Champion Ce Ce Wins Azeri Thriller

Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), game winner of the 2020 GI Apple Blossom H., underscored her affinity for Oaklawn with another game victory in Saturday's GII Azeri S. The 2021 champion female sprinter was squeezed slightly at the start by the wayward Lady Mystify (Bernardini), while Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) took the worst of it and was forced back sharply as defending Azeri champ and race favorite Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) raced out to take control. Showing the way through an opening quarter in :23.44 followed by a :47.53 half, the leader continued to move easily as Ce Ce's regular pilot, Victor Espinoza, was content to survey the action in two-wide fourth. Starting to pick up the tempo rounding the far turn, Ce Ce reeled in the even-money choice, collaring her rival turning at the quarter pole and began inching ahead of the game GI Kentucky Oaks heroine in early stretch. Appearing to be home free, Ce Ce faced another challenger late, however, as Pauline's Pearl, who overcame her early disadvantage, put in a good run, but couldn't quite get by late as Ce Ce prevailed by a hard-fought 3/4 of a length. Shedaresthedevil crossed the wire a clear third.

“I had a good trip actually,” Espinoza said. “I was able to get clear at the break so I could sit behind the frontrunners. I wanted to wait a little longer, but she was doing it so easy, I just moved on with her. She could hear all the noise from the crowd and kind of put the brakes on me, but luckily the other two horses [Pauline's Pearl and Shedaresthedevil] were on either side of me and when she saw them, she moved forward. It's like she runs so easy, she gets a little bit bored and does some silly things, but it all worked out.”

Added Michael McCarthy, speaking via Bas Nicholl (assistant to D. Wayne Lukas), who saddled the mare, “Obviously, coming to the top of the stretch, it looked like she was going to go ahead and put a little daylight between herself and everybody else. Coming to the sixteenth pole, I saw her ears go up and wasn't sure if she was getting tired or what. When those two other fillies came to her, she dug back in and showed what a champion she is today.”

CeCe, winner of Oaklawn's 2020 GI Apple Blossom H., annexed four of six starts during her championship season, including Gulfstream's seven-panel GII Princess Rooney S. and 6 1/2-furlong GIII Chillingworth S. at Santa Anita. She capped off the year, while securing her championship title, with a score in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar. The Bo Hirsch homebred kicked off 2022 with a runner-up finish as the favorite in the GII Santa Monica S. at Santa Anita Feb. 5.

Pedigree Notes:

Ce Ce's lightly raced dam Miss Houdini, winner of the 2002 GI Del Mar Debutante, is also responsible for GII Arkansas Derby and GII San Fernando S. winner Papa Clem (Smart Strike).

Also a Bo Hirsch homebred, the mare's latest representative is the unplaced 2-year-old Native Thunder (American Pharoah), a $200,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Lazy F Ranch. Miss Houdini was bred to Mucho Macho Man and Tamarkuz for 2022.

Magical Maiden, Ce Ce's Second dam, was a $26,000 juvenile purchase by Hirsch's father Clement. She took a pair of Grade I races in Southern California, earning over $900,000 before being sold for $400,000 at the 2000 Keeneland November sale. The Azeri winner's late sire, Elusive Quality, is responsible for a total of 56 graded winners and 137 stakes winners.

Saturday, Oaklawn
AZERI S.-GII, $350,000, Oaklawn, 3-12, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.55, ft.
1–CE CE, 117, m, 6, by Elusive Quality
               1st Dam: Miss Houdini (GISW, $187,600), by Belong to Me
               2nd Dam: Magical Maiden, by Lord Avie
               3rd Dam: Gils Magic, by Magesterial
O/B-Bo Hirsch, LLC (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy; J-Victor
Espinoza. $210,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. female sprinter,
MGISW, 18-9-2-3, $2,003,100. *1/2 to Papa Clem (Smart
Strike), MGSW & GISP, $1,121,190. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pauline's Pearl, 124, f, 4, Tapit–Hot Dixie Chick, by Dixie
Union. O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet
Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
$70,000.
3–Shedaresthedevil, 119, m, 5, Daredevil–Starship
Warpspeed, by Congrats. ($100,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV;
$20,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP; $280,000 2yo '19 KEENOV;
$5,000,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC,
Qatar Racing Limited & Whisper Hill Farm, LLC; B-WinStar
Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $35,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1, 2 3/4. Odds: 1.70, 2.90, 1.00.
Also Ran: She's All Wolfe, Ava's Grace, Golden Curl, Lady Mystify. Scratched: Lavender (Ire), Super Quick.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Ce Ce: A Princess, Years in the Making

They say that some poker players have a “tell,” a change in their behavior that can give away how they feel about their chances of winning a particular hand. Hall of Fame rider Victor Espinoza says that the 2021 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner, Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) is no different.

“Most of the times I ride her, I know before I get to the gate what kind of a race she's going to run,” he said.

“So, did you know in the Breeders' Cup?” I asked eagerly.

“Oh yes, most definitely,” he replied. “The minute she walked onto the track I was like, 'oh yes,' and I looked at the rest of the horses and thought, `oh, I feel sorry for you guys!'”

The rest, of course is history. Ce Ce took down the Breeders' Cup and was crowned champion female sprinter at Santa Anita's Eclipse Award ceremony Feb. 10, but not before tasting defeat at the hands of Merneith (American Pharoah) in the GII Santa Monica S. just days before she was crowned.

I had interviewed CeCe's owner-breeder Bo Hirsch prior to the Santa Monica and asked him, “win lose or draw, what has she left to prove in her 6-year-old year?”

Hirsch was effusive and simply said, “She has nothing to prove and she owes us nothing. I'm getting old and I love to watch my horses run. You know, I may not live long enough to watch her foals run so why not enjoy her another year now?”

This is something the 72-year-old Hirsch echoed in his Eclipse Award speech, where he said, “I love this business. This is the greatest sport in the world.”

So, to find the key to Ce Ce's longevity, I set off to the Mike McCarthy barn.

Horses love routine, and in that, champion Ce Ce is no different. Training every morning with the sunrise at 6:30, she sets out not to Santa Anita's main track, but to the six-furlong training track nestled inside the turf course.

It's something McCarthy started a couple of years ago and it has stuck.

“It's a good walk to and fro, from the training track. It's something she enjoys and we let her take her time.”

So, off we went with her. I followed Ce Ce down into the tunnel, walking as fast as my oh-too-short legs could to try and keep up.

Once on the training track, Ce Ce took up her customary position next to the outrider Camacho and his pony Justin, enjoying cuddles from her rider Lydio as the early morning sun cast a long shadow across the track.

I'm pretty sure she would have stood there all day!

“Jog one, gallop two.” These were the instructions handed out by McCarthy.

Off she went–nothing flashy, just doing her job, three times around before pulling up with a pat. “She's a trainer's dream,” explained McCarthy, later that morning. It has been a huge deal to train a mare like her. She shows up every time, she's all business, she's all racehorse, from breaking her maiden first time out, something the stats say shouldn't happen,” said a deadpan McCarthy, “to winning the GI Beholder.”

“We got a little sidetracked later in the year,” he added. “We had a hard time finding racetracks she likes. She seems to like it a little harder and faster. We've kind of gotten away from that a little bit out here in California, so she's struggled with that a little bit.”

McCarthy went on to elaborate that Ce Ce has got a little picky in her old age, preferring the more glib race tracks of times gone by. When pressed about her Breeders' Cup performance, the ever-reserved trainer perked up.

“Got a perfect set up with Gamine and Bella Sofia in there. Victor asked the question and she responded. I believe that was probably as good a Breeders' Cup performance as you would see on Breeders' Cup day,” he said, with just a bit of pride.

As for what happened in the Santa Monica, McCarthy conceded Baffert led a very good horse over that ran her eyeballs out. Plus, Ce Ce was coming off a brief layoff, with the track against her.

“But I saw what I needed to see and we will go from there,” he added.

But where?

McCarthy did his best dodge-the-question dance, with the usual `keep our options open,' followed by a list of logical choices befitting a champion. “Oaklawn. Keeneland. Could show up in another country. Could stay here.”

“Hold on,” I said. “Another country?”

“Well, we are not the only place that holds racing,” quipped a now-smiling McCarthy. “There are races like the Golden Shaheen in Dubai, or she could even try the grass. We know her likes and dislikes and will try to play to those for the rest of the year.”

Is there added pressure training a six-year-old with seemingly nothing left to prove, I asked?

“There is a little bit of pressure because we want to do right by her, always. I feel like we are responsible for the effort, not the outcome. Sometimes, that's beyond our control.”

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Ce Ce Secures Female Sprinter Eclipse

Ce Ce (Elusive Quality)'s upset victory over heavily favored Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint appeared to make all the difference Thursday, as she was named champion female sprinter. The Bo Hirsch homebred, previously a MGISW at route distances, cut back last season for a breakthrough win in Gulfstream's GII Princess Rooney S. in July. She also took October's GIII Chillingworth S. before her 6-1 score at Del Mar in the Breeders' Cup. The now 6-year-old Michael McCarthy representative was last seen finishing second in the GII Santa Monica S. last weekend. 

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Ce Ce Kicks Off Six-Year-Old Campaign in Santa Monica

Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), last seen upsetting the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 6, returns to launch her 6-year-old campaign in Saturday's GII Santa Monica S. at Santa Anita.

The 2020 GI Apple Blossom H. and GI Beholder Mile S. heroine focused on races going around one turn during her 2021 campaign. In addition to her victory at the Championships, her season also included strong wins in the GII Princess Rooney Invitational at Gulfstream July 3 and GIII Chillingworth S. at Santa Anita Oct. 3. She finished third, three lengths behind champion Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Ballerina H. at Saratoga Aug. 28.

The Bo Hirsch homebred, the 3-5 morning-line favorite for the Santa Monica, is an Eclipse finalist for champion female sprinter.

“Well, at my stage in life I want more fun than money, and as long as she wants to run, and as long as we know she wants to run, we're going to run for a while,” Hirsch said following the Breeders' Cup.

The field of five also includes: last out GI La Brea S. winner Kalypso (Brody's Cause); and this race's 2021 winner Merneith (American Pharoah), who returned from the shelf to finish second in the Kalookan Queen S. here Jan. 2.

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