DEL MAR, Calif. – With a foundation established in 2023, Cogburn has risen to the top of the American turf sprint division this year with three emphatic wins at Churchill Downs, Saratoga, and Kentucky Downs. Now, near the end of his racing career and before he is sent to stud in Kentucky, there is the little matter of a mad dash around a turn in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at five furlongs at Del Mar on Saturday. A blazingly fast 5-year-old, Cogburn may simply scoot clear early and dare his 11 rivals to keep pace, or try to catch him late. “I think last year he acknowledged what a brilliant turf sprinter he could be,” trainer Steve Asmussen reflected earlier this week. :: BREEDERS’ CUP TURF SPRINT: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more “We couldn’t be more comfortable going into the Breeders’ Cup.” Yikes. That is not what the other participants want to hear. A winner of 9 of 15 starts, Cogburn races for Clark Brewster and William and Corinne Heiligbrodt. The only difference between the BC Turf Sprint and his wins in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Turf Sprint in May, the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes at Saratoga in June, and the Grade 2 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint on Sept. 7 is distance. Those races were at 5 1/2 furlongs or six furlongs. Considering Cogburn was clear of his rivals in those races with a furlong remaining, a shorter race on Saturday is unlikely to be an issue. “He’s come back incredibly,” Asmussen said of the difference between Cogburn in 2023 and this year. In 2023, Cogburn won 4 of 7 starts on dirt and turf while frequently racing from off the pace. This year, Cogburn has set the pace or raced very close to the front. Irad Ortiz Jr. has ridden Cogburn in each of his three wins this year, and has the mount on Saturday. “He has had a history of not being exceptional in the gate,” Asmusen said. “This year, Irad has gotten him away very cleanly.” Should Cogburn not have his nose in front early, Asmussen said the horse can still be a factor. “It is comforting to know he has won races when not on the lead,” he said. “His speed puts him there.” Cogburn, who figures to be one of the shorter prices on Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup program, starts from post 9. Many of his rivals tend to run as stalkers, with the exception of the 3-year-old Big Evs, who led throughout the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita last November in his only previous start in the United States. Big Evs, trained in Britain by Mick Appleby, fellow British shipper Bradsell, and the upstart American 3-year-old Howard Wolowitz are typically prominent in turf sprints though not necessarily in front early. Believing, Big Invasion, Isivunguvungu, and Motorious tend to run from farther back. Motorious, trained in California by Phil D’Amato, has not raced since he won the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 31, earning a fees-paid berth for Saturday’s race. Motorious closed from well behind to win the Green Flash Handicap by three-quarters of a length after a wide rally. Fifth in the 2023 BC Turf Sprint at Santa Anita, Motorious will need a trouble-free trip to win on Saturday. “We’ve learned that we can’t change his style,” D’Amato said. “You have to let him come running, no matter how the race shapes on paper. “He’s been effective at five furlongs. At five furlongs with the best horses in the country, we’ll see.” A second to Cogburn may be rated a success, D’Amato said. “That’s the horse to beat,” D’Amato said. Bradsell, Big Evs, and Believing have all won Group 1 or Group 2 sprint stakes in Britain and France on straightaway courses since July. Bradsell and Believing were first and second in two late-summer Group 1 races at five furlongs – the Nunthorpe Stakes on good-to-firm turf at York in Britain on Aug. 23 and the Flying Five Stakes on good turf at the Curragh in Ireland on Sept. 15. They were second and third despite troubled trips in the final furlong of the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye at five furlongs on soft turf at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris on Oct. 6. Big Evs, who has not raced since an eighth-place finish in the Nunthorpe, won the Group 2 King George Stakes on good-to-firm turf at five furlongs at Goodwood on Aug. 2, a race in which Believing was third. Big Evs was near the front throughout. This will be the first starts in the United States for Bradsell and Believing, although that was not the plan. Bradsell was withdrawn from the 2023 BC Turf Sprint at Santa Anita by trainer Archie Watson three days before the race. Bradsell has won 3 of 4 starts this year in Britain, France, and Ireland. The form of the South African-bred gelding Isivunguvungu is more difficult to assess. Not that many top-class South African runners have started in major stakes in the United States in recent years. Trained by Graham Motion in Maryland, Isivunguvungu was a two-time Group 1 winner in turf sprints in South Africa in 2023 and won his American debut in the Da Hoss Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Colonial Downs on Sept. 7. Isivunguvungu closed from fourth of eight to lead in early stretch, holding on to win by a neck. “I think he’s legit,” Motion said. “He’s had a race over here or he might not have gotten [into the BC Turf Sprint field].” Big Invasion was second by a neck in the 2023 BC Turf Sprint despite racing in traffic in early stretch. This year, Big Invasion has managed only one win in six starts, closing from eighth of nine to win the Harvey Pack Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Saratoga by a head on Sept. 2. In the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on Sept. 28, Big Invasion closed ground to be third in the stretch, eventually finishing fourth. The BC Turf Sprint is Big Invasion’s first start at five furlongs on turf since he finished a fast-closing fourth in the Silks Run Stakes at Gulfstream Park in March in his 2024 debut. “He was unlucky a few times,” said trainer Christophe Clement. Even through a season with more losses than wins, Big Invasion is not a runner to dismiss in Clement’s view. “I call him a lively contender,” he said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.