LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kopion continued her ascension in the female sprint division by roaring by Hope Road in midstretch and drawing off to a three-length victory against a top-notch field assembled for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs. It was the third straight victory for Kopion, a streak that began with a 37-1 upset in the Grade 1 La Brea and continued with a 4 1/2-length victory over Hope Road in the Grade 2 Santa Monica on Feb. 1. Kopion hadn’t run since owing to a virus she developed earlier in the winter. Neither the layoff nor sloppy track proved problematic for Kopion who gave Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella his first win at Churchill Downs since Siphonizer won an allowance race here on April 24, 2004. His last starter here was Anonymity, who finished third in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Kopion beat a Breeders’ Cup caliber field in the Derby City Distaff. Under Kazushi Kimura, Kopion broke a step slow from post 2 and was in sixth position down the backside while Mystic Lake, under Edgard Zayas, set fractions of 22.30 seconds and 45.19 for the half-mile while being stalked by Hope Road. Approaching the quarter pole, Hope Road, under Juan Hernandez, took the lead and began to open up. But around the turn Kimura had sling-shotted Kopion from the rail to the four-path and she had clear sailing in the stretch. Kopion tackled Hope Road at the eighth pole and drew away. Kopion, a daughter Omaha Beach owned by Spendthrift Farm, covered the seven furlongs in the slop in 1:21.76 and returned $7.48 as the second choice, getting a 109 Beyer Speed Figure. Coming from California the question was “how was she going to handle Kentucky?,” Kimura said. “It was not a problem at all. She had no problem with the kickback, when I swung her out, she was traveling so beautifully she was good to go.” Mandella said he was more concerned about the inside post than the wet track, “Churchill Downs is such a good track in the mud, I had no concern at all,” Mandella said. “Being down in post 2, you’re worried about getting buried. She did get off a little bit slower than I thought she would, but the jockey had a lot of confidence in her and he rode her that way.  The more we go, the smarter she gets. She’s starting to make it look like I know something.” Kopion is now 5 for 5 around one turn, 0 for 2 around two turns though she did finish second in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes last year around two turns. “I would think she could handle two turns, but I don’t think I’d want to fool with it until after the Breeders’ Cup,” said Mandella, referring to the Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Hernandez said he waited as long as he could to ask Hope Road to run and when he did she “opened up and she kept going,” Hernandez said. “But when I felt the outside filly, I thought who’s that because I was running, my filly gave me everything that she had.” Hope Road finished three-quarters of a length in front of Ways and Means, who was sent off the slight favorite. Scylla, off slow, was fourth, followed by Emery, Positano Sunset, Vahva, Benedetta, Mystic Lake, and Miss Susan B. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.