eurton.

◗ Todd Pletcher said he has no prospects for this race. Logical possibilities would have included My Miss Aurelia, Sweet Whiskey, or even Stopchargingmaria.

◗ Jerry Hollendorfer said neither Broken Sword nor Scherzinger are under consideration.

◗ Antipathy “won’t be racing for a while,” said Kiaran McLaughlin.