Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

A former claimer took on Thoroughbred racing’s elite at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and emerged with the title not once, but for the second consecutive year.

Picked up when he was running for a $40,000 claiming price in October 2016, Stormy Liberal won the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint by a head at Del Mar in a blanket finish at odds of 30-1. This year at Churchill Downs, his odds were much lower at 7-1 — but the victory was still no easy task.

With 2-1 favorite World of Trouble on the lead on the hedge, the 6-year-old Stormy Atlantic gelding ranged up with a bold, three-wide move off the turn for home. He looked the favorite in the eye and found a stubborn foe, and the two hooked up for a head-to-head battle down the stretch.

Stormy Liberal has been known to wait on horses when he finds company in the lane, but Rockingham Ranch’s Brian Trump said he’s just clever enough to know when his maximum effort is needed.

“He’s a very, very smart horse,” Trump said. “He just knows where the wire is.”

Stride by stride, 3-year-old World of Trouble refused to yield, but just inside the final sixteenth, Stormy Liberal finally gained the advantage and edged ahead by a neck. It was 7 1/4 lengths back to Disco Partner in third. The final time for 5 1/2 furlongs was 1:04.05 on turf rated yielding.—Claire Crosby