It didn't take long for trainer Kevin Attard to understand that some folks at Keeneland appreciate Starship Jubilee, his 7-year-old mare with the rags-to-riches story, who will run in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Twice claimed early in her career, the Florida-bred has developed into a star with Attard. Twelve of her 19 career wins in 38 starts have come in stakes. Two of those victories were in Grade 1 races, including the most recent, the Woodbine Mile against males Sept. 19.
“As soon as she hit the track there were a couple of people out there and they said, 'Hey Starship Jubilee. I'm rooting for you,' “Attard said. “It's nice to hear and you really kind of savor that moment and realize that the following and the backing that she has generated over the years.”
Attard and his partner Soli Mehta claimed Starship Jubilee for $16,000 in February 2017 at Gulfstream. Attard's father, Tino, was the trainer of record when she reeled off three straight wins at Gulfstream in March and April. Moved to Woodbine in suburban Toronto and officially in the care of Kevin Attard, Starship Jubilee promptly won two Grade 2 races, the Nassau and the Dance Smartly. The one-time mediocre turf sprinter thrived in routes on grass.
In 29 races – never at less than a mile – she has compiled a 16-4-3 record in 29 starts and earned $2,052,519. She has won three Sovereign Awards as the top Canadian turf female and is Canada's reigning Horse of the Year.
In November 2018, Attard and Mehta offered the then-5-year-old mare for sale at auction at Keeneland. When bidding stopped at $425,000, below her reserve price, the owners decided to continue racing her. Within a day, though, they completed a sale with Bonnie Baskin's Blue Heaven Farm, a Versailles, Kentucky, commercial breeding farm managed by her son Adam Corndorf.
Attard suggested that Blue Heaven run the mare a few more times before being bred to Medaglia d'Oro in 2019. That mating ended up being put on hold for two seasons as she has won eight of 13 starts and earned more than $1.5 million. This year, Starship Jubilee has won five of six starts, including the Ballston Spa at Saratoga, a race that included champion Sistercharlie. After running fourth in the Diana — her first time off the board since December 2018 — at Saratoga on Aug. 23, she rebounded with the 1-length victory in the Woodbine Mile.
“Huge win, beating the boys in the Woodbine Mile,” Attard said. “It was a pretty gutsy performance on her part. She ran really well. She came out of the race in good shape. She's training great.
“It was a decision to either run against the males here in the Breeders' Cup Mile or in the Filly and Mare Turf at a mile and three-sixteenths against fillies. We elected to take the filly route. The mile and three-sixteenths should be up in her wheel house. She's been going a mile and a quarter. No race is easy, that's for sure.”
The post Attard Hoping To ‘Savor The Moment’ With Rags-To-Riches Breeders’ Cup Contender Starship Jubilee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
