Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic top three not finished on track

Tom Keyser

Royal Delta wins the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic over My Miss Aurelia and Include Me Out. All three are expected to race in 2013.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The end of the 2012 season is not the end of the line for the top three finishers of the Ladies’ Classic – winner Royal Delta, along with two-three finishers My Miss Aurelia and Include Me Out will return for a 2013 campaign.

Royal Delta, who earned a 108 Beyer Speed Figure for her second consecutive Ladies’ Classic win Friday at Santa Anita, will head to Florida for a rest before gearing up for another shot at the Dubai World Cup.

My Miss Aurelia suffered her first loss in seven starts and will stay at Santa Anita for the time being. Trainer Steve Asmussen said Saturday that the 3-year-old filly “came back super” and “looks fabulous.”

Her 2013 campaign is to be determined.

Include Me Out, third in the Ladies’ Classic, also will campaign next year.

“As long as she is healthy, I have no problems running her next year,” owner Samantha Siegel said Saturday, adding one qualifier: “I don’t want to run against Royal Delta.”

That might not need to happen. Trainer Bill Mott said Saturday the 2013 campaign for Royal Delta will focus on two major objectives, both against males – the $10 million Dubai World Cup in spring and $5 Breeders’ Cup Classic in fall at Santa Anita.

“She looks good this morning,” Mott said Saturday. “As of right now, she’ll go with us to Payson Park.”

The trip home should be less eventful than her journey from New York to California.

While loading onto the plane early in the week, Royal Delta sustained a laceration on her right hip that required five stitches. The injury spooked Mott initially, but Royal Delta trained fine at Santa Anita on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then came a second scare.

Royal Delta was treated with an antibiotic to prevent an infection.

“Sometimes antibiotic will mess with their appetite, and she lost her appetite a little bit on Wednesday night,” Mott said. “I was definitely concerned at that point.”

The scare was short.

“After we took her off the antibiotic, she went right back into her feed, and by Friday morning she was great.”

Mott said the stitches “held” during the Friday race, which was the fifth Ladies’ Classic win for Mott and jockey Mike Smith. Smith became the all-time leading Breeders’ Cup rider with his 16th victory.

Benjamin Leon owns Royal Delta, who finished ninth in the 2012 Dubai World Cup while compromised by traffic.

My Miss Aurelia exited the Breeders’ Cup better this year than last. A year ago, a shin injury showed up the day after she won the Juvenile Fillies and kept her away from the races until August. Asmussen will consult with her owners before a campaign is outlined, but ruled out the Grade 1, seven-furlong La Brea early in the Santa Anita meet.

“I don’t think I’ll ever run her one turn again,” he said.

Include Me Out will stay in training for her 5-year-old campaign, and her owner said travel to tracks with dirt surfaces was likely.

“She tolerates the [synthetic] tracks,” Siegel said. “She obviously likes dirt, and I’d love to run her different places.”

Ron Ellis trains Include Me Out, who will get a break and point to a spring campaign. Betfair Hollywood Park and Del Mar have synthetic surfaces; Include Me Out will look to the East for dirt races.

Grace Hall, fourth in the Ladies’ Classic, is scheduled to be sold at the Fasig-Tipton sale.

Awesome Feather sustained the first loss of her career in the Ladies’ Classic. After going 10 for 10, she spun her wheels on the Santa Anita track.

“She never looked like she was pulling [jockey Jeffrey Sanchez] to be anywhere,” trainer Chad Brown said.

Frank Stronach owns Awesome Feather; Brown said Saturday that no decision has been made regarding her future.

Class Included, seventh in the Ladies’ Classic, will remain at Santa Anita and is expected to remain in training at age 5.