Thrill remains for connections of returning Breeders' Cup winners

DEL MAR, Calif. – Nine horses will be in action this weekend at Del Mar as previous Breeders’ Cup winners, and for the connections of each, the chance to show off their champion before a huge audience of admirers is priceless.

“It’s pretty special,” said Ian Kruljac, who will saddle Finest City as the returning winner of the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. “Making it back for a second year, it’s not easy. It’ll be nice when the day comes.”

Having a reigning Breeders’ Cup winner on your shed row for a full year may not be unfamiliar to Bob Baffert, who has won 14 BC events and has two returning winners this year in Arrogate (Classic) and Drefong (Sprint), but even a highly decorated Hall of Famer such as him maintains a healthy appreciation for the honor.

“It makes you feel grateful that they’re still in the barn, that they’re still running,” said Baffert. “The stallion climate has changed the last couple of years so that sometimes they’re worth more in the shed row than in the barn, so yes, I’ll be happy to lead them over there again.”

Besides Finest City and the Baffert pair, the other returning winners this weekend are Highland Reel, Lady Eli, Mongolian Saturday, Oscar Performance, and Queen’s Trust. All but two won their Breeders’ Cup races last year at Santa Anita. Lady Eli won the 2014 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita, and Mongolian Saturday won the 2015 Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

Furthermore, all but three are running back in the same race they already won: Lady Eli goes in the Filly and Mare Turf, Champagne Room runs in the Distaff (won the Juvenile Fillies last year), and Oscar Performance is now in the Turf (won the Juvenile Turf last year).

A victory by Lady Eli in the Filly and Mare Turf would mean three years have elapsed between BC wins, but impressive as that might be, it still wouldn’t be a record. Stephanie’s Kitten won four years apart (2011 Juvenile Fillies Turf and 2015 Filly and Mare Turf), a remarkable feat matched last year when Beholder followed 2012 Juvenile Fillies and 2013 Distaff scores with her epic triumph over Songbird in the Distaff.

Beholder is one of just two horses to win three BC races, along with Goldikova (2008-10 editions of the Mile). While Beholder won all three of her BC attempts, Goldikova finished third in a fourth start (2011 Mile).

In all, 109 horses have had one or more starts in the Breeders’ Cup following a victory in a BC race, with 19 of them winning at least once more. Not counting Beholder and Goldikova, 11 of the remaining 17 went 2 for 2 in the Breeders’ Cup, with such greats as Lure (1994 Mile), Ouija Board (2005 Turf), Zenyatta (2010 Classic), and Royal Delta (2013 Distaff) having their records soiled by a loss in a third start.

Among the prior BC winners for 2017, none is more popular with racing fans than Lady Eli, whose comeback from a bout with laminitis in 2015-16 has made her something of a folk hero. The Filly and Mare Turf will mark her final start before she is sold at auction Monday.

“She has been a truly special horse to me and the owners and everyone who has had the privilege of working around her,” said Chad Brown, who has trained Lady Eli, now 5, throughout her career for the Sheep Pond Partners of Sol Kumin. “Her attitude and ability have been world-class.”

While Brown and Kumin surely will feel a certain measure of nostalgia and sadness in the moments leading up to the Filly and Mare Turf, other emotions will swirl among the owners and trainers who also will have the enviable experience of sending out a former Breeders’ Cup champion for another chance at glory.

“I’m sure it’ll feel pretty good to saddle her up again,” said Peter Eurton, the trainer of Champagne Room. “It’s something a horse trainer doesn’t get to do very often.”