As expected, there's a full field of 14 for the Breeders Cup Turf Sprint, with two also-eligibles just in case. Here's the field, with the BC's own morning-line odds:
Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint
$1,000,000
Three-Year-Olds and Up
About 6 1/2 Furlongs (Turf)
Saturday, November 7, 2009 (ABC, 2:23 p.m. ET) The oddsmaker, and most of the pundits, make Angel Penna Jr.'s Diamondrella one of the favorites at 4-1, just behind the 7-2 favorite, last year's pacesetter California Flag, who faded out of the picture in 2008 after dueling in insane fractions with Mr. Nightlinger. With a thundering herd behind him, California Flag will face the same scenario this year, and probably won't be able to get away with the slightly easier fractions that he ran in winning the Morvich Handicap on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita a few weeks ago.
English bookmaker William Hill has those two as the favorites in the same order, although at a slightly more generous 9-2 for California Flag and 6-1 for Diamondrella.
Diamondrella, a five-year-old daughter of Rock of Gibraltar out of the Dixieland Heat mare Tap Your Feet, is 3-for-4 this year, including wins in the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes in New York and, most recently, the one-mile First Lady Stakes at Keeneland.
She faces a tough task in the BC Turf Sprint, turning back from a two-turn mile to a hell-for-leather charge down the hill at Santa Anita. In addition, bad weather in New York this past weekend aborted Penna's plans to work her on the turf at Belmont, and he had to settle for a brisk half-mile breeze on the main track.
Diamondrella shipped out to Santa Anita on Tuesday, so she'll have just a couple of days to get accustomed to the track. In contrast, most of the other Eastern and Midwest invaders have been there for longer, which seems to be the right way to go. Late ship-ins from other parts of the US fared very poorly at last year's BC. This year, Cannonball, Silver Timber and Canadian Ballet have all been at Santa Anita long enough to have one or more serious works over the track, which has to help their chances.
I've admired Angel Penna's training, especially on turf, for years. His stars have included Perfect Arc, Draw Shot, Laugh and Be Merry and Christmas Past, just to mention turf stakes winners. But, like a number on New York-based trainers, he's not overly fond of shipping to California. In this case, however, waiting until the last minute may, alas, be the wrong strategy.
The Turf Sprint is shaping up as a terrific betting race - if only one could predict the winner.