Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Distance keeping Brown participation down

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A month away from the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs, trainer Chad Brown anticipates running only Sistercharlie and Fourstar Crook in the Nov. 3 Filly and Mare Turf, a decision influenced by the race being at 1 3/8 miles this year.

This would represent a drop-off in numbers for Brown, who started three fillies last year when the race was 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar, and whose expansive stable is filled with elite female grass runners. This summer in the Beverly D. at Arlington Park, for example, he ran four horses, sweeping the top three positions with Sistercharlie, Fourstar Crook, and Thais, plus fifth-place finisher Inflexibility.

Designed as a 1 1/4-mile race when it joined the Breeders’ Cup lineup in 1999, the Filly and Mare Turf sees regular distance changes, largely from course-configuration restrictions at Breeders’ Cup host sites that prevent some tracks from being able to run 1 1/4-mile races. This has most resulted in the race alternatively being at 1 3/8 miles at sites with seven-furlong turf courses, though in recent years the Breeders’ Cup experimented with shorter distances, such as at Del Mar and when the race was 1 3/16 miles at Keeneland in 2015.

Brown called the resumption of the race at 1 3/8 miles a “huge mistake,” not fitting the North American schedule of Grade 1 turf races for females throughout the year, all of which for the division are at 1 1/4 miles or shorter. He would have preferred to see the race remain at 1 1/8 miles, a distance over which Churchill Downs also can stage grass races.

“I have a very strong contender, probably the favorite in Sistercharlie, but that’s not the point,” Brown said. “For most of the American horses, you could use the races last year. Now, most of the races are out of play for it.”

In his view that includes Saturday’s one-mile First Lady at Keeneland – a Win and You’re In race in which he has A Raving Beauty, Off Limits, and Quidura entered – none of whom he feels is well served by the 1 3/8-mile distance of the Filly and Mare Turf. They are in the race because it is a prestigious Grade 1, not due to its significance as a stepping-stone.

The other Breeders’ Cup Challenge race for the division this weekend in the United States is Sunday’s 1 1/4-mile Flower Bowl at Belmont Park, where Brown’s Fourstar Crook is the expected favorite. He also plans to run Onthemoonagain, an anticipated longshot in a race in which Glen Falls winner Lady Montdore might be Fourstar Crook’s leading adversary.

Races in Europe this weekend could play a larger role in generating Filly and Mare Turf starters. Saturday’s Sun Chariot at Newmarket drew Laurens; Sunday’s Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp attracted Wild Illusion; and Sunday’s Arc de Triomphe, also at Longchamp, has a leading female competitor in Sea of Class.

The following week’s race schedule in the division is highlighted by the Grade 1, 1 1/4-mile E.P. Taylor at Woodbine, where Brown is aiming Santa Monica, his only other horse potentially in the Filly and Mare Turf mix, though he considers her doubtful.

Even taking into account a shorter cast from Brown, a deep group seems in line at this early stage for the Filly and Mare Turf, which has regularly attracted interest from the United States and abroad.

“The history of the race bears out that we have really quality Grade 1 horses competing,” said Dora Delgado, senior vice president of racing and nominations at the Breeders’ Cup. “It’s one of the highest-rated filly and mare races in the world.”