Stellar Wind may train up to Breeders' Cup Distaff

DEL MAR, Calif. - Stellar Wind, the winner of consecutive Grade 1 races for fillies and mares in California in recent months, may not start again until the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 3.

Trainer John Sadler said over the weekend that Stellar Wind could benefit from a break of three months between her latest start, a win in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes on July 30, and the BC Distaff.

“Stellar Wind could train into the Breeders’ Cup,” Sadler said. “She runs so well fresh. I’m not 100 percent sure what we’ll do.”

If Sadler follows through with the plan, Stellar Wind will skip the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30, a race she won in 2016. In the 2016 BC Distaff at Santa Anita last November, Stellar Wind broke slowly and finished fourth behind the champions Beholder and Songbird.

The absence of Stellar Wind from the $300,000 Zenyatta could leave a spot in the race for Shenandoah Queen. Like Stellar Wind, Shenandoah Queen trained by Sadler for Kosta and Pete Hronis.

Last Friday, Shenandoah Queen won her stakes debut in the $78,545 Tranquility Lake Stakes at Del Mar for fillies and mares at a mile on dirt. A 5-year-old mare, Shenandoah Queen has won 5 of 11 starts and earned $101,300.