War Like Goddess defends title in Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
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Despite a one week delay, a yielding turf course, and a very unexpected pace scenario, War Like Goddess beat the boys once again Saturday at Aqueduct. The lone mare in the field defended her title in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic after rallying from nearly two dozen lengths off the lead to a convincing 4 1/2-length triumph over Soldier Rising in the Grade 1 fixture that was postponed from last Saturday due to the historic rainfall that fell over the New York area the previous weekend.
Rainy conditions prevailed once again at Aqueduct on Saturday, the Joe Hirsch one of only two scheduled turf races on the card to remain on the boggy course along with the Grade 3 Waya.
War Like Goddess proved a popular 2 3/4-length winner of the 2022 Turf Classic decided over a “good” course last fall with jockey Jose Lezcano aboard for the first and only time. On Saturday, she had a new rider once again, trainer Bill Mott giving Junior Alvarado the call coming off her troubled second-place finish as the prohibitive favorite in the Grade 2 Glens Fall two months earlier at Saratoga.
Although So High was expected to control the pace of the 1 1/2-miles Turf Classic, nobody expected him to dominate the early running in quite the manner he did, building his advantage to as much as 20 lengths after the opening mile. Alvarado was content to rate War Like Goddess in mid-pack to that point, the pair finally commencing their bid leaving the three furlong marker. War Like Goddess eased off the rail while full of run at the top of the stretch, readily running down the staggering leader to rapidly draw off before being allowed to ease up approaching the wire.
Soldier Rising raced near the rear of the eight horse field until being asked to commence his bid exiting the backstretch the final time, finishing best of the others down the center of the course to finish second in a Grade 1 race in New York for the third time this season. So High staggered to the wire but managed to hold off Rebel’s Romance by a neck to finish third. The latter moved to closer contention entering the stretch but hung through the latter stages, finishing a disappointing fourth as the 1-2 favorite.
Rebel’s Romance had defeated War Like Goddess by three lengths when the pair last met in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf.
War Like Goddess, a 6-year-old daughter of English Channel is trained by Bill Mott for owner George Krikorian. She completed the distance in 2:32.86 over the soggy course and paid $9.60. The $275,000 first prize swelled her career earnings to just under $2.5 million.
War Like Goddess earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105 for the win, equaling her career best.
“Ordinarily, when a horse opens up that much, they usually come back,” Mott commented when asked about the unusual pace scenario of the race. “Obviously, you’ll have time when they don’t, but she was close enough to the other others.”
Mott said if War Like Goddess returns to the Breeders’ Cup again this year, it will be against males in the Turf.
“Pushing this race back a week rushes us a little bit [for the Breeders’ Cup],” said Mott. It puts us a little closer, but we still have four weeks. If she goes it will be against the boys. I won’t run her a mile and a quarter. She’s a mile and a half filly.”
Alvarado said he wasn’t concerned about the horse on the lead.
“I had to try and make sure my filly relaxed,” Alvarado said. “And she relaxed for me the whole way around. By the time I started to pick it up I had a ton of horse. Even when I turned for home and saw that horse [So High] was 10-12 lengths in front of me, I knew I was going to catch him when I asked my filly and she gives me that turn of foot she has.”
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