This could be a nerve-wracking October for Steve Landers, the owner of the 2-year-old filly Destino d’Oro.
A contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1, Destino d’Oro finished a troubled third by a head in her stakes debut in the Grade 2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland last Friday.
Destino d’Oro narrowly missed a win, and the fees-paid berth to the Juvenile Fillies Turf that went to the undefeated May Day Ready.
Ramatuelle’s win Sunday in the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp surely didn’t resonate for the American racing audience the way Carl Spackler’s had the day before in the Turf Mile at Keeneland. But Ramatuelle stamped herself a serious contender for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, at least as much so as Carl Spackler, who might not even be the most interesting BC Mile contender exiting the Turf Mile at Keeneland.
Tyler Gaffalione has ridden the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile just three times. The odds on those horses were 94-1, 52-1, and 103-1.
Gaffalione will be on a much shorter-priced horse in this year’s renewal of the Juvenile, to be run Nov. 1 at Del Mar, as he is the jockey of East Avenue. Coming off a dominant 5 1/4-length victory in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, East Avenue figures to vie for favoritism with Chancer McPatrick, a two-time Grade 1 winner.
It is the goal of every trainer with a Breeders’ Cup contender to have their horse in peak form come the first Saturday of November. And nobody has done the job better in the lead up to this year’s championship weekend than Rodolphe Brisset has with BC Sprint hopeful Mullikin.
Trainer Kevin Attard has noticed Moira’s “game face.”
“The change on race day is uncanny. I haven’t experienced a horse like that,” Attard said.
“Day to day, she goes out there, does her job, and knows what she needs to do. When the tack gets on her, she’s a horse that’s all business. On race day, she’s a handful. She turns into a completely different horse. You’ve got to be on your toes with her and be prepared for anything because she can throw anything at you.”
In the six prior runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, the winner has not had his or her final prep at the track, or even in the region, where the Breeders’ Cup was held.
For the 2018 (Churchill Downs), 2019 (Santa Anita), and 2020 (Keeneland) editions of the Breeders’ Cup, the Juvenile Turf Sprint winners had their final starts at Gulfstream Park, Belmont Park, and Saratoga, respectively. The last three winners of the race, at Del Mar, Keeneland, and Santa Anita, all had their most recent starts in Europe.
Of the 12 runners British-based trainer Brian Meehan has started in the Breeders’ Cup, two have won the BC Turf – Red Rocks in 2006 and Dangerous Midge in 2010.
They are his only winners in the famous two-day festival, a list that may grow if Jayarebe is sent to California for the BC Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
“We’re very keen to come,” he said.
Soul of an Angel displayed her quality over the summer when beaten a scant head by champion Idiomatic in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher going 1 1/16 miles at Monmouth Park.
After Soul of an Angel finished third, 10 1/4 lengths behind Raging Sea and Idiomatic in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at nine furlongs, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. cut the 5-year-old mare back to seven furlongs for Gulfstream Park’s Grade 3 Princess Rooney, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
Post Time ran some races this summer at Saratoga that have earned him a trip to Del Mar for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 2.
He was second in the Metropolitan Handicap in June and third in the Whitney in August.
“He showed up in both of those Grade 1s,” said Brittany Russell, who trains Post Time. “He ran really hard. I think he’s earned his way to try it.
While the connections of the winners of several recent prep races for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint have indicated they don’t plan to travel to Del Mar, the races are still likely to factor into handicapping the five-furlong turf stakes.
