Stormy Liberal Aims to Strike Again in BC Turf Sprint

Champion turf male Stormy Liberal will face a tall task Nov. 2 in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.

A back-to-back winner of the Turf Sprint (run at five furlongs at Del Mar in 2017 and at 5 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs in 2018), the 7-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic  has gone 0-for-6 this season. Still, he only failed to hit the board once in those 2019 races and comes off a willing third in a race he won in 2018, the five-furlong Eddie D. Stakes (G2T) Sept. 27 at Santa Anita. 

Gary Hartunian, whose Rockingham Ranch owns the gelding along with David Bernsen, believes trainer Peter Miller has Stormy Liberal back to his best in time for the World Championships.

"'Stormy' loves Santa Anita; it's his home-court advantage," Hartunian said. "He's doing really well. He's going to try to make history."

Stormy Liberal and Mizdirection (2012-13) are the only two-time winners of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Only two horses have won three Breeders' Cup races in the event's 34-year history—Goldikova, who took the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) in 2008, 2009, and 2010; and Beholder, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1T) in 2012 and the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in 2013 and 2016. 

Picked up by Rockingham for a $40,000 tag in October 2016, Stormy Liberal has a 12-10-4 record from 36 starts, with earnings of $2,202,580.

"He keeps everybody going through the ups and downs," Hartunian said. "He holds up the whole barn. He's the man. He was the underdog. He takes care of business. I can't say enough good things about him."

The Turf Sprint will be run at five furlongs around one turn of the infield grass course. Turf sprints on Santa Anita's downhill course—over which the race was run in 2008-09, 2012-14, and 2016—were suspended March 31 by track management.

Stormy Liberal is one of three contenders entered by Miller, who also conditions Gary Barber's grade 2 winner Belvoir Bay and Sareen Family Trust's grade 2 winner Om, runner-up in the 2016 Turf Sprint.

In a rare occurrence, Stormy Liberal will be joined in the gate by his half brother Leinster, a 4-year-old son of Majestic Warrior out of the Royal Academy mare Vassar. The Rusty Arnold trainee enters off a runner-up finish—three-quarters of a length behind Turf Sprint rival Stubbins—in the Oct. 5 Woodford Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G2T). Two starts back, Leinster won the Troy Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course in a stakes-record 1:00.23 for Amy E. Dunne, Westrock Stables, Brenda Miley, and Jean Wilkinson.

Group 1-placed So Perfect for trainer Aidan O'Brien, grade 2 winner Imprimis, multiple grade 3 winner Pure Sensation, and Eddie D. Stakes runner-up Eddie Haskell are among others in the field.

Entries: Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, November 02, 2019, Race 5

• Grade IT
• 5f
• Turf
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 12:33 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Totally Boss (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	126	George R. Arnold, II	5/1
2	2Pure Sensation (FL)	Paco Lopez	126	Christophe Clement	5/1
3	3Imprimis (FL)	Lanfranco Dettori	126	Joseph F. Orseno	8/1
4	4Shekky Shebaz (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	126	Jason Servis	12/1
5	5Stubbins (KY)	Flavien Prat	124	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
6	6Stormy Liberal (KY)	John R. Velazquez	126	Peter Miller	8/1
7	7Leinster (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	126	George R. Arnold, II	8/1
8	8Legends of War (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	124	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
9	9Final Frontier (KY)	Luis Saez	126	Thomas Albertrani	6/1
10	10Eddie Haskell (CA)	Joel Rosario	126	Mark Glatt	9/2
11	11Om (KY)	Manuel Franco	126	Peter Miller	15/1
12	12Belvoir Bay (GB)	Javier Castellano	123	Peter Miller	12/1
13	13Girls Know Best (KY)	Joe Bravo	123	Eddie Kenneally	20/1
14	14Double Touch (GB)	John R. Velazquez	126	John W. Sadler	30/1