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| Sumita Pawar |
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History was made many times during this weekend and all the naysayers were silenced for a time. As with any race day promises were made for the next year. Spectators went home, pleased at two glorious days of racing. The greatest upset this weekend was the Breeders Cup Classic win by White Abarrio.
Arabian Knight began the day as a favourite, but the Bob Baffert-trained 3YO colt faded down the stretch. Underdog Proxy, finishing third instead.
The son of Race Day pulled away down the stretch for a convincing victory over Japanese raider, Derma Sotogake, who finished second. The 40th Breeders’ Cup World Championships at the Santa Anita racetrack brought two days of Thoroughbred racing excellence to an international audience.
The 2023 Breeders’ Cup began with the Future Stars Friday programme of five Juvenile races, while the Championship Saturday was filled with surprises. Here we bring you a quick run down of each race and what went down.
The 4YO, owned by C2 Racing Stable and Milagrosa Stable, triumphed in the 40th running of the US$6 million Longines Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. The horse completed the mile and a quarter in 2:02.57 over a fast main track, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. Rick Dutrow-trained entire took over at the head of the stretch and went on to post a 1-length victory over Derma Sotogake.
The victory was worth US$3,120,000 and increased White Abarrio’s earnings to US$4,946,350 with a record of 15-7-1-3 that includes three Group One victories.
The multiple Grade I winning son of Race Day will be heading to Saudi and UAE to take home the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup honours as well.
Nobals, owned by Patricia's Hope LLC, won the US$1 million Gr.1 Turf Sprint for horses aged three and up at Santa Anita. Gerardo Corrales rode the horse, which was trained by Larry Rivelli. Nobals covered the 5-furlong race on a firm turf course in :55.15 and beat Big Invasion by a diminishing neck. European raider Live In The Dream had taken the lead but Nobals slipped through at mid-stretch to win.
The victory was worth US$520,000 and increased Nobals' earnings to US$1,453,274 with a record of 18-10-3-0.
In the 40th running of the US$2 million Breeders' Cup Gr.1 Distaff for fillies and mares, Juddmonte's homebred Idiomatic triumphed by a half-length after a stretch-long battle against Randomized.
Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Idiomatic took the lead from Randomized heading into the stretch and held off all comers in posting a half-length victory completing the 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:50.57.
This is Cox's 10th Breeders' Cup victory and Geroux's eighth, with the two collaborating to win the Distaff in 2018 and 2020 with Monomoy Girl. Randomized led the race but was closely followed by Idiomatic throughout.
In the 40th running of the US$2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile Gr.1, Master of The Seas won by a nose, catching Mawj in the final jump.
Trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by William Buick, Master of The Seas completed the mile on a firm turf course in 1:32.45, giving the Appleby-Buick duo their third consecutive victory in the race.
They won with Modern Games last year at Keeneland and Space Blues in 2021 at Del Mar.
In the sixth running of the spectacle, Big Evs of RP Racing LTD took the lead in the upper stretch and fended off Valiant Force's late attempt by half a length. Tom Marquand rode Big Evs, who was trained by Michael Appleby, and completed the 5-furlong race on a firm turf course in 55.31 seconds.
Appleby and Marquand both won their first Breeders' Cup. Big Evs held off challengers Crimson Advocate and Tiger Belle in a three-horse scramble down the backside and continued with Crimson Advocate into the turn. In the stretch, Big Evs prevailed, opened a daylight margin, and maintained the lead to defeat Valiant Force. The win was worth US$520,000 and boosted Big Evs' total earnings to $748,283 with a record of 6-4-1-0. Hana Lina is the mare of Big Evs, a son of Blue Point out of Oasis Dream.
Cheveley Park Stud hombred, Inspiral, won the 25th running of the US$2 million Filly & Mare Turf.
Trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, Inspiral completed the mile and a quarter over a firm turf course in 1:59.06. She rocketed past eight horses in the deep stretch to post a neck victory over Warm Heart, who finished second, and Moira, who took third by a nose over Win Marilyn (JPN).
The victory was worth US$1,040,000 and increased Inspiral's earnings to US$3,639,932 with a record of 13-9-2-0 that includes six Group or Group One victories. Inspiral is a 4YO daughter of Frankel out of the Selkirk mare Starscope.
In the 17th running of the US$1 million Gr.1 Dirt Mile for 3YOs and up to start the second day of the World Championships at Santa Anita, Cody's Wish successfully defended his title by a nose after a late stretch duel with National Treasure and a claim of foul. The mile was covered on a fast track in 1:35.97 and Cody's Wish joined Goldencents as the only back-to-back winners of the race. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, Cody's Wish is a Kentucky-bred son of 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Curlin out of the Tapit mare Dance Card.
The day after his repeat victory, Darley America announced that Cody's Wish would stand his first breeding season in 2024 at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky for a stud fee of US$75,000. He will be joined by Proxy, winner of the Gr.1 Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs and a fast-closing third in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic for US$25,000.
Unquestionable, a talented 2YO by Wootton Bassett, won the Gr.1 Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
He had previously been a runner-up in the Gr.1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, he gave owner Al Shaqab Racing a first success in this race. Unquestionable made up ground in the final straight and won by one and a half lengths. Mountain Bear, also trained by O’Brien, took second place. My Boy Prince held on for third. Winning jockey Ryan Moore was pleased with the horse’s performance and said that the step up in trip suited him.
Goodnight Olive successfully defended her crown in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint with a time of 1:22.97, beating Yuugiri by 2 3/4 lengths. Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Goodnight Olive became only the second horse to win this race consecutively after Groupie Doll.
Brown has now won the race three times, while Ortiz Jr. has won it four times. Goodnight Olive is a 5YO mare with a record of 12-9-2-1, including four Group One victories, and has earned US$2,196,200 so far.
Le Da Vida (CHI) rallied to get third by a nose over Clairiere, and Desert Dawn finishing fifth. Idiomatic is a 4YO daughter of Curlin out of the mare Lockdown, and she has earned US$2,456,840 with 12-9-1-2 record and three consecutive Group One victories. The victory was worth US$1,040,000.
Auguste Rodin, ridden by Ryan Moore and trained by Aidan O'Brien, won the US$4 million Gr.1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf for 3YO+. The horse cut the corner at the top of the stretch to surge to the front and won by three-quarters of a length over Up to the Mark. Auguste Rodin covered the mile and a half over a firm turf course in 2:24.30.
This was the seventh win in the race for O'Brien and the 18th overall in the World Championships, and the fifth for Moore, 14th overall in the Breeders' Cup. The victory was worth US$2,080,000 for Auguste Rodin, improving his bankroll to US$4,958,538 with a record of 10-7-1-0 and five Group or Group One victories.
Elite Power, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and trained by Bill Mott, won the US$2 million Qatar Racing Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint for 3YOs and up, becoming the third back-to-back winner of the race at Santa Anita to close out the World Championships. Elite Power took over at mid-stretch and eased away from Gunite by a half-length, covering the 6 furlongs in 1:08.34 over a fast track. This was the third victory of the weekend for Mott and Ortiz, and back-to-back wins for the duo in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
The Juddmonte Farm owned colt has been retired following his win and enters stud in 2024 at Juddmonte Farms, Kentucky.
In the 16th running of the US$1 million Gr.1 Juvenile Fillies Turf for 2YOs Hard to Justify, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Flavien Prat, emerged victorious. After sweeping to the lead at midstretch, Hard to Justify outdueled favourites Porta Fortuna and She Feels Pretty through the final sixteenth of a mile to win by a head. The mile was completed over a firm turf course in 1:34.42.
This is Brown's 17th Breeders' Cup victory and sixth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. For Prat, it is his fifth Breeders' Cup victory and first in this race. Hard to Justify's earnings increased to US$687,750 as she remained perfect in three starts. She is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Justify out of the Quality Road mare Instant Reflex.
The US$2 million NetJets Breeders' Cup Gr.1 Juvenile Fillies for 2YOs was won by Just F Y I, owned and bred by George Krikorian. Just F Y I put away Tamara, at the top of the stretch and went on to hold off Jody's Pride by a diminishing neck, completing the mile and a sixteenth on a fast main track in 1:44.58.
Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, Just F Y I is now undefeated in three starts and hiked her bankroll to US$1,317,750 with Friday's US$1,040,000 check. Candied finished third, another half-length back, in a race that marked the 13th Breeders' Cup victory for Mott and second for Alvarado, but the first in the Juvenile Fillies for both. Tamara, the daughter of three-time Breeders' Cup winner Beholder and heroine of the 2012 Juvenile Fillies, set the pace with Just F Y I tracking a couple of lengths back.
Unquestionable, owned by Al Shaqab Racing, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and others, won the 17th running of the US$1 million Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Gr.1 Juvenile Turf for 2YOs at Santa Anita. The horse surged past My Boy Prince at the eighth pole and held off stablemate Mountain Bear by 1 ½ lengths. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, Unquestionable covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:33.65. O’Brien and Moore have won this race six times, with Unquestionable being their latest victory. The victory was worth US$520,000 and increased Unquestionable’s earnings to US$671,394 with a record of 6-2-2-1.