Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Pressure is on One Fast Broad in Surfer Girl Stakes
To be assured a start in the Breeders’ Cup, One Fast Broad is in a virtual must-win situation in Monday’s $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita.
A victory or a narrow loss are the only results that owner-trainer Mick Ruis says will convince him to start One Fast Broad in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 3 at Del Mar.
“If she wins, for sure we’ll put her in there,” he said. “We’ll see if she runs second. She’s got to be first or second to think about it.”
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Judging from the way Ruis’s stable has performed in the last week, One Fast Broad’s chances cannot be taken lightly. Last Friday and Saturday, Ruis won four races, including the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes with Bolt d’Oro, who is likely to be favored in the BC Juvenile on Nov. 4.
One Fast Broad has run twice, including a win in a slowly run maiden race at six furlongs for California-bred fillies Aug. 4 at Del Mar. A month later, she was second by a half-length at 46-1 in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf at a mile on turf despite racing wide throughout.
“She came back tired,” Ruis said. “I expect her to run a good race on Monday.”
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With a large field expected for the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, the winner of the Surfer Girl and perhaps the runner-up are likely to be the only runners to advance to the Nov. 3 race.
The Surfer Girl Stakes is run at a mile on turf and is the final major prep for the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf in Southern California. The Grade 3 Jessamine Stakes on Oct. 11 at Keeneland is the last major stakes prep, with a fees-paid berth awarded to the winner.
Last weekend, Significant Form, Clemmie, and Happily won stakes to confirm their status as the leading contenders.
Significant Form, trained by Chad Brown, won her stakes debut in Sunday’s Grade 3 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park. Clemmie won Saturday’s Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at six furlongs on turf at Newmarket in England for trainer Aidan O’Brien. A day later, the O’Brien-trained Happily beat males for her second consecutive Group 1 win in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Chantilly, France.
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