LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With just a furlong to go Saturday in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, more than half the field was still ahead of Shamrock Rose. But not unlike last year, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. summoned a tremendous surge from his mount, and Shamrock Rose was up in the final couple of jumps to prevail in a four-horse photo in a dramatic 12th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint, the first of nine straight Saturday BC events at Churchill Downs. At 25-1, Shamrock Rose gave Ortiz a second straight upset in the seven-furlong Filly-Mare Sprint, following a 66-1 stunner by Bar of Gold at Del Mar, while also becoming the first 3-year-old to win the seven-furlong race. Mark Casse trains Shamrock Rose, a Pennsylvania-bred daughter of First Dude, for the Conrad Farms of Manfred and Penny Conrad, who spent $130,000 to have the bay filly supplemented to the race. “We all had a lot of faith in the filly,” said Casse, who was winning his fifth Breeders’ Cup race, all since 2015. “They put up the money and the filly vindicated their decision.” Amid bright sunshine and over a fast track, Selcourt gunned to the early lead from her rail post, getting a quarter in 21.89 and the half in 44.99 seconds while Happy Like a Fool gave dogged pursuit. Just behind them, Chalon and jockey Javier Castellano were loaded, and passing the quarter-pole, they charged past the tiring leaders and quickly opened daylight on the others. Even with 40 yards to go, Chalon still had the advantage, but Shamrock Rose, having split rivals without losing an iota of momentum after trailing past the three-eighths pole, lunged ahead in the final couple of jumps, a head in front of Chalon, a 14-1 shot. Shamrock Rose returned $53.80 after finishing in 1:23.13. “I let her be happy,” Ortiz said. “She settled nice for me. When I dropped in and got through horses, she came running.” “I got good position right from the start and we were going good,” Castellano said. “She gave me everything she had and that was really good.” Behind the top two, Anonymity (31-1) and Marley’s Freedom (the 9-10 favorite) also were in the picture, just another neck and head behind, respectively. For Marley’s Freedom, who was fanned wide under Mike Smith after digging an early hole for herself, the defeat snapped a four-race win streak, ending with the Grade 1 Ballerina in an effort that helped make her a prohibitive choice. “I am pretty disappointed,” said Bob Baffert, trainer of Marley’s Freedom. “She tried, but she was just not good enough today. She didn’t have her punch today, didn’t run her race.” Shamrock Rose was wheeling back just two weeks after defeating 3-year-olds in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland. The Filly-Mare Sprint was her fourth straight win, with a couple of ungraded stakes wins over synthetic surfaces at Presque Isle Downs and Woodbine prior to the Raven Run. Said Casse: “It was like 36 years ago, I remember (the late Hall of Fame trainer) Allen Jerkens saying, ‘Run ‘em when they’re good and give them a rest when they’re running bad.' " After her form went sour in the spring, “we turned her out to our farm (in Ocala, Fla.), and they did a great job. Ever since she came back, she’s been  a terror. I thought her race at Keeneland was exceptional. She came out of it really well, and here we are.” Shamrock Rose will get some time off before returning to training in Florida for a 4-year-old campaign, Casse said. The $2 exacta (14-6) paid $720, the $1 trifecta (14-6-12) returned $6,121, and the 10-cent superfecta (14-6-12-13) was worth $2,805.86. After the top four, Golden Mischief was another three lengths back in fifth and was followed by Happy Like a Fool, Finley’sluckycharm, Highway Star, Mia Mischief, Skye Diamonds, Stormy Embrace, Selcourt, Kirby’s Penny, and Miss Sunset. Four starters in the Filly-Mare Sprint are entered to be sold Sunday at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington: Finley’sluckycharm, Miss Sunset, Selcourt, and Skye Diamonds.