England: Certify risks unbeaten record in Fillies' Mile at Newmarket

The undefeated Certify should be heavily favored to win the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile for 2-year-old fillies on Friday at Newmarket in England.

The Fillies’ Mile is a Breeder’s Cup Challenge Win and You’re In race for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but Certify seems doubtful to show up on this side of the Atlantic this fall. She’s owned by Godolphin, whose racing manager, Simon Crisford, said in an email on Wednesday that outside one potential runner in the BC Marathon, the Godolpin presence at this year’s Breeders’ Cup probably would be confined to North American-based horses.

Certify, trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, is a daughter of Elusive Quality who was bred in the U.S. She debuted at Newmarket in June, beating 16 rivals in a six-furlong maiden race, then beat Sky Lantern, a subsequent Group 1 winner herself, by one length in the Group 3 Solera Stakes, a seven-furlong race, also at Newmarket. Certify most recently saw action on Sept. 14, winning the Group 2 May Hill Stakes over one mile at Doncaster. Her margin of victory was a mere head over a filly named Purr Along, but it was another eight lengths back to the third-place finisher.

Chief among Certify’s rivals is Ollie Olga, another filly with a spotless record after three starts. Ollie Olga also has a Newmarket win on her r é sum é , and she, too, beat Sky Lantern, taking her measure by a half-length in the Prestige Stakes last month at Goodwood.