DEL MAR, Calif. - Trainer Wesley Ward continued his domination of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, winning the race for the third consecutive year when Twilight Gleaming registered a wire-to-wire half-length victory over the late-running Go Bears Go to kick off the 2021 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on Friday. Twilight Gleaming was one of three 2-year-olds, all fillies, Ward ran in the five-furlong Juvenile Turf Sprint along with Kaufymaker, who finished third, and the previously undefeated Averly Jane, who checked home fifth as the 9-5 favorite in just the fourth running of the newest race on the Breeders’ Cup agenda.  Twilight Gleaming entered the Juvenile Turf Sprint with two wins and two seconds in four starts but had been idle since winning the Prix de la Vallee d’Auge Stakes at Deauville on Aug. 7. She had finished a game second in her previous start, in the Grade 2 Queen Mary at Ascot nearly eight weeks earlier. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with recaps, results, charts, news, and more for each division “After she won on the grass at Belmont and ran second in the Queen Mary, we knew we had a special filly,” said Ward. “And after she won the race in France, the plan was to give her good spacing and wait for this race. And I was confident coming in she’d run big the way she had been working. Every work at Keeneland just kept getting better and better.” Much to Ward’s surprise, it was Twilight Gleaming who broke on top and controlled the pace of the Juvenile Turf Sprint with the speedy Averly Jane racing in fourth position in the run down the backstretch. Twilight Gleaming disposed of the pace-pressing One Timer after a half-mile, edged clear through midstretch, then withstood a late surge by Go Bears Go. Go Bears Go broke a step slowly, saved ground while near the rear of the pack in the run down the backstretch, eased out for the drive, and was going strongly at the end. Kaufymaker angled out leaving the turn and kicked on willingly down the center of the track to nip the unlucky Derrynane for third. Derrynane checked back to last in the opening furlong and was going best of all at the end.  Twilight Gleaming, an Irish-bred daughter of National Defense, is owned by Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables. She completed the distance in 56.24 seconds over the firm course under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and paid $12.40. Twilight Gleaming earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure. Ortiz had also been aboard Ward’s winners in this race the past two years. Ward admitted he was just as surprised as most everyone else to see Twilight Gleaming on the lead. “Honestly, I thought she’d be in the second tier because Averly Jane and One Timer are so fast,” Ward said. “But she was just so mentally fresh coming into this race you could tell she would break that way, and when she popped out of there in front like that, I was feeling pretty good.” Ortiz said he didn’t discuss any strategy before the race with Ward. “I knew she had some speed,” Ortiz said. “I was just going to play the break, and I knew nobody was going to beat her the way she broke today. I thought the key for her was to beat Averly Jane to the lead. She won the race right there. She was drifting a little bit on the turn and I didn’t want to fight her too much. I went with her a little earlier than I wanted and she did great. In the last couple of jumps, when I asked her, she gave me a little more.” As for Averly Jane, Ward said, “It looked like she didn’t get hold of the track the first part.” And when asked what the secret was to winning the Juvenile Turf Sprint for a third consecutive year, Ward’s response was short and simple. “Fast horses,” he said. :: Save up to 36% with a DRF Breeders' Cup Package! Includes PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. David Loughnane trains runner-up Go Bears Go, who was ridden by John Velazquez. He said the start may have been the difference between winning and losing the Juvenile Turf Sprint. “I’m a bit emotional, really,” said Loughnane. “He’s a superstar. He’s been life-changing for us. He just sat in the gates for half a stride, which might have cost him the race, but I can’t be disappointed. Johnny gave him a super ride and on another day he might have won. It’s a massive day for my career.”