Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Legatissimo leads European contingent
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The British are coming . . . and the Irish . . . and the French.
They’re all converging on Keeneland for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Saturday. The Europeans will meet a cast of U.S.-raised and -raced turf females, plus a few the U.S. has adopted from other countries, including Dacita from Chile.
The 1 3/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf is race 6 on Saturday, with a post time of 2:10 p.m. Eastern.
Legatissimo, who has made all 10 of her starts in England or Ireland, is the 8-5 favorite on the morning line set by track handicapper Mike Battaglia. He lists five other horses at odds of 10-1 or less: Hard Not to Like, Dacita, Miss France, Stephanie’s Kitten, and Secret Gesture. And Daily Racing Form national handicapper Mike Watchmaker goes one deeper, throwing in French raider Queen’s Jewel to make for a six-pack of horses at 10-1 or lower opposing Legatissimo.
None has as good a chance as Legatissimo. Owned by representatives of Coolmore Stud and trained by David Wachman, she has been first or second in six consecutive races, with her five most recent starts coming in Group 1 company. She won three of those: the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, the Nassau at Goodwood in August, and the Matron at Leopardstown in September.
Legatissimo has performed at this high level in her last five races under a variety of conditions, racing from a mile to 1 1/2 miles and winning on good-to-firm and soft courses. And she is fresh, having not raced since the Sept. 12 Matron. Ryan Moore rides.
Perhaps the top U.S. hope is Stephanie’s Kitten. A 6-year-old, she won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs in 2011 and finished second in the Filly and Mare Turf last year to her Chad Brown-trained stablemate Dayatthespa. She comes off a win in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont on Oct. 3.
“She’s as good as ever for me,” said Brown.
Brown also starts longshot Watsdachances, the Beverly D. Stakes winner via disqualification, and Dacita, who won the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 2 Ballston Spa over Breeders’ Cup Mile contender Tepin in her only start in the U.S. Brown chose not to run Dacita over soft ground in the Flower Bowl and feels comfortable racing her in the Breeders’ Cup off a layoff extending back to Aug. 29.
“She’s shown the ability to fire fresh, and I think we have her ready,” he said.
Absent from the Filly and Mare Turf is a confirmed pacesetter. Most of the entrants prefer to race in midpack or rally from behind, with Secret Gesture and Miss France perhaps among the speediest in the field. Miss France might be able to set or race up close to slow fractions, enabling her to stay the 1 3/16-mile distance of the race after being campaigned largely as a miler.
Two horses exiting the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita on Sept. 26 also merit attention, though their efforts in that race could not have been more different. The victorious Photo Call turned in a career-best race, while Hard Not to Like ran eighth in what trainer Christophe Clement called a “flat” effort.
Encouraged by Hard Not to Like’s training in the weeks since, Clement opted to give her a chance to rebound in the Breeders’ Cup. Earlier this year, Hard Not to Like won the Grade 1 Gamely and Grade 1 Diana, both at 1 1/8 miles.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Hard Not to Like. Trainer Christophe Clement is 12-9-1-0 with a $6.60 ROI over the past two years in turf route graded stakes with John Velazquez aboard. – Mike Hogan
Photo Call likely will need to continue her rapid progression to upset the Filly and Mare Turf. She had a favorable stalking trip in her victory in the Rodeo Drive. Jockey Drayden Van Dyke “had her in the perfect spot,” trainer Graham Motion said.
“And when things opened up, he was able to go with her,” Motion said.
The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf begins at the tail end of what is the final turn, meaning the field has a couple of seconds after the start before hitting the stretch. That might cost the outside-drawn horses a small amount of ground, with Stephanie’s Kitten and Secret Gesture taking the worst of it in posts 11 and 12. But a long run of five-sixteenths of a mile before the first full turn gives riders plenty of opportunity to establish position with their mounts.
Elektrum and Talmada are the also-eligibles for the race, though Elektrum was not going to be sent to Kentucky, said trainer John Sadler. That leaves Talmada in position to gain entry if a scratch occurs by Friday morning.