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!

Insightful (Dream Ahead) had been unplaced in his first three starts before winning this nicely. He is a full-brother to the Listed Carnarvon Stakes winner Visionary, as well as winners Attorney Thinker and Forward Thinker, out of the placed Avodale (Lawman). She is a half-sister to two winners out of the winner Aldovea (Nashwan), who is a half-sister to the Listed Prix de Pontarme winner and Gr.2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte runner- up Bashaayeash (Fairy King) and the winner Truffle (Ezzoud; dam of the Gr.1 Prix Maurice de Gheest-placed Belliflore). The third dam is the unraced Queen Cake (Sandhurst Prince). This is the same female line as Gr.1 winners Al Hareb, Snowland, Myboycharlie, Tarascon and The Last Lion.

Be Ahead (Dream Ahead) had been placed twice at Deauville and once at Chantilly this summer and, dropped back in trip and switched to the all-weather, won well here after leading for the second half of the race She is a full-sister to the multiple sprint winners Fiery Spice and Midsummer Knight and a half-sister to the dual 5f scorer More Spice (Exceed And Excel). They are among the first five foals out of High Spice (Songandaprayer), who won three times over the minimum trip. She is a half-sister to three North American winners, including the dam of the Gr.3- placed Braeval, out of the US Gr.3 runner-up Erin Moor (Holy Bull). The third dam, the unraced Willa Joe (El Gran Senor), produced eight winners from her 16 foals, headed by Gr.3 victrix Willa On The Move (Two Punch; dam of Stakes winner Grecian Maiden), the Gr.1-placed Dream Saturday (Any Given Saturday) and the dams of Stakes winners Safe Trip and River Rush. Willa Joe’s half-siblings include Gr.1 winners Will’s Way (Easy Goer) and another US-bred mare confusingly called Willa On The Move (Assert), this one foaled 14 years before her niece and winner of the 1988 Gr.1 Ashland Stakes.

Congratulations to the new connections of Midsummer Knight (GB), 4yo gelding, ex High Spice (Songandaprayer)  winning over the minimum at Al Rayyan, Qatar, on the 06 Mar.