The four-year-old trained by Jack Davison left the track in a horse ambulance after being pulled up while trailing the field by jockey Colin Keane
Irish sprinter She’s Quality had to be transported off the track in a horse ambulance after suffering an injury at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, California, on Saturday. The four-year-old filly, who has earned £250,000, has been a star for Jack Davison with four second-place finishes in Group company during 2025.
She was a live outsider for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint but her race was over almost immediately as she dropped to the rear of the 13-runner field. With the rest of the field drawing further and further away from the filly, her jockey Colin Keane pulled her up on the back stretch.
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She was quickly dismounted and the screens went up around her as veterinarians went to her aid.
Breeders’ Cup on call veterinarian Dr Scott Hay said: “As you could see the jockey had some concern about how She’s Quality was going down the backside. He eased her up on the backside probably out of an abundance of caution.
“She is showing some right hind lameness currently but there is nothing obvious on the limb. She is going to be transported with the equine ambulance to the hospital where our veterinary experts on standby will evaluate what’s going on with her.”
The Breeders’ Cup later said the filly had been released from hospital to return to her barn to be closely monitored after being thoroughly examined by the veterinary team.
Victory went to Shisospicy, co-owned by Qatar Racing, ridden by Irad Ortiz, who set blistering fractions to land the Grade 1 race by a record winning margin of two and a half lengths. Shisospicy was a first Breeders’ Cup win for trainer Jose d’Angelo , who teamed up with Ortiz again in the Sprint to win that race with with Bentornato.
Frankie Dettori, on the first of his three final mounts at the Breeders’ Cup and his last day riding in North America, finished third on the Charlie Hills-trained Khaadem.
The Italian announced on Thursday that he will hang up his boots for good after the meeting, once he has fulfilled some riding commitments in South America.
He said: “By reading the form, I knew they were going to go hard, and I couldn’t ask for any more. For a nine-year-old gelding against the best sprinters in the world, third is quite a good job.
“He thinks he’s two, honestly. The winner was head and shoulders above everybody else. It’s a shame I couldn’t catch Ag Bullet, but third is good enough.
“Full credit to Charlie Hills. A nine-year-old gelding getting third in a Breeders Cup Turf Sprint against the best sprinters in the world, amazing effort.
“The blinkers helped and we’ve done a lot of gate schooling and the race went really well. The winner was far too good but I’m just delighted with the run.”
