Breeders’ Cup: Cy Fair wins emotional Juvenile Turf Sprint

Cy Fair took the lead in mid-stretch Friday and raced to victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, the first of the 14 championship races being run through Saturday at Del Mar.

Sent off at 5-1 odds in the field of 12 2-year-old fillies, Cy Fair stalked in second behind early leader Schwarzenegger through a first quarter-mile in 21.64 seconds. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Cy Fair to the lead through a 44.33-second half-mile and drew away to win by three-quarters of a length.

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The final time for the five furlongs was 56.02 seconds on the firm turf course. Brussels finished second, Aspect Island third and Obliteration fourth.

Cy Fair is a Not This Time filly trained by George Weaver and owned by Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton. Two members of the Swinbank family survived flooding at youth camps July 4 in Texas, where 27 people were killed six days before Cy Fair won her debut at Saratoga.

“We cannot repay the pain and trauma and suffering that so many felt,” Swinbank told NBC Sports in the winner’s circle. “My kids lived. They were back home with me for that two-minute race. Cy Fair provided a great, needed high-five and smile. For her to continue to do that for my family is just incredible.”

Now in its eighth year, the Juvenile Turf Sprint has become the traditional lead-off race in the Breeders’ Cup lineup. The inaugural running coincided with the decision in 2018 to schedule all the 2-year-old championships on the Friday card.

Between 2021 and 2024, Ireland-breds Twilight Gleaming, Mischief Magic, Big Evs and Magnum Force won the race.

The Juvenile Turf Sprint has been run at five furlongs every year it has been in California. It was 5 1/2 furlongs in 2018, 2020 and 2022, the three years it was in Kentucky.