Diamond Oops, the defending champion, and Firenze Fire, the Grade 1 winner who finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland last month, top a list of 25 nominations for the $100,000 Mr. Prospector (G3). The 66th running of the seven-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds and up is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19.
Patrick Biancone-trained Diamond Oops won the Churchill Downs Turf Sprint (G2) and the Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland prior to a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, in which he was beaten by 4 ½ lengths following a less-than-ideal trip. The versatile 5-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky won last year’s Mr. Prospector by a length before stretching out to 1 1/8 miles to finish a creditable fourth in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream.
Kelly Breen-trained Firenze Fire, who finished two lengths clear of Diamond Oops in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, had previously captured the Vosburgh (G2) at Belmont Park. Other 2020 wins for Firenze Fire include the True North (G2), also at Belmont, and the General George (G3) at Laurel Park.
The $100,000 Via Borghese, a 1 3/16-mile turf stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up, will be a supporting feature to the Mr. Prospector. The list of 21 nominations includes the Christophe Clement-trained duo of Mutamakina and Traipsing, who finished 1-2 in the Long Island (G3) at Belmont last time out. Jose Carroll-trained Court Return, a late developing 4-year-old filly who finished second in a photo finish for the E. P. Taylor (G1) at Woodbine, is also prominent among nominees.
Press Release Gulfstream Park / Photo Credit: Coglianese Photo
