Shamrock Rose possible for La Brea after Breeders' Cup win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Shamrock Rose, the 25-1 winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Saturday at Churchill Downs, was scheduled to ship Sunday to Mark Casse’s training facility in Ocala, Fla., where she will stay active for the time being.

Casse said he believes Shamrock Rose is deserving of the divisional Eclipse Award for filly-mare sprinter, but he will “keep an eye on” the Grade 1 La Brea on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita “in case we need” a victory in that seven-furlong race to further bolster the filly’s candidacy.

Informed that Eclipse voters might be swayed toward Marley’s Freedom – the Bob Baffert-trained filly who was beaten only a half-length when fourth as the 9-10 favorite in a four-horse photo in the Filly and Mare Sprint – based on a stronger body of work for the entire year, Casse said: “But we beat her” in their lone head-to-head meeting.

“I don’t know how it all works,” said Casse. “We’re going to enjoy this, let it all sink in, then deal with that later. We’ll come up with something.”

The BC upset under Irad Ortiz Jr. by Shamrock Rose, a Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old filly owned by Conrad Farms, was the second graded win of her career, following the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland just two weeks beforehand. She earned a career-high 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

Casse said regardless of whether Shamrock Rose runs in the La Brea, she probably will eventually move to the Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach, Fla., before getting started on her 4-year-old campaign.

Meanwhile, Chalon, who seemed to have the Filly-Mare Sprint won until being caught in the last couple of jumps, was headed Sunday morning to trainer Arnaud Delacour’s main base at the Fair Hill Training Center in northeastern Maryland. Delacour said the filly probably will get a couple of months off before being eased back into training in early 2019 at the Classic Mile in Ocala ahead of a 5-year-old campaign.

The other horses in the photo, Anonymity and Marley’s Freedom, both were to return to their Southern California bases, with immediate plans yet to be determined. Golden Mischief, the fifth-place finisher, has been retired by her owner, Juddmonte Farms.

The Filly-Mare Sprint second choice, Selcourt, who faded to 12th after setting the pace, was sold Sunday night for $800,000 at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Ky. Four other starters also were sold there: Happy Like a Fool (sixth, $1.45 million), Finley’sluckycharm (seventh, for $1.5 million), Skye Diamonds (10th, for $500,000), and Miss Sunset (14th, for $825,000).

:: Want to get the latest news with your past performances? Try DRF’s new digital PPs