Pompay resists call of Breeders' Cup with Cool Arrow

Cool Arrow has won his last three starts, including the Grade 3 Smile Sprint here Sept. 5. And his trainer, Terri Pompay, admitted the temptation was there to try to take her red-hot sprint specialist to the next level, with the Breeders’ Cup looming on the horizon.

But in the end, Pompay opted to map out a more prudent path with Cool Arrow, whom she trains for Wanda Polisenni’s My Purple Haze Stable. Pompay said she might send him to Keeneland for an allowance race.

“Naturally, I’d love to be able to run a horse in the Breeders’ Cup, and taking a shot at getting there with him was more than a fleeting thought,” Pompay said. “We nominated him to the Phoenix at Keeneland, which is an automatic Win and You’re In for the Sprint. But after looking over the nomination list for the race, it seemed there were going to be enough good horses running that it wasn’t the right move for him. He’s doing great right now, but he’s really a notch below that caliber.”

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

So while the Phoenix was taken off the table, Cool Arrow showed he continues to maintain his good form by breezing four furlongs in 47.63 seconds and galloping out five-eighths in 1:01.45 on Monday at Gulfstream.

“There’s really nothing for him at the Gulfstream Park West meet, so I am considering shipping him to Keeneland for an allowance race later this month,” Pompay said. “It’s not definite, but we’re thinking about it.”

Cool Arrow was claimed away from Pompay and My Purple Haze by Jorge Navarro for $62,500 out of a win in his 2019 finale, but they were able to reach in and take him back for the same price when he launched his 2020 season six weeks later.

“Sometimes you get in a position where you have to run them where they’re not over their heads, so we put him in for the tag and were disappointed when we lost him,” Pompay said. “But when he came back up for the same price, we decided we know him and we like him, and made the decision to take him back. He seemed like he’d lost a lot of weight in those six weeks he’d been gone, so we backed off him, played around with him a little bit, and obviously he’s rewarded us with the way he’s been running of late. He just seems to kind of be creeping forward a little more now with each start.

Cool Arrow is one of 30 horses Pompay has stabled at Gulfstream Park, with more back on her farm in Ocala, Fla. This was the second full summer Pompay remained in south Florida rather than spending her summer at Monmouth Park.

“I love Monmouth and I miss it, but I just decided to change my lifestyle a bit instead of going back and forth between here and New Jersey during the summer,” Pompay explained. “Since I’ve made that stand and stayed in Florida, we’ve had a great deal of success and also picked up some additional owners who wanted to stay in Florida for the summer as well.”

:: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more.

Pompay also noted that Heiressall, who comes off a victory in the seven-furlong Sheer Drama Stakes, will likely make her next start in the Sunshine Millions Distaff Preview on Nov. 14 at Gulfstream Park West. Heiressall also is owned by My Purple Haze Stable.

Maidens short and long

There are no allowance races on Wednesday’s eight-race card, but there are a pair of maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds, the first at a mile and the second going six furlongs restricted to statebred fillies.

Distorted Limits, by Distorted Humor out of the multiple stakes-placed mare Off Limits, highlights the fourth race, which offers a $40,000 purse. Distorted Limits, who fetched $400,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale, is trained by Kelsey Danner for Newtown Anner Stud Farm and has been training steadily at Palm Meadows since late last spring for his debut.