Breeders' Cup Distaff: Royal Delta, Beholder, Authenticity only confirmed starters

In a single year, the Breeders’ Cup Distaff has gone from one extreme to another.

The 2012 field was the strongest in the 29-year-old history of the Distaff. Seven of the eight starters were Grade 1 winners, including three champions, one of them unbeaten.

The 2013 field is taking shaping as the smallest. Wednesday, the race had three confirmed starters – Royal Delta, Beholder, and Authenticity.

A decision is pending for Cotillion winner Close Hatches; indications are Princess of Sylmar is done for the year.

Dance Card will be considered for the Distaff as well as the Filly and Mare Sprint, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Wednesday. Winner of the Grade 1 Gazelle in 2012, her only start this year was a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom on Sept. 21 at Belmont.

The filly-mare division has been diminished by retirements, layoffs, and poor performances. The latest to defect was Grade 1 winner Joyful Victory, retired this week after finishing third in the Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita.

While the Distaff field could grow, two stakes on Saturday figure to have a minor impact. Neither the Grade 1 Spinster on synthetic at Keeneland, nor the Grade 2 Indiana Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Indian Downs is historically a key Distaff prep.

That would change if On Fire Baby runs well in the Spinster. Winner of the Grade 1 Apple Blossom in April and second to Authenticity in the Grade 2 La Troienne, she finished a distant fourth last out in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 25 at Saratoga.

The Spinster has been contested on synthetic the last seven years. Mushka won the 2009 Spinster and finished second in the Ladies’ Classic (Distaff) on synthetic at Santa Anita. She is the only synthetic-surface Spinster winner to officially hit the board in the Distaff. In the 2006 Ladies’ Classic, Spinster winner Asi Siempre was disqualified from second and placed fourth.

Fiftyshadesofhay, the preliminary favorite in the Indiana Oaks, has not been ruled out of the Breeders’ Cup. She lost twice to Beholder in spring; her biggest win was the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in May at Pimlico.

The smallest Distaff/Ladies’ Classic fields were six-horse fields in 1987 and 1996, won by the second betting choices Sacahuista and Jewel Princess. The likely second choice for 2013 is Beholder; the favorite remains Royal Delta.

– additional reporting by David Grening