'We think he's better than ever' - can star US sprinter Cogburn keep the British raiders at bay in the Turf Sprint?

European runners often have the edge over their US counterparts in the turf races at the Breeders’ Cup, but that seldom transpires in the Turf Sprint.

Glass Slippers (2020) remains the only European-trained winner since the Turf Sprint's inaugural running in 2008 and the home team's challenge revolves around Cogburn. The other US-based sprinters are being shunned by the layers.

This five-year-old has taken his form up a notch this campaign and pummelled two-time Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner Khaadem from the front over 6f at Keeneland when last seen in September. That performance, and his previous success in the Jaipur Stakes at Santa Anita, gives Cogburn a small buffer over the European contenders on Racing Post Ratings.

However, stall nine could have been kinder to this prominent racer on this drop back in trip, and the same is true for his chief market rival Bradsell (stall 12).

Could this be the day Believing (one) finally gets her Group 1? Seldom have we seen such a consistent sprinter, and her last three meetings with Bradsell have resulted in defeats of a head, a length and a quarter, and a neck by that rival. The biggest deficit between the pair in that sequence came in the Flying Five when Believing won her group of nine up the centre, while Bradsell came up the near side. This represents a golden chance for redemption.

Other points of British interest are last season’s Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Big Evs (stall 11), Starlust (four) and Star Of Mystery (six). Big Evs flopped in the Nunthorpe last time, but the same happened in the 2023 running before he bounced back in the US. The concern is whether the rest have simply progressed past this precocious sort.

Charlie Appleby’s superb Breeders’ Cup record gives Star Of Mystery a squeak if she can improve, but Starlust rates a likelier outsider to outrun his odds. He is nicely drawn, closely matched with Bradsell and Believing on Nunthorpe form, and shaped better than the result in the Abbaye last time as well as in the previous running of the Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Analysis by Robbie Wilders

Big Evs (left), Believing (centre) and Bradsell: Turf Sprint contenders

What they say

George Boughey, trainer of Believing
I hope the faster ground will allow her to grab the ground early on which she wasn’t able to do in France and Hong Kong. If she can hold her own in the first 150 yards she’ll run a huge race.

Ralph Beckett, trainer of Starlust
He’s got a good draw in four so we’ll probably look to sit handy. On his last run in France, Rossa Ryan went burrowing up the rail but got closed out so he didn’t really have a race. He’s trained well since.

Charlie Appleby, trainer of Star Of Mystery
She put up two good performances at Saratoga, and I was pleased with the way she took to the US style of racing straight away in the Jaipur Stakes. She has a good draw and should be bang there at the finish.

Clark Brewster, part-owner of Cogburn
He’s been remarkable. When he came off a seven-month layoff to win so impressively on the Kentucky Derby undercard we knew he had star quality. He was impressive at Kentucky Downs last time when a hundredth [of a second] off the track record. We think he’s better than ever.

Tom Marquand, rider of Big Evs
He’s very quick, but obviously we’re taking on an American champion in Cogburn. In terms of the wide draw, we’ll come out with the foot on the gas and see how we go. We’ve got Bradsell out with us, who is quick as well.

Hollie Doyle, rider of Bradsell
He’s been incredible this year. Cogburn looks like an out and out front-runner and Big Evs has loads of gate speed and they’re drawn near me, so we’ll have to get off to the best start we can and see where we land.

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