Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint hopefuls battle for a berth in the championships Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The Grade 3 $200,000 Princess Rooney, named for the inaugural 1984 Breeders’ Cup Distaff and 1983 Kentucky Oaks winner, lured a field of 8 over its traditional, 7-furlong trip.

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Let’s meet the contenders for the Princess Rooney (Race 10):

#1-VINCEY GIRL: Rallying and runaway winner of the Sheer Drama Stakes August 15 over the track and distance for red-hot trainer Jose D’Angelo. The barn got a big boost when Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up Bentornato returned from a 10-month break to win Churchill Downs’ $300,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes. Race Day filly has split decisions in recent stakes bids with Princess Rooney rival Haulin Ice.

#2-HAULIN ICE: Four-stakes winning streak snapped last out when runner-up to Vincey Girl in the August 16 Sheer Drama. Distance is the concern as she’s 1-for-5 over 7 furlongs, including that recent loss as the 3-5 favorite. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. won this race in 2023 (Three Witches) and 2024 (Soul of an Angel) and had 4 of the 8 entries on Saturday. Edgard Zayas won the 2013 Princess Rooney in its last year at Calder before moving to Gulfstream.

#3-ULTIMATE AUTHORITY: Private purchase has moved from Tim Yakteen’s Santa Anita barn to Saffie Joseph Jr.’s Palm Meadows base. Four works for the new stable, including a bullet Aug. 29 when blistering 3 furlongs in :34.75. Daughter of Practical Joke raced around 2 turns in her last 7 of 8 career starts. Jockey Skyler Spanabel takes the mount on the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes third-place finisher. One of 4 chances here for Joseph’s 3-peat bid in this race.

#4-NERAZURRI: No threat third-place finisher in the Sheer Drama Stakes behind return rivals Vincey Girl and Haulin Ice last out. That was this 3-year-old filly’s first stakes big against elder runners. Runner-up against fellow sophomores in the Azalea prior to that – both recent starts at Saturday’s 7-furlong trip over this track as well as an allowance win in April. Edgar Perez rides for Angel Quiroz. Only a pair of 3-year-olds have won the Princess Rooney since it’s 1985 inaugural, coming in 1986 and 1990.

#5-REPUTATION: Gustavo Delgado trainee returns home after summering at Saratoga and winning an allowance at Ellis Park in Kentucky and the Tyson Gilpin Stakes at Virginia’s Colonial Downs. Bolt d’Oro filly won at Gulfstream in April to break her maiden by more than 8 lengths. She’s raced exclusively vs. 3-year-olds to date and steps up in class under jockey Miguel Vazquez. The last sophomore to win the Princess Rooney came in 1990.

#6-MYSTIC LAKE: Likely favorite for 2-time Princess Rooney winner Saffie Joseph Jr. as he eyes a 3-peat in this race. Mystic Lake won the Sugar Swirl and Grade 2 Inside Information over the Gulfstream main track this past winter and has been a successful road warrior since. She won the Memorial Day Sprint at Lone Star Park in Texas, the Dashing Beauty at Delaware Park and the Pink Ribbon at Charles Town in West Virginia in her last 3 starts. Jockey Reylu Gutierrez takes the reins for the first time on this $1.3 million earner who has won 10 of 19 starts.

#7-GALLOP D’HERMES: Longshot was 93-1 when never threatening several of these rivals last out in the Sheet Drama and 49-1 when no match in the Musical Romance to some of the same. Medaglia d’Oro filly finished a distant eighth in this race last year at 60-1 odds. Trainer Dante Zanelli comes into the racing week 1-for-51 on the year, posting his lone victory on January 18.

#8-CLARET BERET: Fourth and final 3-peat bidder for Saffie Joseph Jr. in the Princess Rooney, this private purchase joined the barn in spring. Not This Time 4-year-old immediately paid dividends with a smashing, 19-3/4 length victory in handicap conditions in May in her only lifetime start at Gulfstream. She took star sprint filly Vahva to a three-quarter length runner-up in the Grade 2 Chicago at Churchill Downs before a troubled trip and tiring sixth in Saratoga’s Grade 1 Ballerina. Micah Husbands was aboard for the Chicago and returns to the saddle.