Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Lady Eli to face challengers from far and wide

Last year, in one of the more thrilling Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita, Lady Eli was edged a nose by the European Queen’s Trust in the Filly and Mare Turf. The loss denied Lady Eli a second Breeders’ Cup triumph, following a score in the Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2014.

When the Filly and Mare Turf is renewed Nov. 4 at Del Mar, once again Lady Eli is likely to face challengers from abroad. Already, two European fillies, Ashiana and Hydrangea, have earned free berths by winning Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, and another, Birdie Gold, did so by winning a stakes race in Peru.

And the foreign Win And You’re In qualifiers are not yet complete. Another berth will go to the winner of the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera at Chantilly on Oct. 1, a race that regularly attracts many of the best turf females from overseas.

More Europeans could target the Breeders’ Cup if they perform well in the coming weeks. A month and a half ahead of the race, the connections of as many as 14 foreign horses are considering participation, including the Win and You’re In Challenge winners, according to Josh Christian, senior director of racing for the Breeders’ Cup.

Not all of those horses will be sent to Del Mar, but the presence of even a few could make for a compelling renewal of the Filly and Mare Turf, which for the first time will be contested at 1 1/8 miles after ranging in distance from 1 3/16 miles to 1 3/8 miles in its 18 prior runnings.

Although the shorter distance seems to have boosted foreign interest overall, it is shorter than the preferred distance of Queen’s Trust, who needed every inch of the 1 1/4-mile distance last November at Santa Anita to catch Lady Eli. The shorter distance puts her Filly and Mare Turf participation into question.

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Beyond the Europeans, there is no lack of competition for Lady Eli among American-based runners, including those in her own stable. Dacita, who like Lady Eli is trained by Chad Brown, won the Grade 1 Beverly D., a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, and is pointed for the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont on Oct. 8, along with Grand Jete, who dead-heated for second after a troubled trip in the Beverly D. Another Brown-trained pair, Fourstar Crook and Rainha Da Bateria, are being aimed for the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita on Sept. 30.

The Rodeo Drive could be a compelling East-West showdown, with the one-two finishers from the Grade 2 John C. Mabee at Del Mar – Cambodia and Goodyearforroses – expected to take on Brown’s East Coast invaders.

One top-class turf runner considered unlikely for the Filly and Mare Turf is Dona Bruja, unless she were to authoritatively win the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland on Oct. 7, trainer Ignacio Correas said. Although the First Lady is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, Dona Bruja hasn’t been nominated to the Breeders’ Cup and would require a $200,000 supplement to compete.

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