Tag: Breeders’ Cup

It was billed as the best race across all of Breeders' Cup weekend, and Saturday afternoon's $2 million Distaff certainly did not disappoint. The 1 1/8-mile route evolved into a three-way dogfight at the sixteenth pole between last year's 3-year-old filly champion Malathaat, Argentine-bred Grade 1-winner Blue Stripe, and Stonestreet's royally-bred Grade 1 winner Clairiere.

Moving in unison down the final 100 yards of the Keeneland stretch, the trio showed immense heart as the wire loomed. Blue Stripe, at 24-1, was nearly even with 6-1 chance Clairiere, but 5-2 second choice Malathaat was closing with every stride. At the finish, it was Shadwell's Malathaat and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez who finished a nose in front to wrap up the divisional championship. It was another 3 1/4 lengths back to her stablemate, 7-5 favorite Nest.

“When we first watched the race, we thought we won but they kept showing the replay, it got closer each time,” said Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. “She had a lot of momentum and was hoping she had enough time to get there. She got her head down at the right moment.”

It is the third win in the race for both Pletcher and Velazquez. The two teamed up in 2004 with Ashado with Pletcher getting his second Distaff victory at Keeneland in 2015 with Stopchargingmaria while Velazquez got his second in 2017 with Forever Unbridled.

“I wasn't surprised (I won),” Velazquez admitted. “I thought I got the bob and then I wasn't sure. When you got that much trust from a guy like Todd Pletcher and gives me the opportunity to ride these good horses, it makes it easy when you have to make adjustments during the race.”

Malathaat was Curlin's third Breeders' Cup winner on the Saturday card, following Cody's Wish in the Dirt Mile and Elite Power in the Sprint. The final time was 1:49.07 over Keeneland's fast main track, and took the filly's record at Keeneland to four wins from four starts.

Society led the field a half-mile in :47.29 while under pressure from Blue Stripe and Search Results as Malathaat raced near the back of the eight-horse field. Society carried her lead to the top of the stretch where Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath and favored Nest challenged to her outside and Blue Stripe surged on the inside.

Secret Oath took over at the three-sixteenths pole but was quickly confronted by Blue Stripe to her outside while Malathaat rallied three-wide and Clairiere slipped through along the rail. Secret Oath dropped out at midstretch leaving Blue Stripe in charge until the final jump when Malathaat got up.

Trainer Marcelo Polanco was not surprised by longshot Blue Stripe's performance: “She's was training super… You get to this point, 25-1, amazing.”

Steve Asmussen, trainer of Clairiere, lamented: “She ran a fabulous race. It was just inches… inches…”

The full order of finish was as follows: Malathaat, Blue Stripe, Claireire, Nest, Secret Oath, Search Results, Society, and Awake at Midnyte.

Regarding fourth-place finisher and favorite Nest, Pletcher said: “That's the situation you're in when you run more than one horse in a race. Nothing worked out well for Nest today. She didn't jump well from the start. She was spinning her wheels around the first turn. And she was very wide all the way around. And because she wasn't really in the position we wanted her to be, Irad had to make a little bit of a move sooner than he wanted to, and very wide while doing it. I was concerned when they hit the first turn that it wasn't going her way today.”

Bred in Kentucky by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet, Malathaat is out of Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia, also trained by Pletcher. Shadwell purchased Malathaat for $1,050,000 from consignor Denali Stud at the Keeneland September Yearling sale, and the mare rewarded her purchasers with five straight wins to kick off her career, including the 2021 Kentucky Oaks. She experienced her first defeat in the G1 CCA Oaks, but returned in fine form to win the G1 Alabama en route to the 2021 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

A complete pace meltdown at Del Mar led to Malathaat finishing third, beaten half a length by 49-1 longshot Marche Lorraine. This year, the filly won the G3 Doubledogdare to kick off her season, but was beaten in her next two starts by Clairiere. After that first defeat, in the G1 Ogden Phipps, Pletcher added blinkers to Malathaat's race day equipment.

“It's something that we've actually been thinking of since her 2-year-old year,” he explained. “She's a very curious filly. She sees everything. And she has that tendency to wait when she makes the lead.

“Meanwhile, she's reeling off win after win and it's difficult to make an equipment change. But really the defining moment was in the Ogden Phipps when Johnny came back and said — it was really hard to make out watch it, I guess he sensed it being on her back, just before the wire she saw something and tapped on the brakes. Got beat a nose and he said, we've got to do it.

“So we did and the first start it didn't work out (the G2 Shuvee, in which Malathaat ran fourth behind Clairiere). But that was a tricky day at Saratoga. It was wicked hot. I've never seen her behave that way in the paddock. I think she was just bothered by the hot weather. She was very irritated. And she didn't run a race that day at all.

“But we were confident enough that we were making the right decision that we stayed with the equipment change.”

Malathaat returned to win the G1 Personal Ensign and G1 Spinster heading into this year's Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. Overall, her record stands at 10 wins from 14 lifetime starts for earnings of $3,790,825.

“She can be a little tricky,” Pletcher admitted. “She needs a little while to get revved up, and you can't make the lead too soon with her. I told Johnny that's timing it a little close for my liking!”

REPLAY: Malathaat wins the $2 Million @LonginesEq #BreedersCup Distaff! Congrats to her connections! #BC22 pic.twitter.com/xvqqABpkky

— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 5, 2022

The post ‘She Got Her Head Down At The Right Moment’: Malathaat Wins Thriller In Breeders’ Cup Distaff appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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This year's Breeders' Cup appearance for Modern Games was less dramatic than last year, when he crossed the wire first in the Juvenile Turf and was greeted by a chorus of boos from upset horseplayers.

Where last year he was a last-minute gate scratch and eventually ran as a purse money only entry, this year the Charlie Appleby-trained 3-year-old exited the gate with everyone else, albeit a step slower than his rivals and tucked into midpack along the rail going into the first turn. Smooth Like Strait and Pogo led the way through the backstretch.

Jockey William Buick took Modern Games to the outside of the pack around the turn, moving in step with Order of Australia then driving from the center of the track, shedding his rivals and taking aim at closing Ivar. Ivar fought back but Modern Games kicked away by one length at the wire.

“I'm delighted,” said Appleby afterward. “He is what he is. He's ultra-professional and runs with his heart on his sleeve every time. He's one horse, as Rishi (Persad) said earlier in the week, you'd love to play poker with him, because he shows his hand every time. He's just done it again, there. Fantastic ride by William (Buick). Great for the team, great for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and great for Godolphin.”

Shirl's Speight was second, followed by Kinross.

Domestic Spending was pulled up by rider Flavien Prat ahead of the final turn. Prat took his mount to the outside rail and quickly unsaddled before the Chad Brown trainee was loaded into the equine ambulance on his own power. American Association of Equine Practitioners On Call Veterinarian Dr. Alan Ruggles told NBC reporters the horse appeared to be lame in his left hind limb but that he was not obviously unstable in that leg. The race was the first for Domestic Spending since August 2021, though Brown told the Daily Racing Form's David Grening that the injury was unrelated to the issue that kept off the track for the past year.

A statement later released by the Breeders' Cup indicated that Domestic Spending “was immediately attended to by an expert team of veterinarians led by KHRC Chief Veterinarian Dr. Nick Smith and was transported back to his barn by equine ambulance for evaluation by attending veterinarian Dr. Bo Landry. Domestic Spending was radiographed and does not appear to have a lower limb fracture. At this time, he is being stabilized for transfer to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for further evaluation.”

The final time for the mile was 1:33.96. Favorite Modern Games paid $4.76 to win.

The win for Appleby was his seventh Breeders' Cup victory, and his second in the Mile after Space Blues last year. It is the sixth win for Buick, who was also on Space Blues.

Modern Games came to the Mile off a second in the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, and has also won the G1 Woodbine Mile and G1 Poule d'Essai de Poulains this year. He is a homebred for Godolphin.

Modern Games is by Dubawi and is out of New Approach mare Modern Ideals.

His trainer said you can expect to see Modern Games on the track next year.

“Next year, the Queen Anne is the obvious target,” said Appleby. “He's getting a fanfare around world and it was great to see him applauded this year not like last year which was no fault of his own. We'll look to bring him back here next year. From this July onward he really changed physically and got stronger in all the right places. I thought he looked a picture in the paddock today and I was always quite confident when I saw him look that well.”

Twice is nice!

Modern Games gets the job done once again at the #BreedersCup. pic.twitter.com/w9cxkPzYX7

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) November 5, 2022

The post No Games This Time: Modern Games Takes Breeder’s Cup Mile In Decisive Fashion; Domestic Spending Vanned appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Storming down the stretch with ground-devouring strides, Elite Power reeled in front-runners C Z Rocket and Jackie's Warrior to win the $2-million Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Saturday at Keeneland.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Bill Mott, Elite Power surged clear for a 1 ¼-length triumph while completing six furlongs 1:09.22 on a fast track.

C Z Rocket held on for second, a half length in front of third-place finisher Jackie's Warrior, the reigning champion sprinter.

A 4-year-old Curlin colt campaigned by Juddmonte, Elite Power notched his first win at the highest level, which followed his first stakes win in the Vosburgh (G2), his stakes debut, Oct. 8 at the Belmont at the Big A meet.

Super Ocho spurted out to set the early tempo  while Jackie's Warrior stalked from second, about 1 1/2 lengths back. Super Ocho came out entering the stretch carrying Jackie's Warrior to the six path and opening a hole along the inside for C Z Rocket and Elite Power to challenge.

Jackie's Warrior and C Z Rocket were joined midway down the stretch by Elite Power, powered to the front on the outside with a sixteenth of a mile to run. C Z Rocket dug in to hold the runner-up spot. Jackie's Warrior was three-quarters of length in front of Manny Wah in fourth.

Ortiz said Elite Power had a perfect trip.

“He broke real sharp and I let him settle. I let the speed go. I was able to cut the corner around the turn. When I tipped him out, he was there for me. He kept going forward. He gave me a really good kick from the quarter-pole to the wire. He's a nice horse. I rode him with a lot of confidence.”

The Sprint victory marked the fifth straight win this year for Elite Power, who has an overall record of 5-0-1 from eight starts. He made just two starts late last year due to some shin issues but since breaking his maiden in early June at Churchill Downs has matured and flourished.

“He's just a horse with a lot of natural talent,” Mott said. “It was just a matter of waiting for his bones and his mind to mature a little bit. Once he got into the rhythm, he just kept improving. He's been a good ways back in some of his races, but he doesn't have to be.

“He's done nothing wrong this year. He was late coming. He had a couple of races as a 3-year-old and since we brought him back, he got beat the first time and has been perfect since. He has improved and won at a variety of distances. The cut back (in distance) today was always a little concerning when you are running against a horse as good as Jackie's Warrior but hey, he come down in the middle of the racetrack and ran them all down.”

Flavien Prat said he was proud of C Z Rocket's effort.

“I got him into a good position,” he said of teh 31-1 longshot. “I was actually surprised to be that close. I had a little hope for a while.”

Joel Rosario said Jackie's Warrior did everything he asked him to.

“That horse (Super Ocho) went to the lead and I sat right off of him. He ran his race.”

Trainer Steve Asmussen expressed his amazement to Jackie's Warrior had never won a Breeders' Cup race.

“He's a very special horse – physically, mentally and his ability. It's a disappointment. I was happy with where he was at (during the race). If I could do it over again, obviously, I wouldn't have hung out where he did. I don't like the outcome, but hail to the victor.”

Saturday's win was worth $1,040,000 and improved Elite Power's lifetime earnings to $1,405,711

Elite Power, who returned $13.10, was bred in Kentucky by Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables. His dam is the Vindication mare Broadway's Alibi. Juddmonte bought him for $900,000 from the Lane's End consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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