Stonestreet Stables' Twilight Gleaming was the quickest 2-year-old out of the starting gate in Friday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, then never relinquished her lead to give both conditioner Wesley Ward and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. their third straight win in the Grade 2 event. The Irish-bred daughter of National Defense beat the 12-strong field with a gate-to-wire performance timed in 56.24 seconds over Del Mar's firm turf course.
“She surprised me a little bit the way she broke today,” said Ortiz. “She was ready to win today.”
“You could just tell she was figuring it out,” said Stonestreet's Barbara Banke, who was recently elected as the first female chairperson of the Breeders' Cup.
A 5-1 chance at the start, Twilight Gleaming held off the late run of the David Loughnane-trained Go Bears Go (12-1) by a half-length on the wire. Ward trainee Kaufymaker (24-1) completed the trifecta, with Derrynane (10-1) finishing fourth. The 8-5 favorite, Ward-trained Averly Jane, checked in fifth.
“I was really confident in this filly,” Ward said. “I feel bad for the other two owners because we are all trying to win, but this filly, she had good spacing from her win in France and every work at Keeneland just kept getting better and better. She was coming into it just fresh and fit and ready to go and she did it.
“And, I'm not just saying this because she's Barbara Banke, but Barbara has been a loyal supporter of ours and she really got the itch to go over to England. We got some good horses and Ben McElroy got this filly for her and we bought some others for next year to go to Ascot with and I'm excited to see those. She's just such a great lady and she loves the sport. We are really excited.”
Twilight Gleaming out-broke the field by nearly a length, and Ortiz simply went on with the filly. One Timer came up on her outside to press the first quarter in 21.61 seconds, hanging with the leader all the way through the turn. Twilight Jet and Averly Jane made up the next pair, while Run Curtis Run and Kaufymaker were also prominent early.
One Timer dropped away nearing the straight, and Ortiz took that opportunity to ask Twilight Gleaming to sneak away from the field. She got away by nearly two lengths at the three-sixteenths pole, before the rush of closers began to make their moves. Go Bears Go was moving best of all late under John Velazquez, but came up just a half-length short at the wire. It was another half-length back to Kaufymaker in third, with Derrynane a head behind in fourth, and Averly Jane a nose back in fifth.
The remaining order of finish was: Hierarchy, Vertiginious, Armor, One Timer, Twilight Jet, Time To Party, and Run Curtis Run.
Bred in Ireland by Pier House Stud, Twilight Gleaming is out of the Dansili mare Thames Pageant. She was a $96,931 yearling purchase at Goffs, and ran second on the dirt in her Keeneland debut in April 2021. Switched to the turf at Belmont Park in May, Twilight Gleaming graduated by 7 1/2 lengths. Ward was impressed enough to run her in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, in which she ran second to the highly-regarded Queen Suzy.
Twilight Gleaming returned overseas in August to run in a listed stakes race, which she won by a neck in convincing fashion. The long break before the Breeders' Cup was by designed, Ward explained, and the filly responded with her first graded stakes win.
Her record stands at three wins and two seconds from five starts, with earnings of $637,251. Ward and Ortiz combined to win this race in 2019 with Four Wheel Drive and 2020 with Golden Pal. It is the fifth Breeders' Cup victory for Ward and the 12th for Ortiz.
Quotes from other connections:
Trainer Dave Loughnane (second with Go Bears Go) – “I'm a bit emotional really, he's a superstar. He's been life changing for us. He just sat in the gates for half a stride which might have cost him the race but I can't be disappointed. I'm very proud of the horse and all the team at home. Johnny (Velazquez) gave him a super ride and on another day he might have won. It's a massive day for my career.”
Jockey John Velazquez (second with Go Bears Go) – “He ran a great race. A little better break and we would have won it. I thought for one second we were going to get it. I wanted to be a bit closer earlier which has cost him but he's run very well.”
Jockey Jose Ortiz (third with Kaufymaker) – “She ran very good. I made the wrong choice at the top of the lane and I decided to go outside and follow Tyler (Gaffalione). I probably should have stayed inside. It was tight on the inside though. In the end, I was happy and she responded well.”
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione (fifth with favorite Averly Jane) – “She broke sharp but she just didn't really get it going. I looked to my inside and outside and I was already getting outrun. She wasn't grabbing the bit on me so I dropped my hands to see if she will take me a little bit. She did but she just didn't have it today.”
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