All eyes on comebacking Unique Bella

The outlook for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint could be shaped largely by the upcoming performance of one horse: Unique Bella.

If, as expected, the star 3-year-old runs well in her eagerly awaited return to action Oct. 8 in the L.A. Woman at Santa Anita, she could be a solid favorite for the sevenfurlong Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 4 at Del Mar – and if not, well, throw this thing wide open.

All indications are that Unique Bella will pick up right where she left off in the 6 1/2-furlong L.A. Woman. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for Don Alberto Stable, Unique Bella was a huge early favorite for the Kentucky Oaks before being sidelined in late March with a shin injury. Her dazzling displays of speed have pointed her out as something special, and although sprinting is not necessarily the end game, Hollendorfer believes a tightener in the L.A. Woman followed by the Filly and Mare Sprint is a prudent way to go before the filly stretches back out as her career unfolds. Unique Bella has been firing morning bullets at Santa Anita, with her sixth work since Aug. 20 scheduled for this week.

Unique Bella is one of numerous California-based runners who figure to make the home team very tough to beat in the 11th running of the Filly and Mare Sprint.

The others are Finest City, winner of the 2016 Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita for trainer Ian Kruljac; American Gal, whose four-length victory for Simon Callaghan in the Test at Saratoga stamps her as the standout 3-year-old in this niche; Champagne Room, the 2016 BC Juvenile Fillies winner who is expected to return from a lengthy layoff Sunday in the Remington Park Oaks for Peter Eurton; Paradise Woods, the beaten Kentucky Oaks favorite being considered for either the L.A. Woman or Zenyatta by Richard Mandella; Skye Diamonds, who swept the divisional stakes on the circuit this summer – the Great Lady M. and Rancho Bernardo – for Bill Spawr; and a handful of others, including Bendable (Mandella) and the Bob Baffert trio of Constellation, Faypien, and Vale Dori.

Back East, the primary New York prep for the Filly and Mare Sprint will be run Sunday when the Chad Brown pair of Paulassilverlining and Carina Mia clash with Highway Star (Rodrigo Ubillo) in the Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park. All three exit the Aug. 26 Ballerina, whose winner, By the Moon, will train up to the Filly and Mare Sprint for Michelle Nevin.

From Kentucky, the top Filly and Mare Sprint candidate is Finley’sluckycharm, who figures as a decisive choice for Bret Calhoun in the Oct. 7 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland.

Other prospects include Ami’s Mesa, who set a track record Monday in the Presque Isle Masters in her fourth straight win, all for Josie Carroll; Curlin’s Approval, winner of the Princess Rooney in July for Marty Wolfson; and fringe possibilities Ivy Bell, Shimmering Aspen, Tequilita, and Vertical Oak.