Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: History may hold key to finding winner

ARCADIA, Calif. – History will try repeat Saturday in the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf, added to the Breeders’ Cup program in 1999.

The race was still a novelty in 2001 when French trainer Andre Fabre shipped in Banks Hill for a crushing win at Belmont, the first Breeders’ Cup win for Juddmonte Farms. Later that day, Tiznow became the first two-time winner of the Classic.

Fast forward to 2013 and recognizable names have resurfaced for the race.

Fabre is back, with upset candidate Romantica. Banks Hill is back, as a broodmare. She is the dam of Romantica, a Group 1 winner owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms.

[BREEDERS’ CUP 2013: Fields with DRF odds and comments]

And though sire Tiznow will not have a starter, his full brother Tizbud has a good one. She is Tiz Flirtatious, a California-bred mare at the top of her game.

Ten were entered in the Grade 1, 1 1/4-mile Filly & Mare Turf in which England-based Dank is favored based on her recent summer raid. Dank, 6 for 11, shipped to Arlington in August to post a dominating win in the Grade 1 Beverly D.

Dank, Romantica, and Tiz Flirtatious are the key starters in a deep field. It includes East Coast shipper Laughing, the likely pacesetter with four straight graded stakes wins.

Alterite, Lady of Shamrock, Emollient, Qushchi, and Kitten’s Dumplings were entered, along with 2012 F&M Turf runner-up Marketing Mix. Her trainer, Tom Proctor, offered an amusing view regarding European shippers.

“The problem is if we beat the Europeans, it is because they had a bad trip,” Proctor said. “If we beat the Europeans, we have to listen for a year that they had a bad trip.”

The Fugue, an import, finished third last year with a bad trip. She runs Saturday against males in the Turf, while the good Europeans in the 2013 F&M Turf field are Dank and Romantica.

A repeat performance by Dank would make her tough, though Proctor hopes Marketing Mix and jockey Gary Stevens get a different trip than when fourth in the Beverly D., beaten nearly six lengths. It was not a bad trip, but she was keyed up.

“She’s the type filly that if you put her on somebody’s hip, she stays turned on,” Proctor said. “Let her get in behind somebody and she’ll kind of turn it off a little. That’s what Gary learned about her in her last race.”

That was the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive; she improved to finish a head behind Tiz Flirtatious. The challenge Saturday is chasing lone speed – Laughing has won all four of her starts this year, all on the East Coast in front-running or pace-pressing fashion.

Trained by Alan Goldberg, Laughing arrived in California late Tuesday, and looked terrific Wednesday morning. Though she has no published works since the Flower Bowl at Belmont on Sept. 28, Goldberg said she worked twice in the past two weeks. If she gets loose, Laughing could go all the way under Jose Lezcano.

The top California hope is Tiz Flirtatious, whose owner-breeder Pam Ziebarth was at the 2001 Breeders’ Cup when Tiznow won the Classic. Tiznow previously had been co-owned by Ziebarth’s late mother, Cecilia Straub-Rubens.

Ziebarth admitted she does not recall details about Banks Hill and the F&M Turf that day. “With the Classic being the last race, I don’t remember much before,” she said. “That’s the advantage of our race going earlier this year – we can enjoy the later races.”

California fans have enjoyed watching Tiz Flirtatious develop into a Grade 1 winner for trainer Marty Jones. It was not as easy as it looks. Early in her career, she was easily stirred up, always keen to go.

“Getting her on the grass and to learn to settle has allowed her to get to the next level,” Jones said. “She’s imposing to look at; she’s big and well-balanced. She’s what you want a horse to look like.”

Her r é sum é matches her looks. Five starts this year have produced four wins and a second. Julien Leparoux will ride.

The best gamble Saturday might be Group 1 winner Romantica, whose dam Banks Hill is a full sister to 2005 Filly & Mare Turf winner Intercontinental. Romantica finished nowhere last time in a Group 1 at Longchamp.

According to Juddmonte racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe, she had an excuse. “The ground was a bit too soft for her,” he said. “She likes fast ground, like her mother.”

If she gets beat by Dank, well, that can be spun in a positive light. Dank was sired by Dansili, a full brother to Banks Hill who stands at Juddmonte.“Either way, it’s a good result for Juddmonte,” he said.