Trio of Sunday stakes will produce Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint contenders

The most important cluster of preps toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint will come within a span of just a few hours this Sunday. The Futurity at Belmont, the Indian Summer at Keeneland, and the Speakeasy at Santa Anita figure to significantly impact the composition of the field.

Another Miracle and Kimari both won stakes at Saratoga this summer and look like the top contenders in the six-furlong Futurity and 5 1/2-furlong Indian Summer, respectively. The Speakeasy, run at the same five-furlong distance as the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint, is expected to include the speedy filly Bulletproof One among a competitive field.

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All three preps are Win and You’re In events toward the $1 million BC Juvenile Turf Sprint, one of five 2-year-old races on the Nov. 1 Friday card at Santa Anita.

Kimari, a Munnings filly owned by Ten Broeck Farm, is one of a handful of hopefuls for the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint trained by Wesley Ward. The others are Alfie Solomons, who runs in the Speakeasy; Four Wheel Drive, who runs in the Futurity; Karak, who runs Saturday in the Matron at Belmont; and Cambria, who will train straight into the race.

“We’ve thought the world of her all along,” Ward said of Kimari, who, prior to winning the Aug. 14 Bolton Landing at Saratoga by four lengths was a 15-length debut win at Keeneland in late April and a just-miss runner-up in the Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot in June. “She’s trained great here at Keeneland since we brought her back from Saratoga, and we’re hoping this will set her up perfect for the Breeders’ Cup.”

Meanwhile, perhaps the leading juvenile in Europe, Earthlight, is finished racing for the year. Earthlight won the Group 1 Middle Park on Saturday at Newmarket for Godolphin and will be pointed to the 2000 Guineas next spring, trainer Andre Fabre told various news outlets. His absence leaves A’Ali, a three-time stakes winner for Simon Crisford, as the leading overseas prospect for the Juvenile Turf Sprint.