Breeders' Cup Filly-Mare Turf: So Mi Dar, Time and Motion drop out

Two high-class 3-year-old fillies – one in Europe, the other from America – were withdrawn from consideration this week for the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita.

So Mi Dar, whose lone defeat in five starts came when third in the Prix de l’Opera on Oct. 2, was announced as out Tuesday by numerous British racing publications, and then on Wednesday, trainer Jimmy Toner confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Time and Motion also would bypass the Breeders’ Cup.

Toner’s decision to skip the Breeders’ Cup with Time and Motion did not come as surprise, given the comments he had made before and after a hard-fought win in the Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland. Toner seemed to favor giving Time and Motion more time between races and perhaps a less-demanding test. And he reiterated those thoughts Wednesday.

“It’s asking too much to come back there in three weeks,” Toner said of the time between the Queen Elizabeth II and the Filly and Mare Turf. “We do want to run her again, run her one more time this year, but the Breeders’ Cup would be asking too much. It was a gut-wrencher, that last race.”

Options for Time and Motion’s next start include a race for 3-year-old fillies in either the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25 or the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita on Dec. 31, or against older mares in the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar on Dec. 4, Toner said.

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Even without So Mi Dar and Time and Motion, the Filly and Mare Turf should offer a deep, quality field, with Avenge, Lady Eli, Sea Calisi, and Sentiero Italia among the leading U.S.-based runners, along with a number of promising invaders from foreign countries, such as Pleascach, Ryans Charm, Seventh Heaven, and Nuova Record.

As a past Breeders’ Cup winner coming off a victory in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl, Lady Eli is the expected favorite. Pleascach and Seventh Heaven would rank as secondary favorites if they make the trip to Santa Anita.

Pre-entries for all Breeders’ Cup races will be submitted Monday, a stage when horses can be entered in multiple races, with a decision on which race they will participate in to come later.

Trainer Todd Pletcher plans to pre-enter Photo Call in the Mile and Filly and Mare Turf and evaluate the competition and pace makeup of both races to determine which suits her best.

Photo Call upset Tepin in the one-mile First Lady at Keeneland by establishing a large early lead, a running style that might not be a suitable in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile, which is expected to draw a number of front-running horses.