A full field of 12 older horses contested the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) going 5 furlongs around one turn of the Jimmy Durante turf course at Del Mar. King's Stand Stakes (G1) Lady Aurelia was sent off as the 9-10 favorite off a close second in the Nunthorpe (G1) at York. In to challenge her included 5-1 second choice Disco Partner, winner of the Belmont Turf Sprint, and 6-1 third choice Marsha, 2nd in the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp (G1) at Chantilly after winning the Nunthorpe (G1).
Stormy Liberal (center) rallies down the stretch
Kendrick Carmouche sent 11-1 Pure Sensation to the lead through fractions of 21.98 and 44.57 while pressed by 14-1 Richard's Boy and stalked by 29-1 Bucchero. Pure Sensation led to the 1/8 pole but tired while 30-1 Stormy Liberal, 6th early under Joel Rosario, rallied to win by a head over Richard's Boy in 56.12. It was 1/2 a length back to late-running Disco Partner third, while Lady Aurelia checked in 10th beaten just 3 lengths.
Stormy Liberal wins the Turf Sprint
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
4 Stormy Liberal Rosario 62.40 26.60 15.60
7 Richard's Boy Prat 13.00 7.40
1 Disco Partner Ortiz Jr. 4.60
Winning Time: :56.12
$1 Exacta 4-7 277.50
$1 Trifecta 4-7-1 1,320.40
$1 Superfecta 4-7-1-11 20,311.40
Left: Stormy Liberal heads to the winner's circle. Winning jockey Joel Rosario said, "I just break out of the gate, and I asked my horse a little bit. Peter told me don't, just get your position, and he has a lot of speed, but he wanted me to just like follow and save some ground and just stay on the inside. And that worked out perfect. I broke there, and looked like they were going very fast in front. I was just trying to save some ground, just like Peter told me, and take it from there."
Right: The trophy presentation for the Turf Sprint. Winning owner Gary Hartunian (who owns the first two finishers) said, "I claimed Stormy Liberal for $40,000. So those people right now are jumping off the Coronado Bridge. Then (runner-up) Richard's Boy, a friend of mine at the track came up to me and said, you know, you want to buy this horse privately, so I bought him privately."
Left: Stormy Liberal heads out to the track before the race.
Right: Stormy Liberal parades with his flowers with trainer Peter Miller to his right. Miller, who trains the first two finishers said, "It was just a surreal experience to see Richard's Boy look like he was going to win. And I'm watching Joel, and I'm rooting for Joel, and I'm like just one of you win, just one of you win. Somebody win, you know? And to run one-two here for my first Breeders' Cup and here at home, I live ten minutes away in Encinitas, is special. And to win with Joel Rosario, who I consider a good friend and who rode a lot for me when he was out here, just one of the best riders in the world."
Left: Second place finisher Richard's Boy enters the turf course before the race. Jockey Flavien Prat said, "He ran a really good race. He just got beat by a neck."
Right: Third place finisher Disco Partner returns after the race. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said, "I had a good trip. Five furlongs is just too short for him. Five and a half or six is better for him. He gave me a good kick."
Tenth place finisher and beaten favorite Lady Aurelia returns after the race. Jockey John Velazquez said, "I had a perfect trip. There were a couple speed horses so I let them go. I got into a spot I wanted at the 3/8 pole and she was just flat down the lane."
2017 Breeders' Cup Wrap Up - Records set, statistics, first-time winning jockeys and trainers, how previous winners finished, and more for the 34th running of the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.
2017 Breeders' Cup Saturday - There were nine Breeders' Cup races on Saturday at Del Mar headlined by the Classic (G1) where Gun Runner won over Collected. Also on the card, Talismanic won the Turf (G1), World Approval won the Mile (G1), and Good Magic won the Juvenile (G1). Get the results, charts, and photos for all 12 stakes on the card. More photos: Classic - Turf - Juvenile - Mile - Sprint - F&M Turf - F&M Sprint - Turf Sprint - Juvenile Fillies
2017 Breeders' Cup Friday - There were four Breeders' Cup races on Friday at Del Mar headlined by the Distaff (G1) where Forever Unbridled held off Abel Tasman to win by a half length. Also on the card, Rushing Fall won the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), Battle of Midway won the Dirt Mile (G1), and Mendelssohn won the Juvenile Turf (G1). Get the results, charts, and photos for all 8 stakes on the card. More photos: Juvenile Turf -
Juvenile Fillies Turf - Dirt Mile - Distaff
2017 Breeders' Cup Entries - Entries closed Monday and post positions were drawn for the 13 Breeders' Cup Championship races on November 3 and 4 at Del Mar. The Classic will have a field of 11 with Gun Runner in post 5 the 9-5 favorite over Arrogate in post 1 at 2-1.
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar
Review: Crushing the Cup 2017 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Del Mar. Updated for 2017, this is their 26th anniversary edition and first for Del Mar.
2016 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by Arrogate. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2016 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Beholder. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track since the change.
Left: Stormy Liberal heads to the winner's circle. Winning jockey Joel Rosario said, "I just break out of the gate, and I asked my horse a little bit. Peter told me don't, just get your position, and he has a lot of speed, but he wanted me to just like follow and save some ground and just stay on the inside. And that worked out perfect. I broke there, and looked like they were going very fast in front. I was just trying to save some ground, just like Peter told me, and take it from there."
Left: Stormy Liberal heads out to the track before the race.
Left: Second place finisher Richard's Boy enters the turf course before the race. Jockey Flavien Prat said, "He ran a really good race. He just got beat by a neck."
