10/29/2012 6:00PM

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Sky Lantern gets right kind of post position

By Marcus Hersh
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Barbara D. Livingston
Watsdachances, who has won the P.G. Johnson and Miss Grillo, tops the U.S. contingent in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Assistant trainer Richard Hannon Jr. said Monday that he hoped for a draw between posts 1 and 6 for possible favorite Sky Lantern in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Hannon and his father, Richard Sr., haven’t had good luck in past Breeders’ Cup experiences, but in this instance good fortune smiled, with Sky Lantern landing post 3 in an overfilled edition of the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf.

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Sixteen 2-year-old fillies were entered in the one-mile grass race, with 14 in the field’s main body. Infanta Branca, who was en route from Ireland on Monday, is the first also-eligible, while Moulin de Mougin would need two defections to get into the race. Another horse, Manuka Honey, was excluded from the field, while Renee’s Queen’s connections opted to enter the Juvenile Fillies.


Sky Lantern, winner of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, is attempting to become the first overseas winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She’s joined in the race by three other international shippers: Flotilla (post 4, Christophe Lemaire), The Gold Cheongsam (post 12, William Buick), and Waterway Run (post 10, Frankie Dettori).

The leading North American-based hopes are Watsdachances and Sprint Venture. Watsdachances actually made her first two starts in Ireland before being imported to the U.S. and transferred into the barn of trainer Chad Brown, who won the 2008 edition of the race here with Maram. Watsdachances has won both her races in this country, narrowly capturing the P.G. Johnson at Saratoga before scoring more decisively in the Grade 3 Miss Grillo last month at Belmont.

Spring Venture, trained by Mark Casse, is unbeaten after three starts, with wins in the Grade 2 Natalma on turf and the Grade 3 Marazine on Polytrack since a maiden victory in her debut run.