Kopion goes for four in a row in Great Lady M. Stakes
?q=100)
Kopion went from a 37-1 upset winner of the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita last December to the focus of attention when she recorded a smart victory at 5-2 in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 3.
Jockey Kazushi Kimura was aboard for those wins, and he has a firm opinion of where Kopion rates among the leading runners he’s ridden in his seven-year career.
“She’s the best,” he said.
Kopion’s summer campaign begins in Saturday’s Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos. The race is intended to prepare Kopion for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
“It’s step-by-step,” Kimura said in a recent interview between races at Los Alamitos. “We are really hoping she’ll be a Breeders’ Cup horse.”
Trained by Richard Mandella for Spendthrift Farm, Kopion will be heavily favored to win her fourth consecutive race in the $200,000 Great Lady M., which drew a field of six. Aside from her wins in the La Brea and Derby City Distaff, Kopion won the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita in February. She was ridden that day by Antonio Fresu, a substitute for Kimura, who was sidelined with injury.
In the Great Lady M., Fresu will attempt an upset on One Magic Philly, the winner of the Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita last October who has lost her last three starts, including a sixth as the 7-5 favorite in the La Brea. One Magic Philly, trained by Phil D’Amato, was third by two lengths as the even-money favorite in the Skipat Stakes at six furlongs at Pimlico on May 17 after stumbling at the start and racing wide.
A winner of 3 of 7 starts, One Magic Philly will benefit from the recent start.
“I like that my filly has had a race,” D’Amato said.
One Magic Philly tends to run from off the pace, as does Kopion. Keeping pace with Kopion in the final furlong will not be easy for One Magic Philly.
“It’s going to take her very best performance to beat that filly,” D’Amato said.
In the Chillingworth, One Magic Philly beat a field that included 1-10 favorite Sweet Azteca, the winner of the 2024 Great Lady M. in track record time of 1:14.33. Sweet Azteca, who races for owner and breeder Pamela Ziebarth, has not raced since she finished fourth in the Chillingworth.
Last winter, Sweet Azteca was transferred from trainer Michael McCarthy to Richard Baltas. Sweet Azteca was entered in the Desert Stormer Stakes at six furlongs at Santa Anita on June 1 but did not start after sustaining a cut on a leg. She resumed training days later and has since had three quick workouts at Santa Anita.
“I think she’s pretty fit,” Baltas said. “She’s a very good horse. She broke the track record last year. I didn’t have her then. I like the fact that she’s won over the track.”
The competition, though, is a concern.
“I think Mandella’s filly is the best sprinting filly in the country right now,” Baltas said.
Sweet Azteca is quick enough to be part of the pace, as are Barbara T, an allowance winner trained by McCarthy, and Super Shine, who won the three-runner Desert Stormer Stakes for D’Amato. The field includes Chismosa, a 5-year-old mare who has won five stakes in the last three years and was second in the 2023 Great Lady M.
Chismosa runs from off the pace. Kopion, who starts from the outside post on Saturday, is more versatile. Kopion was always within a half-length of the lead in the La Brea, and she closed from sixth of 10 in the Derby City Distaff. The differing styles give Kimura confidence that Kopion can handle whatever situation arises on Saturday.
“Churchill was a new track” for her, he said. “There were a bunch of speed horses. I wasn’t happy to send her too much. I decided to keep her in a good rhythm, which worked out.
“This time, I’ll do the same thing.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.