Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies: Short field long on quality
LEXINGTON, Ky. – There may not ever have been a Breeders’ Cup race where half the field came in unbeaten. If there was, hopefully it wound up as exciting a race as the 2020 edition of the $2 million BC Juvenile Fillies appears to be shaping up.
Four of the eight fillies pre-entered in the Nov. 6 Juvenile Fillies have yet to taste defeat. Princess Noor, Simply Ravishing, and Dayoutoftheoffice all have gone 3 for 3, while Girl Daddy is 2 for 2.
The others in the lineup for the 1 1/16-mile race are no slouches either, as they’ve combined for a 9-for-15 record. They are Crazy Beautiful, Princess Secret, Thoughtfully, and Vequist.
Indeed, the old “quality over quantity” theme will be a familiar refrain by the time these fillies are loaded into the Keeneland gate for their once-around trip.
“There aren’t as many horses in there as you might normally expect for a Breeders’ Cup race,” said Dale Romans, trainer of Girl Daddy. “It looks like we’ve all got our work cut out for us.”
Princess Noor, trained by Bob Baffert, is the favorite in the latest Daily Racing Form projections at 2-1, followed closely by Simply Ravishing and Dayoutoftheoffice, both at 5-2.
Trying to determine how this race will set up could be tricky business, given how most of the field seems to have high turns of speed. Simply Ravishing quickly put daylight between herself and the opposition when wiring the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland on Oct. 2, but several others appear capable of flashing similar quicks, including Dayoutoftheoffice, the Tim Hamm-trained filly who will be making her first start around two turns in this race.
With final pre-race breezes set for the coming days prior to everyone converging on Kentucky, these were some of the penultimate workouts posted last week by the Juvenile Fillies contenders: Princess Noor, six furlongs in 1:11.80 on Saturday at Santa Anita; Simply Ravishing, a half-mile in 48 seconds Saturday at Churchill Downs; Girl Daddy, five furlongs in 1:00.80 Friday at Churchill; and Princess Secret, five furlongs in 1:01.40 last Thursday at Gulfstream West in her first breeze since she won the Sept. 26 My Dear Girl over fellow Florida-breds.