Lady Aurelia, Marsha Meet Again in BC Turf Sprint

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Lady Aurelia, Marsha Meet Again in BC Turf Sprint
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Photo: Mathea Kelley
Lady Aurelia will be joined again by John Velazquez, who was aboard for her King's Stand win at Royal Ascot

As Lady Aurelia and Marsha hit the finish line in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (G1), Frankie Dettori punched the air in celebration because he believed he got the final jump aboard Europe's 2016 champion juvenile filly. That emotion was soon gone, however, when a photo revealed that it was in fact Marsha who nosed out Lady Aurelia for the win. 

Stonestreet and Peter Leidel's Lady Aurelia, trained in the U.S. by Wesley Ward, will get a shot at redemption when she faces Marsha in a full field of 12 expected in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) Nov. 4 at Del Mar. 

Since the Aug. 25 Nunthorpe at York, Lady Aurelia, a 3-year-old Scat Daddy filly, returned to Kentucky, while Marsha gave it her all in an attempt to take the Oct. 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (G1) for a second year in a row, but had to settle for the runner-up spot. Marsha is trained by Sir Mark Prescott, who will make his first Breeders' Cup trip.

Ward thinks coming off a break will help Lady Aurelia in the five-furlong test, where both fillies will take on males.

"We have a little bit of an added rest, where (Marsha) came back and ran—ran a big race and finished second," Ward said. "But I think the track itself would probably favor Masha, because Del Mar is a come-from-behind-type track. A lot of horses come from behind at five-eighths and win. 

"If our filly settles in the first part of the race, which is what she's been doing all year, we'll have the first run on Marsha, which could be key."

As for handling a new course, Ward isn't concerned for his well-traveled filly, who earned champion juvenile filly honors in Europe last year and began this season in April with a listed stakes win at Keeneland before taking the King's Stand Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot, with Marsha in third. At the Breeders' Cup, Lady Aurelia will be reunited with jockey John Velazquez, who was aboard for both 2017 wins. 

"She's had races in Europe, races at Keeneland, lots of works down in Florida on the grass—she's had all different types of grass courses that she's seemed to handle," Ward said. "First and foremost she is what I believe to be the fastest horse in the world. She has an explosive punch when you ask her, and now her mind is getting settled so she can reserve that punch when needed."

She'll need that punch to overcome the quick competition. 

Patricia Generazio homebred Disco Partner has four wins this year including a score in the Jaipur Invitational Stakes (G3T) at Belmont Park. In the Jaipur, he not only set the course record for six furlongs on the turf in 1:05.67, but the time was reported as a world record by Equibase. 

Another Generazio homebred is Pure Sensation, who finished third in last year's Turf Sprint. He enters off a half-length win in the five-furlong Turf Monster Stakes (G3T) at Parx Racing Sept. 4. 

Second to Pure Sensation in the Turf Monster was Mongolian Saturday, the 2015 Turf Sprint winner, who enters off two graded placings. Winless in 2017, the Any Given Saturday gelding placed in four stakes this year. 

Veteran stalwart Hogy enters his first Breeders' Cup run off a second to Bucchero in the Woodford Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G2T) Oct. 7.


Entries: Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T)

Del Mar, Saturday, November 04, 2017, Race 5

  • Grade IT
  • 5f
  • Turf
  • $1,000,000
  • 3 yo's & up
  • 12:37 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Disco Partner (NY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 126 Christophe Clement 9/2
2 2Holding Gold (FL) Manuel Franco 126 Mark E. Casse 15/1
3 3Lady Aurelia (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate John R. Velazquez 121 Wesley A. Ward 5/2
4 4Stormy Liberal (KY) Joel Rosario 126 Peter Miller 12/1
5 5Washington DC (IRE) Ryan L. Moore 126 Aidan P. O'Brien 20/1
6 6Marsha (IRE) Luke Morris 123 SIR MARK PRESCOTT 7/2
7 7Richard's Boy (CA) Flavien Prat 126 Peter Miller 10/1
8 8Cotai Glory (GB) Oisin Murphy 126 Charles Hills 20/1
9 9Mongolian Saturday (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Florent Geroux 126 Enebish Ganbat 20/1
10 10Hogy (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jose L. Ortiz 126 Michael J. Maker 12/1
11 11Bucchero (IN) Fernando De La Cruz 126 Tim Glyshaw 12/1
12 12Pure Sensation (FL) Kendrick Carmouche 126 Christophe Clement 10/1
13 13Guns Loaded (FL) Rafael Bejarano 126 Doug F. O'Neill 20/1
14 14Paquita Coqueta (CHI) Corey S. Nakatani 123 Chad Summers 20/1