Sprint Division

FLEETING SPIRIT-IR
Owner: The Searchers
Trainer: Jeremy Noseda
Pedigree: B.f.,4, by Invincible Spirit – Millennium Tale, by Distant Relations

Positives: Fleeting Spirit will be making her second appearance in a Breeders’ Cup event — she finished a highly respectable fourth in the Turf Sprint in 2008 — and while she very well could win that affair this year, or perhaps even the Filly and Mare Sprint, her connections have opted for arguably the toughest race of the three, the BC Sprint against the males. Jeremy Noseda once trained a string at Santa Anita for a few years, so he should know what it takes to beat the best American sprinters at their own game. It won’t be easy, even for a high class filly that has competed successfully against the best European sprinting colts in six consecutive Group-1s. Most recently she overcame a slow start to miss narrowly by a neck in the 5f Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp-G1 on Arc day and during the summer she accounted for the 6f July Cup-G1 at Newmarket, earning a career top 123 Racing Post Rating. While admittedly comparing apples to oranges, it is worth noting that Midnight Lute was assigned a 128 RPR for his victory in last year’s BC Sprint, further underling the difficulty of the task at hand. But Fleeting Spirit, first or second in 10 of 13 career starts with earnings in excess of $1.1 million, isn’t likely to be intimidated.

Concerns: This will be her first start over an all-weather surface but her connections have stated that they expect her to adapt very well. There is very little kick back over the Pro-Ride at Santa Anita, thus the closers are not placed in any real disadvantage (witness Midnight Lute last year). Clearly, if Fleeting Spirit is to make any impression she will have to do so from off the pace. However, most of her runs have been on straightaway courses and if she cannot gain a reasonably favorable early position — perhaps mid pack outside — she might have a whole lot to do with only a three sixteenths of a mile run in from the top of the lane to the wire.

Bottom Line: Fillies have run well in the BC Sprint in the past — Very Subtle demolished the boys in 1988, Safely Kept missed by a neck in 1989 and then won the following year; Meafara was beaten in photo finishes in both 1992 and 1993; Soviet Problem was caught in the final stride in 1994; Desert Stormer sprung a 14-1 surprise in ’95; and Honest Lady (in 2000) and Xtra Heat (in 2001) both finished second while running winning races in defeat. There won’t be many challenging the males in the BC Sprint anymore; the fillies and mares have their own race. Fleeting Spirit is a world class sprinting filly, no question, but unless her connections believe she simply cannot handle seven furlongs there seemed little reason to choose this race over the one strictly for distaffers.