LEXINGTON, Ky. – Bearstone Stud Limited’s Glass Slippers (GB) ($22.40) weaved her way through horses in midstretch and then held off a late bid from Wet Your Whistle by a half-length to win the 13th running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) Saturday afternoon at Keeneland.
Trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Tom Eaves, Glass Slippers covered the 5 1/2 furlongs on a turf course rated as good in 1:01.53. It is the first Breeders’ Cup victory for Ryan and Eaves.
Into Mystic and Texas Wedge set the pace while Eaves saved ground along the rail until the stretch. At midstretch, he moved Glass Slippers off the rail, split horses in surging to the front and held on for the victory.
Wet Your Whistle finished a half-length in front of Leinster for second.
The victory was worth $550,000 and made Glass Slippers a millionaire with earnings of $1,153,796 with a record of 17-7-3-1. It is the third Grade or Group 1 victory for the 4-year-old daughter of Dream Ahead out of the Mind Games (GB) mare Night Gypsy (GB).
Race Quotes:
Winning trainer Kevin Ryan (Glass Slippers (GB)) – “Awesome. I’m ecstatic. To come and compete against the best sprinters in the world and beat them is just amazing. She’s been great all week. Every day getting fresher and cantering on the turf track every morning. I said to Tom earlier in the week now you’re going quicker running into bend let’s see how she changes her legs and straight away no issues at all in the bend. I knew then we were in business. We decided going on a brave ride up the inner and go the shortest route and if it didn’t work such is life. Today was our day.”
Winning jockey Tom Eaves (Glass Slippers (GB)) – “I talked to Ryan Moore who rode her in her last race. He knows the track well. That was the right thing to sit down there and ride for a bit of luck. It paid off.”
“It’s just brilliant. We arrived on Monday and we exercised her on the turf track all week. We also walked it a couple of times. I spoke to Ryan Moore beforehand for some advice on how to ride the track. What a training performance. She’s been great all year so come to and win it’s unreal. She’s raced round a bend before but the plan was to go on the instead and ride for a bit of luck. We had a great run through which doesn’t always work but it did today. To have a Breeders’ Cup winner Is amazing and a day I won’t forget. She’ll be in training again next year.”
Second-place trainer Mike Trombetta (Wet Your Whistle) – “He is a genuine horse – always shows up and gives us his best. I was a little concerned with the course because when we ran him at Laurel (where he finished sixth in Laurel Dash on Sept. 7), he didn’t want to have anything to do with the soft turf. Obviously, he didn’t have any problem with this course. If he broke (from the gate) a little sharper, things might have been a little better.”
On early part of race:
“I thought ‘oh no, not today.’ (But) he is versatile. I think 5 1/2 furlongs is his preference.”
Second-place jockey Jose Ortiz (Wet Your Whistle) – “He broke a little slow. I didn’t want to hurry him. It was a fast pace. When I asked him, he gave me everything he had.”
Third-place trainer Rusty Arnold (Leinster) – “He ran his butt off, he did. When they come over and do that you can’t complain. When they run that hard for you, no complaints. I loved where he was at and he had his run at them. He ran great. They all closed and Luis (Saez) said even until the last 50 yards he thought he was going to be able to win.”
Third-place jockey Luis Saez (Leinster) – “He tried pretty hard. When we came to the straight he was barreling. The winner was pretty good. He got through and he kept rolling. My horse tried. I’m so proud of him.”
Fourth-place trainer Brendan Walsh (Extravagant Kid) – “Blinder. (Jockey) Umberto (Rispoli) is convinced if he had been better draw, he’d have been right there. That’s turf sprints for you. He ran well and he showed up. He got the ride we wanted and you couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Fifth-place trainer Mark Casse (Got Stormy) – “She ran good. Scared me. He had to check her right at the wire. I thought something happened to her, but she’s OK. I haven’t talked to Tyler, but she had a good trip. She broke running today. They just beat her today. She ran hard.”
Fifth-place jockey Tyler Gaffalione (Got Stormy) – “I had a good trip. Just not good enough today.”
Press Release
Glass Slippers, ridden by Tom Eaves, wins the Turf Sprint on Breeders’ Cup Championship Saturday at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 7, 2020. Candice Chavez/Breeders’ Cup/Eclipse Sportswire/CSM
