2021 Breeders' Cup Mile: Space Blues triumphs in final racing start
DEL MAR, Calif. – Space Blues, finishing like a rocket, launched himself past pacesetting Smooth Like Strait and won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile in his career finale.
It was the second Breeders’ Cup victory of the weekend for Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and jockey William Buick, and like the first one, the Mile had pre-race drama.
On Friday, Buick rode Modern Games to victory in the Juvenile Turf as the colt raced for purse money only after mistakenly being scratched. His scratch came after a second Godolphin and Appleby horse, Albahr, flipped in the gate, an easy scratch.
Appleby and Godolphin also had two for the Mile, and again, there was trouble, as Master of The Seas, another quirky sort, reared up once in the starting gate, reared again, then was backed out and scratched. Appleby watched another intended Breeders’ Cup runner trot by him saddle-less, headed for the stables instead of racing.
And then he watched his second runner go out and deliver a world-class performance.
“Another interesting race to watch,” Appleby quipped. “We’re getting used to it now.”
Space Blues, who is scheduled to begin a stud career next year, has gotten used to winning, with Buick his constant partner. This made eight wins from his last 10 starts, Space Blues following a powerhouse performance in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret with the best showing of a 19-start, 11-win career.
“He’s been a great servant to us. To cap it off with a win like this on this stage is fantastic,” Appleby said.
Space Blues ($6.20) won his maiden over one mile and, at one point, Appleby said, was being trained as a prospect for the 1 1/2-mile Derby at Epsom. Instead, the 5-year-old horse, by Dubawi out of Miss Lucifer, by Noverre, found his niche in overseas sprint races at 6 1/2 or seven furlongs. Top-level one-mile contests in Europe are slightly too demanding for Space Blues, whose quick burst tends to flatten out over those trips.
“We thought a flat surface with tight turns would suit him and allow him to get a mile,” Appleby said. “He wouldn’t be a natural mile horse back home.”
Buick said he feared the prospect of getting sucked into a quick, demanding pace, but that didn’t happen as Blowout did not go up to press Smooth Like Strait, who broke alertly and went straight to the front under Umberto Rispoli, going 23.51 and 47.38. Space Blues got away well, too, tucking into a perfect spot in third. Blowout came under a ride early and gave way, leaving Smooth Like Strait to Space Blues’s powerful punch; the early leader resisted, but to no avail, though Smooth Like Strait finished one length in front of third-place Ivar.
Over the last two seasons, racing in Grade 1 and Grade 2 competition, Smooth Like Strait has gone 14-5-7-1, taking some tough, narrow losses.
“I thought he ran fantastic,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “I loved the way everything went in the race. As far as American turf horses go, the last two years there was no one who put together campaigns like him. He was beaten in four races about the length of your arm.”
Ivar broke from post 13 but managed to work out a passable trip, finishing fastest to get third in just his third race this season.
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“Everything went well. A little bit more pace would have helped us,” trainer Paulo Lobo said.
Raging Bull, racing closer to the pace than usual, finished decently along the inside for fourth, a neck in front of Got Stormy, who was second in the 2019 Mile. Then came Pearls Galore, who got a good trip but could not finish it off, and In Love, Lobo’s second runner. They were followed by Casa Creed, Real Appeal, Mother Earth, Blowout, Vin de Garde, and second-choice Mo Forza, who was knocked about just after the start and raced from the back but had no punch. Winning time over a firm course was 1:34.01, which translated to a 106 Beyer Speed Figure.
Appleby, champion trainer in England for the first time and riding a crest that has brought Godolphin storming back to the top of the racing world, would go on to win the Turf later in the day with Yibir. Two days, three winners – and more anxiety than Appleby would have preferred.