Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Distance suits War Like Goddess
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Surrounded by reporters after War Like Goddess grabbed the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes, Bill Mott stared intently at the infield’s big screen and gave a running commentary of the race replay.
“I guess they went fairly slow, right,” Mott murmured. “You say, okay, she idled off of that, but they’re not going to close into that as if they went in 49 and 1:13. The horse that was second is on the lead right now.”
As War Like Goddess commenced her rally, Mott continued his stream of consciousness. “And here, she just doesn’t loop them, you know what I mean? She’s got a little bit of work to do there. There she goes. I think she ran to [runner-up Chop Chop] and that one still had a little run in the tank.”
Some would say it’s the attention to detail that helped Mott become the youngest trainer enshrined into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame when he was inducted at age 45 in 1998.
Now 71, Mott is on most racing fans’ Mount Rushmore of trainers, and he’ll saddle the popular War Like Goddess for her fourth attempt at Breeders’ Cup glory. She’s listed as the 5-1 third-choice on the preliminary Daily Racing Form morning line set by Brad Free behind European invaders Emily Upjohn and Content.
A close third as the favorite in the 2021 Filly and Mare Turf, also racing 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar, War Like Goddess faced the boys in the Turf in her last two appearances, placing third and seventh, respectively.
Why the Turf? Distance.
It’s the longer, the better for War Like Goddess, and when the Filly and Mare Turf was contested at 1 3/16 miles at Keeneland in 2022 and 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita last year, Mott opted for the longer and potentially tougher 12-furlong races.
The 7-year-old mare finished second in her two starts after the Robert G. Dick. She was compromised by a glacial pace over yielding ground in Saratoga’s Flower Bowl, then missed by a half-length when attempting a three-peat against males in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.
“I don’t think I have any big excuses,” Mott said about the Joe Hirsch. “Our trip was very smooth. We saved ground on the first two turns and tipped out around one horse. We had a clear run. If we were good enough, we were going to win.”
War Like Goddess shipped to Del Mar on Thursday and is expected to breeze once locally before the Filly and Mare Turf.
◗ The father-and-son training team of John and Thady Gosden didn’t pre-enter Prix de l’Opera winner Friendly Soul, but Emily Upjohn has first preference in the race with the Turf the other option.
Although winless from six starts this year, Emily Upjohn did place in three Group 1 events, including Longchamp’s Prix Vermeille on Sept. 15. In that start, she finished third, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by subsequent Arc de Triomphe winner Bluestocking. The Gosdens trained Inspiral to win last year’s Filly and Mare Turf.
◗ Seventeen horses pre-entered. With Running Lion already a known defection, the first also-eligible, Beautiful Love, enters the fray.
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