Ladies Turn ... Kentucky Oaks Countdown

The Terrific 13 1. Dancinginherdreams (Tapit) - How good were this gray filly‘s first two races? A maiden romp at Keeneland and a coasting win in the Pocahontas were both late-running poetry and visually stunning … sky’s the limit. 2. Awesome Feather (Awesome of Course ) She had the perfect year … 6 for 6, a Breeders’ Cup winner, and soon to be champion. How could I not rate her #1? That’s how impressive the top one has been in two races. 3. Turbulent Descent (Congrats) - Congrats continues to be a hot freshman sire, and this undefeated Californian might be the best of bunch. It will be interesting to see her tackle two-turns for the first time. 4. R Heat Lightning (Trippi) - I’m not sure that 9 furlongs will be her best distance, but the Todd Pletcher trainee has proven her toughness against the best of competition at several different tracks. 5. Royal Delta (Empire Maker) - The maiden win at Belmont was big, very big. Regally bred, it looks like Bill Mott has a sure fire distance star, and one that should handle any surface. 6. Summer Laugh (Distorted Humor) - My Demoiselle pick has been away for awhile, but she showed flashes of her ability this Summer at Saratoga. Her dam, Summer Colony was one of my favorites. 7. Aide (Arch) - The female version of Blame? Aide absolutely ran away and hid from an allowance field last month at Churchill Downs. The 19 3/4 length victory at Churchill Downs will send her headfirst into stakes company. 8. May Day Rose (Rockport Harbor) - Wire to wire winner of the Sharp Cat stakes is not getting a lot of ink yet, but she has already proven she can handle the distance, and may be the horse to beat in the upcoming Hollywood Starlet for trainer Bob Baffert. 9. Rigoletta (Concerto) - Dan Hendricks filly improved every start culminating with a hard fought win in the Grade 1 Oak Leaf. A splint injury kept her on the shelf for the BC, but she should return in a few months. 10. A Z Warrior (Bernardini) - The impressive winner of the Frizette did not run a lick in the Juvenile Fillies. I think that was too bad to believe, and Baffert says she came out of the race with a foot bruise. Hollywood Starlet could offer quick redemption. 11. Delightful Mary (Limehouse) - Canadian shipper for Mark Casse accounted for herself well in her first race in America with a 3rd place finish in the Breeders’ Cup. Distance could be a question. 12. Hailey d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) - Jackson, Asmussen, and Medaglia d’Oro have a star filly? Sounds very familiar. Her first race was a pip, but she has a long way to go to enter Rachel’s rarified air. 13. Believe in A.P. (A.P. Indy) - She was a well beaten 4th in the Juvenile Fillies, but this filly is bred to develop as she matures and run all day. Her win at Philadelphia two starts back was very impressive. Here is Turbulent Descent‘s second lifetime start … Flores sits chilly-willy!

Eclipse Awards … at First Blush

The Breeders’ Cup can make or break a horse’s quest to be named an Eclipse Award winner, and that may be especially true this year. The excitement over the past few days at Churchill Downs not only drew great emotion, it also went a long way in deciding who would be named a champion at year‘s end. With less than two months remaining in the calendar year there are several big races yet to be run. What impact any of those races may have is questionable though, as the Breeders’ Cup appears to have put most of the divisional championships firmly in the grasp of the following ten horses. Two-Year-Old Filly - Awesome Feather left Calder unbeaten and untested, now she is an undefeated Breeders’ Cup champion and has clinched the juvenile filly championship.  As of today, she is owned by Frank Stronach. Two-Year-Old Colt - Uncle Mo is an electrifying and undefeated Breeders’ Cup champion and has sewn up the divisional championship. He also will be a strong Winter book favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Sprint Female Horse - Dubai Majesty was one of many who had credentials to be considered beforehand, but with her impressive win in the Filly & Mare Sprint, she zoomed to the head of the class. Sprint Male Horse - Big Drama may have earned his first grade one victory in the BC Sprint, but the hard knocking Florida bred has been very consistent this year. Saturday’s win should wrap up the award. Turf Female Horse - Goldikova again. The great mare won her third BC Mile, and she did it more impressively than ever. Proviso and the ill-fated Tuscan Evening racked up wins, but no one touches Goldikova in this division. Turf Male Horse - Paddy O’Prado would have been the BC Turf winner if he only ran. Of course, he did not, but with a longshot Turf winner, and Goldikova beating Gio Ponti in the Mile, he may hold on to a slim advantage in an unspectacular division. Three-Year-Old Filly - Blind Luck is this year’s rags to riches to story. The little filly that could fired every time, and her 2nd place finish in the Ladies’ Classic is plenty to solidify her position as the top sophomore filly in America. Three-Year-Old Male Horse - Lookin at Lucky came up a little short in the final furlong of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but in no way tarnished his well earned reputation. Not always the luckiest of runners, Lucky’s four stakes wins, including the Preakness and Haskell, carry the day. Older Female Horse - Zenyatta. No need to say more. Older Male Horse - Blame was able to fulfill the promise so many had seen in the son of Arch for a long time. His win in an epic BC Classic may have been unpopular with many, but he earned it on the track. It took a special horse to finally beat Zenyatta, and his name is Blame. Horse of the Year - Blame was terrific this year and won the Classic, but Zenyatta was one stride short of perfection … I am going to need a little more time before I make a final decision on this one.

Ladies’ Day

It feels funny to call it Ladies Day when Zenyatta and Goldikova did not make their way to a Breeders’ Cup starting gate, but that is exactly what we had on a cool and crisp Friday card at Churchill Downs. The atmosphere was one of excitement, as day transformed into evening midway through the opening act of the World Championships of Racing. My star of the day was Awesome Feather, who took flight today when soaring home in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. The Jacks or Better owned bay filly, easily handled her transition into grade 1 competition, winning by 2 ¼ lengths over surprise pacesetter, R Heat Lightning. In the process, the daughter of Awesome of Course completed a perfect 6 for 6 season. The Florida bred miss had never raced away from Calder Race Course previously, but the acid test proved to be no problem. Awesome Feather wrapped up the divisional championship with the win, and will now enter the auction next week at Keeneland. Unrivaled Belle finally won the big one in the Ladies’ Classic. The grey filly, trained by Bill Mott, ran the race of her life to repel the late run of the reliable Blind Luck, to win by 1 ¾ lengths. The popular Blind Luck finished one length clear of her familiar sophomore rival Havre de Grace, who was third. Unrivaled Belle displayed a new dimension tonight as she relaxed in fifth in the early stages, before taking command as the horses were nearing the stretch. The victory broke a string of three straight seconds since running her previous best when defeating Rachel Alexandra over the Churchill Downs oval this April. The day’s big payoff came when Shared Account shocked the crowd of over 41,000 by outfighting heavily favored Midday to take the BC Filly & Mare Turf. Under her usual rider, Edgar Prado, Shared Account relaxed off the early pace, and along with Midday, burst through from between horses on the inside. It briefly looked like the European champion would be too tough for the American longshot, but that idea was quickly squashed as it was the 46-1 who proved strongest late. She reached the wire clear by a neck over Midday in the eleven furlong race on firm turf. Dubai Majesty is only getting better with age, and now in her 34th career start, the five-year-old Bret Calhoun trained sprinter is a Breeders’ Cup winner. Impressively sweeping by her competition turning for home and easily drawing clear to win by an impressive 2 ¼ lengths over bridesmaid Switch. Much like Awesome Feather, the win will not prevent Dubai Majesty from being up for sale. She will be enter the sales ring next Sunday in the upcoming Fasig-Tipton sale in Lexington. More Than Real, despite running erratically, proved much the best in the Juvenile Filly Turf, serving up a tasty main dish for owner and celebrity chef, Bobby Flay. The daughter of More Than Ready registered a decisive two-length victory by easily holding off the heavily favored Winter Memories and the late running Kathmanblu in the one mile turf affair. It was only the third lifetime start for the winner, who seems to have a bright future for trainer Todd Pletcher. Eldaafer won the race, but the real story in the Marathon was the post-race fisticuffs between riders Calvin Borel and Javier Castellano. I had the feeling that I was at the fights and a horse race broke out. If not for the rather large men pulling Borel away from Castellano, things could have turned into quite the donnybrook. Borel was incensed, while Castellano was DQ‘d from second place aboard Prince Will I Am for his dangerous maneuver entering the stretch. Martin Garcia did well to stay aboard his mount Romp after the incident. What will tomorrow bring? My guess is everything good we saw today, times ten. Zendemonium anyone? Photo Courtesy of Reed Palmer

The Breeders’ Cup Scramble is On

You know the old saying, in order to make an omelet, you need to break a few eggs. This past weekend provided the last set of races for Breeders’ Cup hopefuls to turn their connections dreams into reality and be part of the smorgasbord that is the World Championships of Racing. For some though, it proved to be the end of the BC road as hopes were cracked and left to be swept off the kitchen floor. Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup displayed the best performance of the weekend, as Harmonious sizzled home by more than four lengths in the race of the year for three-year-old turf fillies. The win sends the talented daughter of Dynaformer to the BC Filly & Mare Turf on a high note. That is hopefully, as the decision to send her has not yet been made. Meanwhile third place finisher Evening Jewel tired a bit Saturday, but may prove one of the ones to beat in the shorter distance of the Filly & Mare Sprint, and Check the Label, previously thought of as one of the division leaders, likely saw her Breeders’ Cup hopes fizzle after a dull sixth place finish.  ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Who’s That Girl

"Breeders' Cup!," trainer Stanley Gold shouted in the winner's circle after Saturday's $350,000 My Dear Girl Stakes at Calder. Clearly flush with excitement and pride for his filly Awesome Feather, Gold has good reason to be excited about being in Louisville for the BC Juvenile Fillies on November 5. In a performance that left her rider Jeffrey Sanchez searching for competition, Awesome Feather left no doubt that she is the best juvenile in Florida as she smoked her competition yesterday by more than eight lengths. The victory in the final leg of the filly division of the Florida Stallion Series completed an authoritative sweep and sends the daughter of Awesome of Course to the Breeders’ Cup undefeated in five starts. While the rest of the nation may be wondering who’s that girl, anyone who has seen her run at the South Florida oval knows that she is the genuine article. It was the fourth consecutive convincing stakes win for the bay filly after winning her debut in a maiden race on May 1. Awesome Feather is a Florida homebred of owner Jacks or Better Farm, the same stable that campaigned Jackson Bend to juvenile domination at Calder before selling him last Fall. The My Dear Girl win was the first at a two-turns for Awesome Feather who has progressed each race in distance from the 4 ½ furlong maiden, to wins in the J J‘s Dream, Desert Vixen, and finally the Susan‘s Girl Stakes at seven furlongs. Gold had mentioned that a good performance yesterday would earn her a trip to the Breeders’ Cup and yesterday, he got even more than he bargained for from his undefeated star. Awesome Feather broke sharply and was content to sit right off the early pacesetter, My Precious Baby. The race never looked in doubt as her jockey Sanchez sat like a statue on the fluid moving filly. Awesome Feather eased by the speed on the far turn and quickly opened up with little or no urging. Sanchez took a few looks, but their was no one there. She effortlessly extended her advantage to reach the wire 8 ¼ lengths better than second place finisher Lily’s Hope. Awesome Feather finished the mile and one-sixteenth under wraps in 1:48.05. A time that doesn’t seem like much until you consider the winner of the male division of the Florida Stallion Series, Reprized Halo, ran almost a full 2 ½ seconds slower yesterday over the traditionally slow Calder surface. Yesterday, she answered the distance question, next will come the class test. The competition she will face in the Breeders’ Cup will be a big step up for Awesome Feather, but she may be enough horse to prove too much for even that competition. If I was Stanley Gold, I would be excited too. Photo by Jim Lisa