Judy the Beauty will race in 2015 after winning Filly and Mare Sprint

ARCADIA, Calif. – Owner-trainer Wesley Ward said from Florida early Sunday that he intends to bring Judy the Beauty back as a 6-year-old next April at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Madison Stakes, a race the mare won this year en route to what surely will be a divisional championship.

Judy the Beauty fought off a stretch challenge from Better Lucky on Saturday at Santa Anita in winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint by a head. It was part of an incredible weekend for Ward, whose tally from six BC starters was two wins, three seconds, and one third. Starting in 1994, Ward had been blanked with his first 16 BC runners.

“I just feel extremely blessed and fortunate,” he said. “It’s all very humbling, honestly.”

Judy the Beauty, ridden by Mike Smith, earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint as a lukewarm 3-1 favorite. Ward said he is planning another light campaign in 2015 for Judy the Beauty, an Ontario-bred by Ghostzapper. In 2014, the mare had five starts, winning four of them. She earned nearly $900,000 to lift her career bankroll to $1,662,122.

Meanwhile, Better Lucky has run her last race, finishing with six wins, five seconds, five thirds, and earnings of $1,278,950 from 20 starts for Godolphin Racing. She, too, is a 5-year-old mare by Ghostzapper.

“She’s a super filly,” said trainer Tom Albertrani. “This was her last race, and I’m really going to miss her. You could not have a more honest horse in the barn.”

This latest result means a 3-year-old still has not won the Filly and Mare Sprint since its 2007 inception, despite six of the 10 starters in the Saturday race being 3-year-olds.

“This is the curse of the younger versus the older horses,” said trainer Kelly Breen, who sent out the front-running Stonetastic to a fourth-place finish. “You have to be an exceptional 3-year-old filly to beat older in these kinds of races. We’ll come back and get them next year.”

Among the disappointments in the Filly and Mare Sprint were Artemis Agrotera, seventh at 9-2, and Sweet Reason, eighth at 5-1. Neither New York-based filly had an overt excuse in a relatively cleanly run race.