Turbulent Descent Favored in F&M Sprint

Brilliance is a rare trait to come by when considering the tremendous size of each Thoroughbred foal crop, but 3-year-old Turbulent Descent has it in spades, and will attempt to flaunt it as the 6-5 morning line favorite in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) Nov. 4.

Turbulent Descent has made a tremendous impression on the racetrack in the days leading up to the race. Her plain brown coat wraps around a lithe, powerful body, and after twice winning grade I events around two turns, she is back to sprinting, proving trainer Mike Puype correct in the Test Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 6 that going one turn is her best game.

“She finishes her sprints with a tremendous amount of energy,” Puype noted. “And as good as she is, her mind is actually her best attribute.”

Owned by the Blinkers On Racing Stable syndicate, Turbulent Descent has won six of her eight starts and has twice been second. She is undefeated in her four sprint tries. Turbulent Descent, who enjoys sitting in a tracking position in her races, has drawn post 3 for the Filly & Mare Sprint. The daughter of Congrats   was selected out of the Ocala Breeders Sale Company’s April auction of 2-year-olds by former trainer Greg Gilchrist for $160,000.

Turbulent Decent's biggest threat figures to be the 4-year-old Switch, a hickory-tough performer who has run in 16 consecutive stakes events since breaking her maiden at first asking. Fifteen of those stakes were graded.

Switch has run from six to nine furlongs, and her biggest win to date came last December in the La Brea Stakes (gr.I) at Santa Anita going seven furlongs, the distance she will be asked to travel in the Breeders’ Cup. Switch famously finished a close second to Zenyatta in last year’s Ladies Secret Stakes (gr. I), grudgingly giving way close to the wire. This season she has finished second to both Blind Luck and Havre de Grace, each time by less than a length. She was most recently third in the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland at six furlongs after leaving from the outside gate in a race trainer John Sadler feels sets her up perfectly for the Filly & Mare Sprint, where she finished second a year ago.

Switch is the 3-1 second choice in the race, and starts from the 6 post.

Pomeroys Pistol is the only other filly at single digits on the morning line. She is listed at 6-1 and drew the 12 hole, one from the outside. Pomeroys Pistol is a multiple grade II winner, coming in off a victory in the Sept. 24 Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II) at Belmont. She also won the Forward Gal (gr. II) at Gulfstream early this season. The Amy Tarrant owned-and-trained Pomeroys Pistol was second in the Test to Turbulent Descent by 3 3/4 lengths.

Bob Baffert will send out Irish Gypsy from the rail. The 5-year-old Hennessy mare has won six of 16 starts, her last victory coming in the A Gleam Handicap (gr. II) at Hollywood Park in July. She is owned by Mike Pegram and John Sikura.

Tanda could be a live longshot in the Filly & Mare Sprint. She is a speedy 4-year-old who won the Rancho Bernardo Handicap (gr. III) at Del Mar in August and has butted heads with Irish Gypsy twice over the summer, each winning once. Tanda defeated Switch in last year’s Hollywood Park Railbird Stakes (gr. III) by a half length. She was transferred this summer to the Mike Mitchell barn from Dan Hendricks.

Tar Heel Mom, with 30 starts under her belt, is the most experienced of the runners. She is a multiple grade II winner, most recently in the Aug. 7 Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga. Stanley Hough trains for Alex Rankin.

Her Smile, who broke through with a win in the Prioress (gr. I) at Belmont July 4, will try to make more fireworks here. She ran poorly at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) earlier this season after being purchased privately by Bobby Flay, and has been soundly defeated in her two outs since the Prioress.