Slam Dunk Racing and Medallion Racing's Beau Recall was impressive late to upset Saturday's Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile at odds of 8-1, defending her 2019 title with a late move to pass 1-2 favorite Newspaperofrecord and win by about two lengths on the wire. Ridden by Manny Franco, the 6-year-old daughter of Sir Prancealot covered a mile over firm turf in 1:35.39.
It was trainer Brad Cox's fifth win in the past two days at Churchill Downs, after saddling a pair of maiden special weight winners in Travel Column and Essential Quality, Monomoy Girl to win the G1 La Troienne, and Shedaresthedevil to win the G1 Kentucky Oaks.
“I thought she had a big shot midway down the lane,” said Cox. “She did exactly what Manny (Franco) was instructed to do. He actually did exactly what Irad (Ortiz Jr.) did in the race last year when she won it. The race in California (the Grade II Yellow Ribbon Handicap) she never had a shot. I want to thank those owners for allowing her to run here at Churchill. She loves it here. We sort of knew coming into this week that it could be a big week for our stable. This is our home and to have this sort of weekend on the biggest stage in the sport is really special.”
Ridden for the first time by Javier Castellano, the Chad Brown-trained Newspaperofrecord went straight to the lead out of the gate. She pulled away to an easy two-length lead around the clubhouse turn, setting her own fractions of :23.99 and :47.93 under a moderate hold. Juliet Foxtrot and Belle Laura were up close in second and third, while La Signare, Beau Recall, and Daddy Is a Legend made up the rest of the field.
Rounding the far turn, La Signare was making up a lot of ground on the outside but never appeared to be a threat to the loose-on-the-lead Newspaperofrecord. The heavy favorite pulled away by several lengths at the top of the stretch, but appeared to idle on the front and was caught by the giant late rally of Beau Recall.
Beau Recall blew by Newspaperofrecord in the final sixteenth, crossing the wire about two lengths in front. Newspaperofrecord had to settle for second, with La Signare checking in third. Juliet Foxtrot finished fourth.
“She knows how to get it done,” Franco said. “I just rode her with confidence. I let her have the target in front of us. I was patient until we got in the clear and that's when I asked her to run and she just exploded.”
Bred in Ireland by Tom Wallace, Beau Recall is out of the Great Commotion mare Greta d'Argent. She was a $19,025 yearling at the Tattersalles Ireland sale, and broke her maiden in her home country before shipping to the United States. Under the care of trainer Simon Callaghan, the mare tallied a Grade 2 victory and a trio of graded stakes placings through November of 2018, and then was transferred to trainer Brad Cox.
Beau Recall won a listed stakes at the Fair Grounds, then was entered in the 2019 Keeneland January sale but did not meet her reserve when bidding stopped at $385,000. She returned to the track and racked up wins in the G2 Distaff Turf Mile and G2 Yellow Ribbon in 2019, and this year's edition of the Distaff Turf Mile is her first victory of 2020.
Overall, Beau Recall's record stands at 8-8-0 from 29 starts for earnings of over $1.4 million.
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