Breeders' Cup Berth at Stake in Princess Rooney

Before the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In becomes busiest in late September and early October, just one such race is on tap this weekend: the Sept. 20 Princess Rooney Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. The winner of the $200,000 race for fillies and mares over seven furlongs will earn an automatic, paid berth into the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Del Mar over the same distance. Though lesser in grade and purse than two other Breeders' Cup Challenge races for this division—the $500,000 Ballerina Stakes (G1) from this summer at Saratoga Race Course and the Oct. 4 $400,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) at Keeneland—the Princess Rooney has been effective at producing Breeders' Cup winners in recent years. Two of the last four winners—Ce Ce in 2021 and Soul of an Angel in 2024—went on to win the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and they were later honored with Eclipse Awards as champion female sprinter. Those wins also happened to be Breeders' Cups that were staged at Del Mar. Back when Bo Hirsch's Ce Ce managed the double, the Princess Rooney was in the summer, and trainer Michael McCarthy sent her east from his Southern California base to win the race. McCarthy also kept the schedule in 2022, and while she repeated in the Princess Rooney, she checked in fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) that fall at Keeneland. The Princess Rooney, named after the Hall of Fame racehorse, is currently a grade 3, having been downgraded from its heyday at defunct Calder Race Course when it was contested as a grade 1 from 2006-13 during that track's popular Summit of Speed program. It moved to Gulfstream Park as a grade 2 in 2015 and remained a grade 2 until 2023, when the American Graded Stakes Committee dropped it one additional grade after Gulfstream moved it to the fall. Over the last two years, the Princess Rooney has been more of a Florida affair—featuring locals but few shippers—and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has come away victorious. Three Witches, racing for e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, captured the race in 2023 for Joseph before a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup. Then Soul of an Angel took both races in 2024, upsetting the Filly & Mare Sprint at odds of more than 19-1 for owners C2 Racing Stable, Agave Racing Stable, and Ken Reimer. Clint Cornett of C2 Racing Stable told Samantha Perry on Gulfstream Park's "Hoarse Prophets" podcast this week that the spacing of the Princess Rooney before the Breeders' Cup is desirable, along with it being at their home track. "We think it puts the horse in the best position to be successful, right?" he said. Joseph holds a strong hand in the Princess Rooney again this year with four of the eight entrants, though one of his—Mystic Lake—will scratch and race in the Liberty Bell Stakes Saturday at Parx Racing. Her withdrawal leaves him with C2 Racing Stable, Paul Braverman, Miller Racing, and Timothy Pinch's Haulin Ice, plus Ultimate Authority and Claret Beret, both owned strictly by Miller Racing. If Joseph doesn't win the race, Blu Boy Racing and Matty Dan Racing Stable's late-running Vincey Girl is the filly most likely to have her picture taken. She was the recipient of a favorable weight break last out in running down Haulin Ice in a fast-paced Sheer Drama Handicap, a race she won comfortably. Trainer Jose D'Angelo has been on a roll in stakes races this month. He won the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes at Churchill Downs Sept. 13 with Bentornato, a week after Shisospicy and Cloe ran 1-2 for the trainer in the Music City Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs. Keeping Tabs on Pennsylvania None of the stakes at Parx Saturday are official Breeders' Cup qualifiers, though numerous horses seem likely to race in the Breeders' Cup if they respond with quality efforts. Cotillion Stakes (G1) entrants Scottish Lassie, La Cara, and Good Cheer all appear to be Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) candidates, likely needing to finish in front of Nitrogen in the Breeders' Cup to displace the latter as champion 3-year-old filly. Nitrogen is expected to run in the Spinster Stakes (G1) in a couple of weeks against older fillies and mares at Keeneland. With Sovereignty seemingly having sewn up the 3-year-old male championship, Eclipse Award considerations aren't as much in play for Pennsylvania Derby (G1) runners and their potential participation in the Breeders' Cup. But grade 1 wins matter for their eventual stallion careers, and at least several could march on from the Pennsylvania Derby to run in either the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) or Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). C R K Stable and Grandview Equine's Baeza—who has had the misfortune of facing either Sovereignty or Journalism in four starts since breaking his maiden—seems poised for a breakout performance in a race absent the two leaders in the division after they raced in separate races late last month.