Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Zagora finishes career on top

ARCADIA, Calif. – Zagora ended her career at the top of the American female turf division.

Making her final start before she is scheduled to be sold Monday evening at the Fasig-Tipton November sale in Kentucky, Zagora won Friday’s $1,818,000 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita, the richest and most prestigious victory of her career.

With the win, she essentially clinched the Eclipse Award as the nation’s champion turf female of 2012.

Through the season, Zagora won 5 of 8 starts, including four stakes. Prior to the BC Filly and Mare Turf, her most prominent win of the year was the Grade 2 Ballston Spa Stakes at Saratoga in late August. She was second to Nahrain in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont Park in late September.

A little luck helped Zagora ($20.40) to the winner’s circle Friday.

She had an ideal trip under jockey Javier Castellano, catching stretch leader Marketing Mix in the final furlong to win by three-quarters of a length. Castellano had Zagora in fourth on the backstretch and moved into third at the top of the stretch.

At that point, jockey Garrett Gomez thought he was aboard the winner with Marketing Mix, the winner of the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita in September.

[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Friday results and video replays]

“I thought we timed it well,” Gomez said. “The other filly went by us.”

Zagora ran 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.70 on firm turf.

She won 10 of 22 starts and $2,368,589 in her career. The winner’s share of $1,080,000 nearly doubled the career earnings of Zagora, a 5-year-old French-bred mare by Green Tune.

Zagora races for Martin Schwartz and trainer Chad Brown. For Schwartz, Friday’s race was his first Breeders’ Cup win.

“She is all heart,” Schwartz said of Zagora. “I can’t remember. I think she’s has been out of the money just a few times.”

Schwartz played a role in choosing Castellano, who had ridden Zagora in the past. Ramon Dominguez rode Zagora in her last three starts before the BC Filly and Mare Turf.

“I looked at all of Zagora’s tapes, and I felt Javier was a half a length better on her than Ramon,” Schwartz said. “I love Ramon and I told him I would pay part of the jockey’s fee when I took him off, because I had such an extraordinary feeling for him.”

Brown won his first Breeders’ Cup race since Maram won the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita in 2008.

The unlucky horse in the field was The Fugue, a British import who was the 8-5 favorite. Well-placed behind the leaders throughout, she did not have sufficient running room in the final quarter-mile under jockey William Buick and finished third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Zagora.

“She did not get clear until it was too late,” trainer John Gosden said. ““We’ve seen it time and time before. You’ve got to get room.”

The Fugue was followed by Ridasiyna, Lady of Shamrock, I’m A Dreamer, Up, Star Billing, In Lingerie, Nahrain, and Stormy Lucy in the field of 11.