Three top turf fillies slug it out in Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup
LEXINGTON, Ky. – There’s not a specific Breeders’ Cup race or an Eclipse Award to determine which 3-year-old filly is superior on turf in any given year.
For 2016, anyway, that can be left to the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. Catch a Glimpse had been the unquestioned leader in this narrow niche, but when Time and Motion defeated her at Saratoga on the same August weekend that Harmonize won the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, well, suddenly there was something to argue about.
Those talking points will come to the fore Saturday at Keeneland when the $500,000 QE II is run for the 33rd time. Catch a Glimpse, Time and Motion, and Harmonize will be joined by six others in a 1 1/8-mile race that should prove critical in deciding the unofficial title of tops in the 3-year-old filly turf division.
Catch a Glimpse, owned by a partnership led by Gary Barber, will start from post 1 with at least a few advantages. She won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf over this course last fall, she might well be the controlling speed, and her connections have been on a remarkable tear.
“She doesn’t have to be on the lead, and if anybody else wants it, they can have it,” said trainer Mark Casse, who since last Saturday has won five graded races between Keeneland and Woodbine. “At the same time, I don’t really see anything else that would want to run with her early.”
Catch a Glimpse had an eight-race win streak snapped in the Grade 2 Lake Placid on Aug. 21 at Saratoga, where Time and Motion tracked her closely from the start, finally pushing past in the final yards with John Velazquez aboard.
“I’m sure Johnny will try not to let us get too far away again,” said Casse.
Catch a Glimpse will be ridden by Florent Geroux, who won three graded stakes during the first four days of the Keeneland fall meet, including two for Casse (with Keep Quiet and La Coronel). Geroux entered Friday’s action trailing only Javier Castellano for the most graded stakes wins this year (27-26) among North American jockeys.
Time and Motion (post 7) will carry the white-and-green silks of the Phillips Family Partnership, which brings a proud legacy to this race. Five winners of the QE II have come from Darby Dan Farm, now run by John Phillips, and its family-related ownership entities.
“This is the race that the year revolves around for John and Darby Dan,” said trainer Jimmy Toner. “This is the one.”
Harmonize (post 4, Junior Alvarado), a four-time stakes winner for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, finished behind Catch a Glimpse and Time and Motion on several occasions prior to her breakthrough victory in the Aug. 20 Del Mar Oaks.
Prime upset candidates include On Leave (post 2, Jose Ortiz), a winner of her last four starts, ending with the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont Park; Hawksmoor (post 5, Corey Lanerie), a classy European shipper getting Lasix for the first time; and Mokat (post 9, Kent Desormeaux), the beaten favorite behind Harmonize in the Del Mar Oaks.
Rounding out the QE II lineup are Stays in Vegas (post 3, Flavien Prat), Try Your Luck (post 6, Julien Leparoux), and Queen Caroline (post 8, Alex Cintron).
The QE II is part of a late pick-four wager (races 7-10) that starts with an exceptionally deep turf allowance and carries a $350,000 pool guarantee.
Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, Race 9
KEY CONTENDERS
Catch a Glimpse, by City Zip
Last 3 Beyers: 97-96-92
◗ Difficult not to admire all the ‘1’s’ that show up on the past performances of a chestnut filly who has won all but one of her nine starts on turf while always proving extremely tough to get past.
Time and Motion, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 97-95-90
◗ Her Lake Placid triumph was no fluke, as this filly with the rich Darby Dan pedigree had gone 3 for 4 in her prior 2016 races, including a near miss behind Catch a Glimpse in the Belmont Oaks.
Harmonize, by Scat Daddy
Last 3 Beyers: 93-85-88
◗ Her scorching late run in the Del Mar Oaks might well have served notice that now is the time for her to take another crack at a couple of rivals who have had her number to this point.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Harmonize. Trainer Bill Mott is 27-2-2-8 with a $0.38 ROI over the past five years in graded stakes on turf at Keeneland. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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On Leave, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: 94-93-90
◗ Tough to say just what she beat when odds-on in the Sands Point, but there’s no denying she has made substantial progress in recent months for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 On Leave. Trainer Shug McGaughey is 10-4-0-1 with a $6.18 ROI over the past five years in turf route graded stakes in Kentucky within 45 days of a career-best Beyer Speed Figure. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Hawksmoor, by Azamour
First North American start
◗ Owned by the Lael Stables of Barbaro fame, this Irish-bred filly has competed exclusively in high-end races overseas since an eye-catching unveiling in July 2015.