Ce Ce surprises Gamine in Breeders' Cup Sprint Hot favourite Gamine could finish only third behind Ce Ce in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar. Winner of the race 12 months ago, Gamine, trained by Bob Baffert, had gone unbeaten leading into the race this season but had not shown the brilliance that earmarked her performances as a three-year-old. Gamine set out to make all as she has done in the past, but she was never allowed to dominate, despite facing only four rivals, and one of those, Proud Emma, was tailed off throughout. She was firstly challenged by Edgeway on the inside, before Bella Sofia made her move on the outer turning for home. Ce Ce was last to stake her claim, but came with a late rattle under Victor Espinoza to provide trainer Michael McCarthy with a second Breeders’ Cup win. Baffert said of Gamine’s eclipse: “She broke well but was hassled and I part blame myself for not teaching her to lay off the pace. “I knew the winner was going to be the one to beat, it just wasn’t Gamine’s day and I could see she was struggling, but we’ve had a great run with her.” McCarthy said of the winner: “It was almost too good to be true the way the pace stacked up and Victor has done a really great job keeping her away from those two fillies. “When she got the heads up in the stretch and reached the quarter-pole I certainly got excited, and at the eighth it was over.” Espinoza said: “As long as my body functions right, I want to carry on. I trained and got prepared for this because Ce Ce is a great filly. “I think she can run any distance, but it was hard to time it. I think that at seven-eighths she is a champion.”
