Field could end up in single digits

The $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint could have one of the shortest fields for the two-day Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, as only nine pre-entered horses have the seven-furlong race listed as their first preference.

In all, 12 were pre-entered in the Filly and Mare Sprint, but three have the Distaff as first preference – Mo See Cal, Secret Spice, and Serengeti Empress.

Covfefe and Come Dancing are foremost among the preentries and are expected to vie for favoritism. Both won Grade 1 races at Saratoga during the second half of the year, with

Covfefe taking the Test and Come Dancing the Ballerina.

Covfefe, trained by Brad Cox, will be looking to follow in the hoofsteps of Shamrock Rose, who last year became the first 3-year-old to win the Filly and Mare Sprint in its 12-year history. A daughter of Into Mischief, Covfefe is scheduled to arrive Tuesday at Santa Anita from her Churchill Downs base.

Come Dancing, trained by Carlos Martin, seeks to become just the third New York-based winner of the race, following Wavell Avenue (2015) and Bar of Gold (2017). The 5-year-old mare is scheduled to arrive Monday at Santa Anita from Belmont Park.

A handful of California-based horses are among the challengers in the Filly and Mare Sprint – Spiced Perfection, Selcourt, Lady Ninja, Danuska’s My Girl, and Bellafina. The remaining pre-entries are Dawn the Destroyer and Heavenhasmynikki.

Danuska’s My Girl will have Dan Ward, the longtime assistant to Jerry Hollendorfer, listed as trainer. The Breeders’ Cup announced last week that it is following Santa Anita’s lead in barring Hollendorfer from running horses at the event.

The most notable absentees from the pre-entry list were Guarana and Minit to Stardom.

Guarana, a two-time Grade 1 winner, was ruled out of consideration last weekend by Chad Brown, who is hoping to have the filly in his care over the winter in Florida and point her to a 4-year-old campaign.

Minit to Stardom, second to Come Dancing in the Gallant Bloom last month, was withheld by trainer Jose Camejo for several reasons, including, he said, “the seven furlongs might be a little long for her.” A $100,000, six-furlong race on the Dec. 14 Louisiana Champions Day card at Fair Grounds is now the main goal, he added.