Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Brave Anna emerges as top contender

The surprise win by Brave Anna in the Grade 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse in England last Saturday gives Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien the early favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

The victory by Brave Anna was O’Brien’s first in the Cheveley Park Stakes. She could be his first winner in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. In the eight runnings of the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, O’Brien’s best showings were two second-place finishes – a nose loss by Heart Shaped at Churchill Downs in 2008 and a three-quarter-length loss by Alice Springs at Keeneland last year.

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After the Cheveley Park Stakes, O’Brien said the one-mile BC Juvenile Fillies Turf would suit Brave Anna because of the likelihood of a firm turf course at Santa Anita.

Brave Anna won the Cheveley Park Stakes, at six furlongs on turf, at 25-1 by a short head over stablemate Roly Poly. Lady Aurelia had a commanding lead with a quarter-mile to go but faded late to third, beaten two lengths. The Kentucky-based Lady Aurelia was the odds-on favorite to extend her unbeaten streak to four races.

Trainer Wesley Ward said immediately after the race that Lady Aurelia was out of contention for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Later on Saturday, Lady Aurelia was found to have bled from the lungs, Ward said. She will be given a 90-day rest in Kentucky.

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“She bled a 3 out of 5,” Ward said on Tuesday. “We’ll take our time to get her back for the spring. She’ll have quite a big break.”

Without Lady Aurelia, there is no standout filly among the American-trained hopefuls for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, although Victory to Victory showed immense promise with her win in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 18.

Victory to Victory earned an automatic berth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf with the win in the Natalma Stakes. There is a berth available to the winner of Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at a mile on turf at Chantilly in France.

Sunday’s $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park, the leading prep race in New York, could clarify the rankings. Coasted, the winner of the P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 1, is a probable runner in the Miss Grillo, run at 1 1/16 miles on turf.