Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Meditate finishes strongly for O'Brien, Moore after change in strategy
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Meditate, the Irish-bred 2-year-old filly who went off favored in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf despite two recent losses, redeemed herself with a powerful run in the stretch that left no doubt as to her class and shattered any perceptions of her distance limitations.
Under Ryan Moore, Meditate won the Juvenile Turf Fillies by 2 1/2 lengths, following a decision by Moore to keep her well back of the pacesetters and covered up until the stretch run. When she was swung out wide into the stretch, she promptly accelerated, blowing past the field and easily holding off second-place finisher Pleasant Passage while cantering to the line.
“The race was over a furlong and a half out,” Moore said. “I felt like she had a lot left. She’s probably just a level above the rest of the others.”
Owned by Coolmore and trained by Aidan O’Brien, Meditate ran her record to five wins in seven starts, pushing her career earnings to $862,341. She ran the mile on firm turf in 1:35.38 and paid $6.08 to win as the favorite in the field of 14. She was given a Beyer Speed Figure of 89.
Pleasant Passage, who was undefeated in two previous starts, was second, 2 1/4 lengths in front of Cairo Consort, who headed a tightly bunched group of well-beaten fillies.
“I thought we ran great,” said Shug McGaughey, the trainer of Pleasant Passage. “We just got beat by a really great filly today.”
Many of those in the group behind Pleasant Passage had traffic trouble after the field entered the stretch and the early leaders, Spirit Gal and Manhattan Jungle, began to falter. Meanwhile, Moore was merrily guiding Meditate to the outside and had free sailing.
“Ryan was very patient,” O’Brien said. “He was saving the gas all the way around.”
Meditate was facing serious questions about her ability to run a route after blowing the lead in her two previous starts, the six-furlong Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket on Sept. 24 and the seven-furlong Moyglare Stud Stakes at The Curragh just 13 days earlier. In both races, she ran prominently placed, took the lead with a furlong left, but was then passed.
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O’Brien said that after the Cheveley Park he began to have serious doubts about whether Meditate could get the mile. But Moore encouraged him to change tactics.
“Ryan said to me, ‘Listen, we just need to ride her more patiently,’ ” O’Brien said.
The concerns about her possible limitations had O’Brien and the filly’s connections circling the Juvenile Fillies Turf as a litmus test. Meditate passed with flying colors, so now she’ll target the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket next year, the one-mile classic for 3-year-old fillies, as prestigious in Great Britain as the Kentucky Oaks is in the U.S.
“She’s very straightforward,” Moore said. “She does everything you want her to do. She’s just a level above, dominant, really.”
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