Cogburn is a hot commodity as he heads toward the Breeders’ Cup – and to his next career.

With less than three weeks to go until the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, Cogburn will be one of the heaviest favorites on the Saturday card when he starts in the Turf Sprint. He is the 9-5 early choice on Brad Free’s line for Daily Racing Form, with Bradsell the second choice at 3-1. The only shorter-priced favorite on the card is Eclipse Award champion Idiomatic, at an early 8-5 to defend her win in the Distaff, with Thorpedo Anna at 2-1.

Perhaps the biggest surprise when it comes to assessing Nakatomi’s performance in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita is not that he finished a close third as a 26-1 outsider behind defending champion Elite Power.

It was the fact the late-running gelding did so after shockingly finding himself contesting the pace in the run down the backstretch despite breaking a bit tardily under Luis Saez, who replaced Nakatomi’s regular jockey Tyler Gaffalione after the latter opted to keep his regular seat aboard the ultimate runner-up, Gunite, instead.

English-based trainer Mick Appleby not only saddled his first Breeders’ Cup starter last year, he saddled his first North American starter, period.

Big Evs won the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita and makes another trip to California this year for the Turf Sprint at Del Mar. He will be joined by stablemate Big Mojo, who will run in the Grade 1, $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint. The pair are owned by Paul and Rachael Teasdale’s RP Racing and will be ridden by Tom Marquand.

Immersive is scheduled to work Friday at Churchill Downs as she continues preparations for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

The work will be her first since her Oct. 4 win in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland. She emerged from the race in excellent condition, trainer Brad Cox said Tuesday. Immersive made her two-turn debut in the Alcibiades and is now 3 for 3.

When Didia finished fourth July 13 at Saratoga in the Diana Stakes, won by the Chad Brown-trained Whitebeam, her trainer, Ignacio Correas, rued the difficulty of beating multiple Brown entrants in high-level turf stakes for fillies and mares. Thursday’s eighth race at Keeneland is a third-level, filly-and-mare allowance carded for 1 1/16 miles on grass, and even here, Correas faces a similar issue.

Finally, the connections of She Feels Pretty saw in the afternoon what they had regularly seen in the morning from the 3-year-old filly.

As well as Highway Robber has performed in his last two races, a narrow defeat in the $2 million Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs and a win Friday in the Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland, trainer Brian Lynch has reason to believe the best is yet to come.

Just a 4-year-old, Highway Robber has only raced 11 times, and only in his three most recent starts has he gotten out to distances that best suit him, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 miles.

“He’s definitely found his niche,” said Lynch, who trains the Hard Spun gelding for Susan and Jim Hill.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A Breeders’ Cup sprint race may be on Forbidden Kingdom’s schedule despite not having raced since April.

On Sunday, trainer Richard Mandella said the BC Sprint at six furlongs on dirt and the BC Turf Sprint at five furlongs are “both a thought” with the 5-year-old Forbidden Kingdom.

Mandella acknowledged that Forbidden Kingdom may not be selected to race, particularly for the BC Turf Sprint, which often draws a full field.

A three-time stakes winner on dirt and turf, Forbidden Kingdom has been plagued by foot issues this year, Mandella said.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Storm the Court, upset winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in 2019, recently returned to trainer Peter Eurton’s stable in California and may start later this fall before going to stud in California in 2025.

Storm the Court will stand at Eclipse Thoroughbred Training Center in Buellton, Calif.

Four-time stakes winner Muth worked a half-mile in 47.40 seconds on Monday at Santa Anita, moving closer to a scheduled start in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.

The exercise was Muth’s first workout since the 3-year-old colt finished last of six in the Grade 1 California Crown on Sept. 28 at Santa Anita, a loss trainer Bob Baffert described a day later as leaving him “very puzzled.”