Glass Slippers, a four-year-old daughter of Dream Ahead,  trained by Kevin Ryan, became the first European-trained winner of the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland Saturday night, finishing strongly from midfield under Tom Eaves to record a historic victory.

The only European contender among a highly-competitive 14-strong field of the best turf sprinters in America, she was held up in midfield as Into Mystic (Into Mischief) set the pace up front, with the favourite Leinster (Majestic Warrior), a course and distance Gr.2 scorer last time, prominent and Gr.3 winner Wet Your Whistle (Stroll) held up well towards the rear. Rounding the turn Glass Slippers made progress up the rail as Wildman Jack (Goldencents) took a narrowly lead, strongly challenged by Leinster and Gr.1-winning mare Got Stormy (Get Stormy). Approaching the final furlong Glass Slippers began to hit full stride and she ran on powerfully, bursting between runners to hit the front on the run to the line. Wet Your Whistle finished best of all on the wide outside to grab second, but Glass Slippers was not for catching and she stayed on well close home to score an historic half-length win and become the fourth female winner of the race, with Leinster another half-length back in third. So says the EBN analysis

Winner of the Gr.1 Prix de l’Abbaye last year and the Gr.1 Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh in September, after finishing fifth to Battaash on her seasonal debut in the Gr.1 King’s Stand Stakes and runner-up to him in the Gr.2 King George Stakes, this was a third Gr.1 triumph for Glass Slippers, who seems to come into her own at this time of year and has now won seven of her 17 starts. She becomes her sire’s third Group 1 winner of 2020 founding off another good year for him.  Hopefully his commercial star is in the ascendency!