West Coast Runners Hold Edge in BC Filly & Mare Sprint

Although East Coast-based horses have captured the last three runnings of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), it's safe to say there is a strong chance a California-trained contender could take this year's $1 million prize. Leading the formidable West Coast contingent, which make up six of the 12 horses entered for the Nov. 1 Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar, is the dangerously fast Sweet Azteca, the comebacking Spendthrift Farm homebred Tamara, and the Bob Baffert-trained trio of Hope Road, Richi (CHI), and Splendora. Among those shipping in for the 7-furlong event include the 1-2 finishers of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2)—the burgeoning 3-year-old Praying and grade 1 winner Vahva—and the Arkansas-bred sensation Haulin Ice from the Saffie Joseph Jr. barn. Joseph scored the first Breeders' Cup victory of his career when Soul of an Angel upset last year's Filly and Mare Sprint field at 19-1 odds. With the news that the Spendthrift-owned Kopion would tackle males in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), attempting to become the fourth female in history to win that 6-furlong race, it provided a greater chance for her stablemate Tamara to take home the trophy. One of the great stories coming into this year's World Championships, Tamara, a daughter of the Hall of Fame race mare Beholder, has overcome not one, but two setbacks during her abbreviated career on the track. A dazzling winner of the 2023 Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) as a 2-year-old, the Bolt d'Oro filly was sidelined with a small fracture in her hind leg following a disappointing seventh-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). She made one start as a 3-year-old, losing by a nose in an allowance optional claimer, before being sidelined again with an ankle chip. The 4-year-old made a resounding return to the winner's circle with a 3 3/4-length victory in the Oct. 4 Chillingworth Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park. The biggest obstacle in Tamara's path toward emulating her dam as a Breeders' Cup winner is Pamela Ziebarth's homebred Sweet Azteca. Unraced until May of her 3-year-old year, Sweet Azteca has flashed brilliance nearly every time she's run. Remarkably consistent throughout her career, the Sharp Azteca mare has lost only twice in her nine trips to the post. Transferred to trainer Richard Baltas earlier this year, Sweet Azteca has been flawless in two outings for her new barn. She began her 5-year-old campaign with a track record-setting victory over Kopion in the Great Lady M Stakes (G2) in which she returned from a nine-month layoff. In her final prep before the Breeders' Cup, she sailed to a gate-to-wire score over the Del Mar oval in the Rancho Bernando Handicap (G3) Aug. 24. The imposing gray achieved both wins in front-running fashion, each time throwing down sub :44 half-miles in a lively game of catch me if you can. After missing a scheduled work in September due to a fever, Sweet Azteca has reportedly made a full recovery, tuning up for the Championships with a :59 4/5 5-furlong move Oct. 25 at Del Mar. In her previous work, she sizzled 6 furlongs in 1:10 4/5, faster than the average 6-furlong maiden special weight, Oct. 19. Baffert, who trained champion Gamine to win the Filly and Mare Sprint in 2020, saddles a trio of live contenders in this year's event. Cicero Farms' Hope Road could be the Hall of Fame trainer's best chance at collecting a second title in the Filly and Mare Sprint. Kopion's scratch was Hope Road's gain on Saturday. After tasting defeat three straight times to that rival, Hope Road rebounded with a cross-country grade 1 tally in the Aug. 23 Ballerina Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The daughter of Quality Road boasts a 3-for-3 record at Del Mar. A Baffert trainee that should benefit cutting back to 7 furlongs is Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Stud Vendaval's Richi. A multiple group 1 winner in her native Chile, the Practical Joke 5-year-old was brilliant sprinting around one turn in the Las Flores Stakes (G3) in January. One that does her best running on the front end, she was denied late by stablemate Cavalieri in the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Stakes (G1) in March and again in the Sept. 28 Zenyatta Stakes (G2) going around two turns. Talla Racing's Splendora has the tallest task of the Baffert three but certainly appears up to the challenge following two back-to-back victories at Del Mar.