Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Sun Goddess impressive in easy victory

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – She does kind of stop you in your tracks. A racing novice could watch 100 horses walk past and pick Sun Goddess out as the star of the lot.

“She’s unusual - a lot about this filly is unusual,” said Aidan O’Brien, the man that trains her. “If you see the way she walks and trots and canters and does everything – physically, as a specimen, she’s very different.”

On Friday at Keeneland, Sun Goddess – as was the case on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – was in a different league than her peers. She made the most of a perfect trip tracking a slow pace, bulled to the lead at the three-sixteenths pole and took no prisoners, winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf by three lengths.

An odds-on favorite, Sun Goddess put an exclamation point on a spectacular campaign – one of the best 2-year-old seasons ever.

Sun Goddess debuted early, on May 9, and actually lost her first start. She also finished second at Royal Ascot in the Albany Stakes, beaten by the brilliant sprinter Libertango, but Sun Goddess now has won seven races, including four Group 1s: The Phoenix over six furlongs, the Moyglare Stud over seven furlongs, the Cheveley Park over six furlongs, and now the one-mile, $920,000 million Juvenile Fillies Turf, not only the longest race Sun Goddess has contested, but the first time she has raced around a turn.

The filly’s bankroll stands at about $1.8 million, and to listen to O’Brien, Sun Goddess’s best days lie ahead of her.

“She’s big and she’s rangy, she’s a super mover, a great mover, and you’d say there’s no doubt looking at her she’s going to be more of a 3-year-old than a 2-year-old,” he said.

The European contingent for this race looked powerful coming over – and even more powerful going home. Green Empress finished well to nab Curracloe for second, with a tough-trip Amusingly three-quarters of a length behind Curracloe. Then came Alwaysanangel, Scommessa Sicura, and Ballinea Star – the first seven across the line all from overseas. Eighth-place Domestic Agenda, who didn’t want to settle and was caught wide both turns, finished best of the North Americans in eighth.

Three scratches – Go for Launch, Citrus Springs, and Serena’s Ghost – allowed three also-eligibles into the 14-horse field.

Sun Goddess, Ryan Moore in the saddle, ran one mile over firm turf in 1:36.10 and paid $3.70. The filly is by Sioux Nation out of Etoile Bleu, by Starspangledbanner, and at least as a 2-year-old she’s an all-timer.

Coming out of the fast-paced Cheveley Park over six furlongs, where she defeated Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Libertango, Sun Goddess raced much closer to the lead than many would have expected – Moore not among them. Moore, having done his homework, saw little real pace entered and anticipated he’d race close. He shoved Sun Goddess out of the gate after the filly broke alertly, then dropped his hands after a few strides as his mount ran up into second behind pacesetting Seneca Park.

The field turned onto the backstretch, the first quarter split popped up in a very manageable 24.16, and with Sun Goddess perched a length off that pace, going easily, the Juvenile Fillies Turf looked over a long way from the finish.

“I thought they went slowly for a Breeders’ Cup mile race,” Moore said. “She was very relaxed. I was very confident.”

Moore let Seneca Park tow him through a half-mile in a slow 48.83 and around the far turn, began asking Sun Goddess at the five-sixteenths pole, and by upper stretch had seized the lead. Sun Goddess led by 2 1/2 at the stretch call and no one could come any closer than that.

Green Empress, defeated by six lengths and three-quarters in two previous matchups with Sun Goddess, raced from mid-pack and did her best work in the final furlong – a filly who could improve over longer distances next year. Her trainer, Joseph O’Brien, also sent out fifth-place finisher Alwaysanangel, a closer compromised by a slow pace.

“Both fillies ran super and we’re in for hopefully good campaigns with them next year,” O’Brien said.

Third-place Curracloe lost second on the line and turned in a strong performance of her own making just her third start.

“She has a great mind, and that’s why I thought bringing her here wouldn’t do her any harm,”
trainer John Murtagh said. “I’m absolutely delighted with her.”

Amusingly ran the race’s co-fastest third-quarter-mile and the fastest final quarter, 22.56 – all for naught after she fell nearly back to last after breaking slowly. Sun Goddess is far too good to give a head start.

“I think Amusingly has done very well to get as close as she did,” jockey Colin Keane said. “She’s a very good filly.”

Not as good as Sun Goddess – but then nobody is right now. Up next: the 1000 Guineas in early May at Newmarket. If Sun Goddess comes back better at 3 than she is at 2, she won’t lose that race, either.

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