Breeders' Cup Mile: Tepin among several formidable ladies
There is nothing whatsoever sexist about the Breeders’ Cup Mile, an open race that in its 32-year history has been won nine times by a filly or mare, and this year’s edition could attract a record number of female participants.
Only twice in Mile history (1993 and 1995) have as many as three females started, but four or more could run this year. Tepin, who won the race last year at Keeneland, finished second as the odds-on favorite Saturday in the First Lady Stakes at Keeneland but remains on course to try to become the sixth horse to win multiple editions of the Mile. Tepin, for one day at least, was eclipsed by another filly, Miss Temple City, who for the second time this year beat males in a Grade 1 race at Keeneland when she captured the Shadwell Turf Mile.
On Saturday at Santa Anita, the South American filly Kitcat, who earned an expenses-paid berth to the Mile when she won the Club Hipico Falabella, a Win and You’re In race in her native Chile, finished second in the restricted Swingtime Stakes, but her connections said the Mile remained her target.
Photo Call, who ran the race of her life, leading nearly all the way in her upset of Tepin in the First Lady, will be cross-entered in the Mile and in the Filly and Mare Turf, trainer Todd Pletcher said this week. Celestine, who was third in the First Lady, also had previously been mentioned as a Mile candidate.
That’s probably it for North American-based female Mile hopefuls, but there are others overseas, headed by the 3-year-old filly Alice Springs. Alice Springs on Wednesday was taken out of the last race with any real relevance for the BC Mile, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on the Champions Day card Saturday at Ascot, and figures to go straight to the Mile. Other European females that have been mentioned for the Mile include Ervedya, Amazing Maria, and Spectre.
The Shadwell Turf Mile surprisingly was run at a dawdling pace, and Miss Temple City benefited from pressing slow fractions set by Pleuven, a decent horse not of Grade 1 quality. Even so, the finish appeared to come just in time for Miss Temple City as Ironicus, only ninth at the stretch call, flew home, running his final quarter-mile in less than 22 seconds to miss by a head. The strong finish from the lightly raced and talented colt figures to make him one of the shorter prices at Santa Anita.
Tourist, third in the Shadwell, seems a likely Mile runner, and Mondialiste, who was a somewhat one-paced fourth, returned to England this week but will be back at Santa Anita for the Mile, trainer David O’Meara said. Ring Weekend, seventh in the Shadwell and trained, like Miss Temple City, by Graham Motion, also could be entered in the Mile.
At Santa Anita, Vyjack closed into a sprint-like pace and won the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile, the local BC Mile prep, in a narrow decision over Om and Vyjack’s stablemate Obviously. Om, trainer Dan Hendricks said, is being pointed to the Mile, but Phil D’Amato, who trains Obviously and Vyjack, already has Midnight Storm for the Mile and could choose other races for the City of Hope Mile’s first- and third-place finishers, with Vyjack possible for the Dirt Mile and Obviously possible for the Turf Sprint.