Familiar faces in large cast

There is rarely a shortage of turf sprinters, and when Breeders’ Cup pre-entries were announced Wednesday the cast for the $1 million Turf Sprint numbered 20. That left a half-dozen hopefuls for the 5 1/2-furlong race stranded on the also-eligible list.

The first seven entries into the field were filled by Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series winners and the top points earners in graded stakes. The other seven were selected by a Breeders’ Cup committee.

The BC Turf Sprint has attracted a varied group that includes a trio of 3-year-olds – including two from Europe – three mares, and 14 older males.

The favorites, in what should be a competitive race over a crowded Churchill Downs turf course, will be Stormy Liberal and Disco Partner. In 2017, Stormy Liberal won the Grade 1 Turf Sprint by a head over his Peter Miller-trained stablemate Richard’s Boy, who also is back for another try.

Stormy Liberal comes into the Turf Sprint on a three-race winning streak at Santa Anita and Del Mar. Richard’s Boy tuned up for this year’s race just as he did a year ago, with a runner-up effort against statebreds last Saturday in the California Flag at Santa Anita.

Disco Partner, who finished a late-running third in the 2017 Turf Sprint, enters off a repeat victory in the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational. The Christophe Clement-trained 6-year-old cruised home by 4 1/2 lengths in a seemingly effortless performance.

The 3-year-olds in the field are World of Trouble, who is 2 for 2 over his own age group since being moved to turf by Jason Servis; Havana Grey, who earned a fees-paid berth in the field with his win in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes at The Curragh for trainer Karl Burke; and the Aid an O’ Brien conditioned Lost Treasure.

The mares in the field include Chanteline, who in her last two starts has won the Grade 3 Franklin County at Keeneland and the Smart N Fancy Stakes at Saratoga for Steve Asmussen, and Ruby Notion, who comes off victories in the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint and the Caress at Saratoga for trainer Darrin Miller.

The six also-eligibles, in order of preference, are Pay Any Price, Extravagant Kid, Blind Ambition, Great Britainbased El Astronaute, the mare Insta Erma, and B Squared.

Lost Treasure may be the horse who bumped South Florida favorite Pay Any Price, who is 9 for 12 the past 1 1/2 years, to the AE list.

Lost Treasure, who is 3 for 8, prepped for the Turf Sprint in unusual style. O’Brien raced him four times in three weeks between Sept. 28 and Oct. 19. He finished third in the Group 3 Mercury Stakes at Dundalk in his most recent start.

Pay Any Price, who holds the North American turf record for five furlongs, has never raced in graded company. Daily Racing Form national handicapper Mike Watchmaker has listed Pay Any Price at 20-1 for the Turf Sprint, lower than three horses in the body of the race, including Lost Treasure.