2025 Eclipse Awards: Kopion

Put to the test in a challenging 4-year-old campaign, Kopion still managed to flourish for trainer Richard Mandella. A fifth-place finish against male rivals in the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint does not define the talented filly, who only reached that lofty spot after lighting up the track earlier in the year.

Bred by Tall Oaks Farm, Kopion was sired by Omaha Beach out of the unraced Canadian-bred mare Galloping Ami. She was purchased for $270,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale by Spendthrift Farm, which has owned her throughout her career. In 2025, she earned nearly $900,000.

Early in the year, one could argue that no sprinter, male or female, could have touched Kopion, who scorched her rivals in two graded stakes at seven furlongs to begin her 4-year-old campaign. In February, she earned a 110 Beyer Speed Figure in the Grade 2 Santa Monica, winning by 4 1/2 lengths. Three months later, Mandella shipped her to Churchill Downs for the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery and struck again, as Kopion won going away with a 109 Beyer.

After a surprising defeat to front-runner Sweet Azteca in the Grade 2 Great Lady M. at Los Alamitos, in which Kopion was carried extremely wide, she stretched out to her only route of the year in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch presented by Oak Tree Racing Association in August at Del Mar. Up against Seismic Beauty on that filly’s terms at 1 1/16 miles, Kopion earned another eye-popping 107 Beyer but had to settle for second.

:: Full list of 2025 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

Originally touted as a potentially overwhelming favorite in the PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, Mandella decided to change plans the month before the race. With Tamara training well, the trainer opted to split his runners, reasoning that Kopion was equipped to handle the boys. The betting public agreed and made her the 4-1 second choice in the field of 14.

“Her sprints are top-notch, and I would say that bad luck has cost her the last two races,” Mandella said before the Breeders’ Cup. “I’m going to cross-enter her [in the Sprint against the colts] in case I want to separate them and give that a try.”

Though she finished fifth in that attempt against male rivals, the real achievement for the filly was reaching those heights in the first place.

The only possible criticism of Kopion at the end of her five-race season is that wins became hard to come by, but the most basic analysis of her last three starts reveals something far more impressive. Brilliant from the very beginning against other female sprinters, Mandella never shied away from challenging her with something new. She earned those chances and, at the top of her game, no one ever questioned her qualifications.

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