Sconsin to Skip Filly & Mare Sprint; Short Field Looms

The list of rivals set to face reigning champion female sprinter Gamine  in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar has become shorter in recent days.

On Oct. 12, trainer Greg Foley told Kevin Kerstein, publicity manager at Churchill Downs, that Sconsin  would bypass the Breeders' Cup and run instead in the $300,000, six-furlong Dream Supreme Stakes at Churchill Nov. 13.

"We've decided to stay home instead of shipping to California. We're looking forward to this race and a 5-year-old campaign next year," Foley said.

A daughter of Include   owned and bred by Lloyd Madison Farms, Sconsin has not breezed since winning the Open Mind Stakes Sept. 18 at Churchill. That race followed a fourth-place finish behind Gamine in the Aug. 28 Ketel One Ballerina Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

Sconsin's Breeders' Cup defection follows the announced Oct. 11 retirement of graded stakes-winning sprinter Venetian Harbor  by trainer Richard Baltas. The latter had also been considered a possible entrant by the Breeders' Cup.

Gamine, trained by Bob Baffert for Michael Lund Petersen, is expected to be a short price to defend her title in the seven-furlong dirt race. Ce Ce , trained by Michael McCarthy for owner/breeder Bo Hirsch, is projected as one of the secondary betting choices. Both runners are "Win and You're In" Challenge Race winners.

Bell's the One, winner of the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) at Keeneland for Bob Lothenbach's Lothenbach Stables, is another such qualifier, though trainer Neil Pessin is still weighing whether he wants to accept her paid berth. He plans to evaluate a workout at Churchill Downs from her late next week and analyze Nov. 1 shipping arrangements to the Breeders' Cup via FedEx that will depart out of Indianapolis.

He notes that such shipping will not be as convenient or travel time as short as in years past when Tex Sutton Equine Transportation flew a dedicated aircraft to the Breeders' Cup out of Louisville, Ky. Tex Sutton may not resume its full operations until sometime next year.

Pessin said Tuesday that if she were to win the Dream Supreme Stakes, "we'd have to win the Breeders' Cup to win more money." A runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, and a win in the $300,000 race are roughly equivalent.

"The bottom line is if Mr. Lothenbach wants to go, we're going," Pessin said of the Breeders' Cup.

She ran third in the race last year behind Gamine and Serengeti Empress  when it was at Keeneland, just missing a place photo with the latter.

This year, Estilo Talentoso  and Bella Sofia  have won graded stakes races for females on dirt, but both would require a supplement to compete in the Breeder's Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Ben Colebrook, the trainer of Club Car , runner-up in the TCA, told Keeneland publicity over the weekend that he is unsure of what is next for his filly, but "it's not going to be the Breeders' Cup. She has been running a lot, 12 times in the past 12 months."

Hronis Racing's Edgeway , trained by John Sadler, winner of the Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) this summer at Del Mar, is expected to join Gamine and Ce Ce in the Breeder's Cup.