Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Waiting game begins for Destino d'Oro
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This could be a nerve-wracking October for Steve Landers, the owner of the 2-year-old filly Destino d’Oro.
A contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1, Destino d’Oro finished a troubled third by a head in her stakes debut in the Grade 2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland last Friday.
Destino d’Oro narrowly missed a win, and the fees-paid berth to the Juvenile Fillies Turf that went to the undefeated May Day Ready.
Landers, of Little Rock, Ark., and trainer Brad Cox intend to pre-enter Destino d’Oro on Oct. 21 and hope she gains a berth in the 14-horse field.
“I’m anxious to get a shot,” Landers said earlier this week. “I think she’s special.”
The problem is the Juvenile Fillies Turf is often a popular race. Last year, there were 25 pre-entries.
When pre-entries are completed, a committee of racing officials will select the first 14 and list any also-eligibles in an order of preference. Often, there are a few defections from the first 14 after pre-entries that allow a few also-eligibles to join the field.
Landers, a retired car dealership owner and a member of the Arkansas Racing Commission, has never had a Breeders’ Cup runner. He frequently has runners at Oaklawn Park and owned the now-retired Leofric, winner of the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in 2018.
Landers paid $185,000 for Destino d’Oro at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. 2-year-olds in-training auction in April. The filly debuted with an easy win by 2 1/4 lengths in a maiden race at a mile on turf at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 31.
Destino d’Oro was deliberately held out of races earlier in the summer at Cox’s insistence, Landers said.
Brad “wanted her to grow a little bit, and she did and she’s done fine,” Landers said. “She’s a real strong and powerful horse.”
The 8-5 favorite in the 11-runner Jessamine, Destino d’Oro was crowded shortly after the start and closed with a wide rally to finish two noses behind May Day Ready.
“I thought I’d won it and I was an inch or two off,” Landers said.
The list of leading candidates for the Juvenile Fillies Turf includes Lake Victoria, the two-time Group 1 winner trained in Ireland by Aidan O’Brien; And One More Time, winner of the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 14 in her turf debut; and Thought Process, who has won two one-mile turf stakes at Del Mar and Santa Anita.
And One More Time led a sweep of the first three positions in the Natalma by trainer Mark Casse, who was second and third with Vixen and Nitrogen. Earlier this week, Casse said he intends to run all three in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Landers insists Destino d’Oro belongs in the front rank of contenders.
“I have to believe we can beat those horses,” he said. “She’s stepping right on up. She’s green. She’s still young.
“We’ve got a shot if we can get her in.”
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