breeders' cup filly & mare turf | Horse Racing Free Tips

Brown’s Filly & Mare Turf Quartet: Sistercharlie ‘Really Coming Around,’ Rushing Fall ‘Drew Well’

Chad Brown will start an enviable quartet of starters in an attempt to win his fifth Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland this Saturday. Brown previously won with Zagora (2012), Dayatthespa (2014), Stephanie's Kitten (2015 at Keeneland) and Sistercharlie (2018). All four of his runners galloped a routine circuit of the Keeneland main track Thursday morning.

Sistercharlie once again leads the charge, being arguably the most accomplished of his runners and a seven-time G1 winner. She hopes to improve upon her third at 4-5 odds in last year's edition, while also improving from her two disappointing runs this season – thirds in both the Ballston Spa and Diana at Saratoga.

“I see her really coming around and is training as well as she has all year,” Brown said. “Her last three breezes in particular have been excellent. I think she's going to really appreciate the mile and three-sixteenths and having enough ground to get there. She drew well (in post two).

“I just think she was really rusty that first start back and had not run in a really long time,” Brown continued. “I probably undertrained her knowing that she's six and knowing in the back of your mind that she's had a lot of career breezes and I don't want to get her injured in the morning, so I probably undertrained her a little bit and that was fine, because I knew that first race back wasn't in any way a goal of ours. I think her second race she really ran well (post six) and it set her up for this.”

Rushing Fall, also a previous Breeders' Cup winner when taking the 2017 Juvenile Fillies Turf, is a six-time G1 winner who will be closing out her career by running the farthest she has attempted (9.5 furlongs) in the Filly & Mare Turf. A winner of 11 of 14 lifetime, she has won five of six over this turf course and three of her four attempts at nine furlongs, just short of this trip.

Brown: “I think Rushing Fall drew well and is another one where unfortunately this is it for her. She's had a nice career and hopefully she breaks well and has a nice trip from there. You do (worry about the distance), but we've been in this position before – Dayatthespa comes to mind and she had never tried a mile and a quarter – but sometimes the first time you try it is the best time you'll ever run at it. Frankel used to tell me that.”

My Sister Nat and Nay Lady Nay both exit the Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont, finishing second and third behind Civil Union, who reopposes on Saturday. My Sister Nat is a half-sister to Sistercharlie with proven G1 form on both sides of the Atlantic, while Nay Lady Nay is the youngest of the quartet, at four years old, and has been incrementally stepping up in class in 2020. Both are graded winners who appear to be in top form, but must take on the tall task of beating their aforementioned stablemates and others at the G1 level.

“(My Sister Nat) may have to be used a bit early to get some sort of position (from post 13 of 14),” Brown said. “I think that's the key. It took her a while to acclimate, but she's coming around quickly and I have never seen her doing this well. On numbers, she's going to have to really take a jump forward to land in the winner's circle. She's very different from Sistercharlie. They might both come off the pace, but that's where it ends. They look different and I think Sistercharlie can get into gear quicker and has a bigger stronger better turn of foot, but My Sister Nat is trying to close the gap a little bit and get into the Grade 1 races now. She's turning six next season and it's quite possible she could run next year.

“(Nay Lady Nay) is going to have to tuck in early,” Brown continued. “She's a long shot as it is. At a mile and three-sixteenths it might be stretching it for her. I think her only chance to grab a piece of this is to tuck in off the break and kind of work her way through traffic during the course of the race. I do think there's a little more there. She just continues to grow and get stronger and does everything you like to see year to year. Some of these horses, they look the same as when they were babies, so I think there's a little more in the tank. Ultimately, I think she's best at a tick shorter than this, which is where we see her fastest numbers.”

The post Brown’s Filly & Mare Turf Quartet: Sistercharlie ‘Really Coming Around,’ Rushing Fall ‘Drew Well’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gosden Chasing Firmer Ground With Three Breeders’ Cup Entrants

Trainer John Gosden attended the very first Breeders' Cup World Championships, held at Hollywood Park in 1984, and came away victorious by saddling the filly Royal Heroine to defeat nine male rivals in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Mile. Though Gosden has been based in Europe since 1989, the trainer regularly tries to make it back to the United States for the World Championships event.

He has won a total of five Breeders' Cup races, most recently the Turf with the great racemare Enable, recently retired to stud.

“It's such a wonderful international event,” Gosden said on Wednesday's Breeders' Cup teleconference. “I've been a passionate believer in it since we started at Hollywood Park. I remember we ran out of programs and food, but it was a great day. The Breeders' Cup is at the end of our year in Europe, of course, so you have to be careful you have your horse still fresh enough.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Gosden will not be making the trip to Keeneland for the 2020 edition. He will, however, send three top horses and staff, along with stable jockey Frankie Dettori.

“Mr. Dettori, he likes to play trainer too, so he can do both jobs,” Gosden quipped.

Gosden plans to start two horses in the Breeders' Cup Turf and one in the Filly & Mare Turf, he explained on Wednesday's call.

Lord North, winner of the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot this June, will head to the Turf, along with stablemate Mehdaayih. The latter, a 4-year-old daughter of Frankel, did not get into the main body of the field for the Filly & Mare Turf, and so is expected to take on males in the 1 1/2-mile Turf instead.

Lord North, a 4-year-old son of Dubawi, was most recently seen finishing 10th over unforgiving ground in the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes on Oct. 17.

“Well his last race was unfortunately run on a quagmire,” Gosden said. “He was in the same race as (Aidan O'Brien trainee and fellow BC Turf hopeful) Magical, and she also found the track too deep. It was the deepest ground I've ever seen, and it was drying out ground, so it was sticky, and he couldn't handle that.”

Mehdaayih was a Group 2 winner in 2019 but has had just two starts in 2020, most recently finishing fourth in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, also on Oct. 17.

“She's a high class runner, and very fresh after just two starts this year,” said Gosden. “She's what you might call a wildcard.”

In the Filly & Mare Turf, Gosden will enter G1 Queen Anne Stakes runner-up Terebellum. The 4-year-old filly by Sea the Stars was most recently fifth in the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes on Oct. 3, and will also be seeking firmer ground.

“She likes what we call good, good to firm going,” Gosden explained. “Keeneland's would be like that, usually… she'd be very happy on the surface if it doesn't ride at all loose.”

All three of Gosden's Breeders' Cup hopefuls will fly to the United States on Friday, with staff flying the day ahead of the horses.

“Everyone's gone out of their way to make it feasible for us,” Gosden said. “It's a strange world we're living in now, but we just have to get on with it.”

The post Gosden Chasing Firmer Ground With Three Breeders’ Cup Entrants appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘A Good Problem To Have’: Attard Debating Between Two Breeders’ Cup Races For Starship Jubilee

Winner of five of her six starts in 2020, Starship Jubilee is preparing to make the trip south from her Woodbine base to Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The 7-year-old daughter of Indy Wind won the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile over males in her most recent start, and she won the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes over 1 1/4 miles in 2019, so there are several options for her on Nov. 7.

Her trainer, Kevin Attard, is still waiting to decide whether he'll enter Starship Jubilee in the Breeders' Cup Mile or the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, according to the Toronto Sun.

“Obviously we want to give her the best shot of performing her best and (the decision) is going to come down to trying to see who's running where,” Attard told the Sun. “We've got a decent enough idea, but when we watch the pre-entries come out it's going to be a little more clear in that sense. The good thing about my filly is, she's very versatile. She's obviously shown that she can run a mile, she's shown she can run a mile and a quarter and we're lucky enough that the Filly& Mile Turf is 1 3/16ths. And that's within her wheelhouse – a little shorter than the 1 1/4 distance, which I like. But at the same token, she ran such a big race in the Woodbine Ricoh Mile, then you have to consider running her against the boys again one more time. It's a good problem to have.”

Named the Canadian Horse of the Year in 2019, Starship Jubilee was a $16,000 claim three years ago. She has since won a dozen stakes races, including two Grade 1 races, and earned over $2 million. Her record ahead of the Breeders' Cup stands at 19-5-3 from 38 starts, and she's showing no signs of slowing down.

“You don't really expect them to be around at seven (years old),” Attard told the Sun. “It's not really the normal that we see here in racing. But the fact is, she's arguably at her best now. She enjoys what she's doing… Every time you think the chapter's done and the book might be ready to close, she's on to the next chapter. So I'm enjoying the ride and I'm going to keep going with it.”

Brown Workmates Sistercharlie, Rushing Fall Continue Preparations For Filly & Mare Turf

Peter Brant's 2018 Champion Turf Female Sistercharlie worked in tandem Sunday on the inner turf at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., with e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Rushing Fall covering five furlongs in 1:01.05 in preparation for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland.

“They continue to train well as a pair. They're both training towards the Breeders' Cup together,” said Brown.

Rushing Fall is a six-time Grade 1-winner after taking the Grade 1 Diana last out on August 23 at Saratoga. Sistercharlie, a seven-time Grade 1-winner, is a half-sister to recent Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass. Both mares will be retired following the Breeders' Cup.

Brown said he doesn't take the opportunity to oversee their morning breezes for granted.

“You kind of pinch yourself in the morning. We don't have too many of those training sessions left to watch,” said Brown.

Sistercharlie captured the 2018 renewal of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs, while Rushing Fall will make her second Breeders' Cup appearance following a winning effort in the 2017 Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.

Klaravich Stables' Digital Age and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Michael J. Ryan's Valid Point worked in company through five-eighths in 1:01.22 Sunday on the inner turf.

The 4-year-old Valid Point, a three-time winner in seven starts, hasn't hit the board in four starts following his Grade 1 Secretariat score in August 2019 at Arlington Park.

Digital Age, a 4-year-old Invincible Spirit colt, boasts a record of five wins and two seconds from 11 starts with purse earnings in excess of $1.2 million. He captured the Grade 1 Turf Classic last out on September 5 at Churchill Downs.

“Valid Point has had a disappointing year so far, but he's training well. We'll figure it out. Digital Age will point to the Breeders' Cup Mile,” said Brown.

Digital Age is likely to face stablemates Raging Bull, Uni and Without Parole in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

The post Brown Workmates Sistercharlie, Rushing Fall Continue Preparations For Filly & Mare Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post