Ce Ce

Ce Ce (Elusive Quality)'s upset victory over heavily favored Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint appeared to make all the difference Thursday, as she was named champion female sprinter. The Bo Hirsch homebred, previously a MGISW at route distances, cut back last season for a breakthrough win in Gulfstream's GII Princess Rooney S. in July. She also took October's GIII Chillingworth S. before her 6-1 score at Del Mar in the Breeders' Cup. The now 6-year-old Michael McCarthy representative was last seen finishing second in the...

Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), last seen upsetting the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 6, returns to launch her 6-year-old campaign in Saturday's GII Santa Monica S. at Santa Anita. The 2020 GI Apple Blossom H. and GI Beholder Mile S. heroine focused on races going around one turn during her 2021 campaign. In addition to her victory at the Championships, her season also included strong wins in the GII Princess Rooney Invitational at Gulfstream July 3 and GIII Chillingworth S. at Santa Anita Oct....

GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint heroine Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) could launch her 6-year-old campaign in the GII Santa Monica S. at Santa Anita, trainer Michael McCarthy told the Santa Anita notes team before adding that she remains a possibility for the GII Inside Information S. on Pegasus Day at Gulfstream Park next Saturday, Jan. 29. A run in the Santa Monica would come five days before the 2021 Eclipse Award ceremonies, where Ce Ce is among the three candidates for champion female sprinter. "We're very proud of...

It had looked as though she had missed her cue. If the notoriously random behaviors of the Thoroughbred were really governed by some benign destiny, Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) would surely have recognized her prompt last year in the Grade I race named for the father of her owner-breeder Bo Hirsch. As it was, she was jostled leaving the gate in the Clement L. Hirsch S., took a wide trip and had to make do with third. So there you had it. We couldn't deceive ourselves that anybody up there...

DEL MAR, CA - With all eyes on defending champion and 2-5 favorite Gamine (Into Mischief) and star 3-year-old Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot), it was Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) who came rolling over the top in the stretch to upend Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar. Last year's Filly & Mare Sprint heroine Gamine, looking to become only the second two-time winner of the race following Groupie Doll (Bowman's Band), went to the front, as expected, and was shadowed by GI Longines Test S. heroine...

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine (Into Mischief), last year's Eclipse champion female sprinter, aims for her fifth straight victory in the GI Ketel One Ballerina S.--a Win and You're In event for the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint--at Saratoga Saturday. Gamine capped her championship campaign with a 6 1/4-length romp in last year's F/M Sprint and she has been largely unchallenged in three starts so far this term. The bay filly opened 2021 with a five-length score in the Apr. 4 GIII Las Flores S. and added the May 1 GI...

Southern California-based Ce Ce ventured all the way to Florida to stamp her ticket to the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint back at Del Mar. A winner of both the GI Beholder Mile and GI Apple Blossom H. last term, the homebred went winless for the rest of the season, including when fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 7. She cut back and gained some confidence with an Apr. 17 optional claiming win going this distance at Santa Anita, but could only manage fourth--again around two...

Bo Hirsch's Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), a multiple Grade I winner going two turns, will look for her first sprint stakes score when shipping cross-country for a try in the GII Princess Rooney S., a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" qualifier, Saturday at Gulfstream. Laid up after a fourth-place run in the GI Acorn S. as a sophomore in 2019, the homebred returned last February at Santa Anita with a sharp allowance score and kept it rolling with back-to-back top-level tallies in the Beholder Mile S. and Apple Blossom...

A scratched-down field of four, led by co-headliners As Time Goes By (American Pharoah) and Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), will line up in Saturday's GII Santa Maria S. at Santa Anita. The well-bred As Time Goes By, a half-sister to champion Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song) from the immediate family of Omaha Beach (War Front) and Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), followed a strong second behind Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in the GI Beholder Mile S. Mar. 13 with a blowout, front-running win in the GII Santa Margarita S. Apr. 24....

Serengeti Empress (Alternation) sparkled in a front-running display in the Aug. 8 GI Ballerina S. at Saratoga and will try to make it two straight with a win in Saturday's GI Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill Downs. While the Ballerina's opening fractions of :21.75 and :43.74 would have been enough to incinerate most rivals, they merely served as a stepping stone to victory for the speedy filly as the 2019 Kentucky Oaks heroine finished one length clear of the hard-trying yet second-best Bellafina (Quality Road), who returns to re-oppose...

A competitive field, highlighted by three top-level scorers, are set to face off Sunday in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) scored back-to-back wins in the Mar. 14 GI Beholder Mile and Apr. 18 GI Apple Blossom H. Favored to repeat in the GII Santa Maria S. back at Santa Anita, she could only manage third behind the re-opposing Fighting Mad (New Year's Day) and 'TDN Rising Star' Hard Not to Love...

A highly anticipated rematch of the GI Beholder Mile S. is on tap in Sunday's GII Santa Maria S. at Santa Anita. Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), an impressive 3 1/4-length breakthrough winner over 'TDN Rising Star' Hard Not to Love (Hard Spun) in that affair Mar. 14, just got up in time by a head after a very wide trip in a loaded renewal of Oaklawn's GI Apple Blossom H. last time Apr. 18. Also previously under consideration for Belmont's GI Ogden Phipps S. June 13, Ce Ce looks for...