OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A successful week likely produced a bushel of Breeders’ Cup contenders for trainer Chad Brown. A 1-2 finish by Gina Romantica and In Italian in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland combined with McKulick’s solid victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Waya Stakes at Aqueduct could give Brown at least three runners in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4. The 3-year-old filly Randomized won Sunday’s Grade 2 Beldame at Aqueduct which likely earned her a spot alongside her 5-year-old stablemate Search Results in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. A runner-up finish by General Partner in Saturday’s Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Aqueduct could put him into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3. On Oct. 4, Hard to Justify earned herself a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf when she won the Grade 2 Miss Grillo at Aqueduct. :: Get Belmont at the Big A Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. On Oct. 1, Zandon earned his spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with his solid victory in the Grade 2 Woodward Stakes. At Keeneland, Gina Romantica, at 11-1, came from off the pace to upset her more highly regarded stablemate In Italian, the 2-5 favorite, by a head in the First Lady at a mile. Gina Romantica earned a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure for the First Lady win, which awards her a fees-paid berth into the Filly and Mare Turf, which this year will be run at 1 1/4 miles. Both Gina Romantica and In Italian are owned by Peter Brant. In Italian was coming off a nose defeat to another Brant runner, Whitebeam, in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga. Whitebeam finished fourth in the First Lady. Brown re-routed Gina Romantica from the Noble Damsel at Aqueduct to the First Lady in part because she had won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland last year and because of how well she was training. “I stressed that I felt [Gina Romantica] was a potential Breeders’ Cup candidate and if you don’t run, if you don’t get a prep it’s going to be very difficult to go out there,” Brown said. “I warned Mr. Brant it wouldn’t surprise me if she won, if something happened with In Italian getting caught by somebody late it could be this one. He was fine with it.” Brown said In Italian, who won last year’s First Lady before finishing second in the BC Filly and Mare Turf, could also be considered for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Brown said plans for Whitebeam are less defined, though a Breeders’ Cup race has not been ruled out. After finishing second in a paceless Flower Bowl, McKulick got some assistance from pacesetting stablemate Idea Generation to win Saturday’s Grade 3 Waya by two lengths. She earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance. McKulick, who beat War Like Goddess in the Grade 2 Glens Falls at Saratoga, shouldn’t lack for pace in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Though General Partner was beaten 4 1/4 lengths by Timberlake in the Champagne, a race run over a sloppy track, Brown was encouraged enough with the performance to strongly consider the BC Juvenile with the son of Speightstown. In 2017, Good Magic finished second in the Champagne and won the Juvenile for Brown. “It’s a tough race to try two turns for the first time, but then again this horse looked terrific this morning, anything can happen, particularly on a dry track,” Brown said.  “The way he relaxed yesterday Manny [Franco] felt he would look forward to trying him around two turns. I’m not convinced he needs the lead.” War Like Goddess to 3rd straight BC After her dominant victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Joe  Hirsch Turf Classic - a race she won for the second straight year - the 6-year-old War Like Goddess will make her next start in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita. Last year, War Like Goddess finished third in the BC Turf. In 2021, she finished third in the BC Filly and Mare Turf. Trainer Bill Mott said he prefers the 1 1/2 miles of the Turf to the 1 1/4 miles of the Filly and Mare Turf and doesn’t plan to pre-enter her in that race. “I think the extra quarter-mile, it just helps her,” Mott said. War Like Goddess, ridden by Junior Alvarado, adapted to and probably benefitted from the runaway pace established by So High in beating a field that included Rebel’s Romance and Stone Age, the 1-2 finishers from last year’s BC Turf. “I thought it was a very impressive race, she beat some nice horses,” Mott said.  “There was some pace. Apart from the horse on the lead, I don’t know how fast the other horses were going.” Mott and owner George Krikorian picked up another Breeders’ Cup starter when Just F Y I won the Grade 1 Frizette by 3 3/4 lengths in the slop to earn a spot in the BC Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 3. Just F Y I, a daughter of Justify, earned a 75 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance in the one-turn-mile Frizette. In the Breeders’ Cup, Just F Y I will have to stretch out to 1 1/16 miles and attempt two turns for the first time. “She looks like a big, scopey filly that wants to run on a little bit,” Mott said. “The only thing we haven’t done is the two turns.” War Like Goddess and Just F Y I will be part of a likely seven-horse Breeders’ Cup contingent for Mott that is expected to include Cody’s Wish (Dirt Mile), Elite Power (Sprint), Caramel Swirl (Filly and Mare Sprint), Casa Creed (Mile), and Gala Brand (Juvenile Fillies Turf). :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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