Songbird will be nominated for Breeders' Cup after Chandelier win

ARCADIA, Calif. – Songbird’s elegant 4 1/2-length win Saturday in the $300,000 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita has left trainer Jerry Hollendorfer anxious for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

Songbird figures to be favored in the BC Juvenile Fillies on the basis of her unbeaten record in three starts, which includes two Grade 1 wins – the Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs Sept. 5 and the Chandelier Stakes.

Songbird won the Chandelier as the 1-5 favorite, her first start at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the BC Juvenile Fillies. Songbird led throughout under jockey Mike Smith, pulling away in the final furlong.

“It was a fantastic performance,” Hollendorfer said. “The fact that she can rate and can run on the front end makes her a formidable opponent for a lot of the fillies.”

Owned by Fox Hill Farms, Songbird is not currently eligible for the Breeders’ Cup program but will be nominated for $100,000 in October, Hollendorfer said. The nomination will make her eligible for Breeders’ Cup races for the rest of her career.

“That has been discussed and decided,” Hollendorfer said.

The way Songbird’s career has started has left Hollendorfer anxious to see how much she can accomplish in the next six months or a year.

“You have to keep her sound and hope that she can keep progressing like she has,” he said. “Maybe they’ll be more good things to come out of it.”

Land Over Sea, second in the Chandelier and third in the Del Mar Debutante, is another candidate for the BC Juvenile Fillies, trainer Doug O’Neill said.

O’Neill is expected to have a starter in the BC Filly and Mare Turf on Oct. 31 with Sharla Rae, who won the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 15 but could only finish fifth in the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at 1 1/4 miles on turf Saturday.

Photo Call and Elektrum, first and second in the Rodeo Drive, are probable starters for the Filly and Mare Turf.

O’Neill’s Breeders’ Cup focus will be Nyquist, who won his third consecutive stakes with a gritty victory in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Saturday. Nyquist was challenged throughout and won by three-quarters of a length over Swipe. The stewards conducted an inquiry into the stretch run between those two, focusing on a bump in the final sixteenth, but did not change the order of finish.

O’Neill said Nyquist may be sent to Keeneland well before the Breeders’ Cup, although the trainer said he must juggle his presence between his California stable and his Breeders’ Cup runners.

“My gut said we’ll go a couple of weeks early,” O’Neill said. “I’ll want to be there every day.”

Nyquist, who races for Paul and Zillah Reddam, won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 7 and did not have a workout in the buildup to the FrontRunner. In October, Nyquist will not have a series of flashy works, O’Neill said.

“You’ll see a lot of slow works and a lot of good gallops,” O’Neill said.

Swipe is considered a BC Juvenile candidate, as is third-place finisher Hollywood Don, who will be cross-entered in the BC Juvenile Turf on Oct. 30, trainer Peter Miller said.

“Something could happen in the next month, but the plan would be the turf race,” Miller said.

** Ashleyluvssugar, the winner of two Grade 2 races earlier this year, is doubtful for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31 after missing Sunday’s $75,000 King Pellinore Stakes at Santa Anita because of illness.

Trainer Peter Eurton said Ashleyluvssugar had an elevated temperature Sunday. Without a prep race, the BC Turf is a more difficult assignment, he said.

“I think he misses the Breeders’ Cup,” Eurton said.

Owned by Sharon Alesia, Bran Jam Stable, and Ciaglia Racing, Ashleyluvssugar has won 6 of 13 starts and earned $515,504. A 4-year-old gelding, Ashleyluvssugar won consecutive Grade 2 races at Santa Anita in the spring – the San Luis Rey Stakes in March and the Charles Whittingham Stakes in May.

Eurton said an alternative race for Ashleyluvssugar this fall could be the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles Nov. 26 at Del Mar.