THE BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC DAY

SHAMROCK ROSE IN FILLY AND MARE SPRINT SHOCKER

Breeders Cup Saturday on a bright and clear Louisville day started out with a 25-1 shocker in the Filly and Mare Sprint when SHAMROCK ROSE pulled off a 25-1 shocker for trainer Mark Casse. On hindsight, those odds were a real bargain as the horse had won her last three starts by 17 combined lengths. Shamrock Rose who was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr won the race in a furious blanket finish over Chalon and Anonymity with the prohibitive odds on favorite Marley’s Freedom a close fourth. Shamrock Rose is a daughter of First Dude and was bred in Pennsylvania by the Best a Luck Farm, a tremendous boost to the breeding program in that state.Prior to this victory, Shamrock Rose had won at tracks like Keeneland and Woodbine, breaking her maiden in Canada September Of last year. She now has five wins from ten starts and career earnings of $848.000.

ENABLE WINS IT ALL IN THE BREEDERS CUP TURF

It was very game of the owners of ENABLE to send her to Kentucky after winning the Arc De Triomphe, but it paid off handsomely with her game win in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. It was the first win in the race for an Arc winner, and after the race trainer John Gosden praised Enable for her gameness after coming back from some injuries this year. Enable beat Magical in a furious battle down the stretch in the center of the course where both Dettori and Ryan Moore felt the ground was better. Sadler’s Joy came in a well beaten third. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite in the thirteen horse field, Enable cruised in about sixth or seventh position behind Glorious Empire who was setting a moderate pace for the distance. Enable then slowly weaved through horses to hit the front turning into the stretch and finally pull away from the super courageous Magical. Fourteenth Breeders Cup victory for Dettori on the daughter of Nathaniel and she is owned by Juddmonte Farms, the stable owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah. He is a long time supporter of the Breeders Cup concept, and Enable is probably the best horse he has ever owned. She now has earnings of $10.7 million from just eleven starts.

MONOMOY GIRL SPARKLES IN THE DISTAFF

What a brilliant performance from Monomoy Girl as she dominated the opposition to win the Distaff under jockey Florent Geroux. Sent off as the very generous 9-5 favorite because of the presence of Abel Tasman, the Kentucky Oaks winner was always in a prime spot behind pacesetter Wonder Gadot, and then she just took over and pulled away under a handy ride to win from the fast finishing Wow Cat and Midnight Bisou in third. Jockey Geroux did not have to resort to the whip this time as she did not swerve out this time as she sometimes does, and for trainer Brad Cox, it was his first ever Breeders Cup victory. Monomoy Girl is a three year old daughter of Tapizar out of the Henny Hughes mare Drumette, and she will stay in training to excite the fans next year, She now has won six straight Grade One races for lifetime earnings of $2.9 million with nine wins from eleven lifetime starts.

FIRST GRADE ONE VICTORY FOR EXPERT EYE IN THE MILE

The super partnership of Sir Michael Stoute and Frankie Dettori teamed up to take the Breeders Cup Mile with a last minute surge with Expert Eye. In what turned out to be a highly competitive dash, Dettori was languishing at the back of the pack for most of the race before finding a decent patch of ground to rally and win by a short head from pacesetters Analze It and Catapult. It was the thirteenth BC triumph for Dettori who last won this race in 1994, and for Stoute it was his eighth BC victory. Expert Eye is a horse who used to have a lot of problems entering the gate but he seems to have cured those issues. He is a three year old son of Acclamation out of England, and this was his fifth win from ten starts. He broke his maiden at Newbury last year and other wins have come in the Jersey Stakes at Ascot and in the Sky Bet City of York Stakes at York. This win propels his earnings to $1,8 million.

ROY H REPEATS HIS VICTORY IN THE SPRINT

The Breeders Cup Sprint turned out to be a triumph for trainer Peter Miller and his charge Roy H who repeated at odds of 5-2. It was also the first BC win for jockey Paco Lopez who rode a smart race tracking the pacesetter Promises Fulfilled who had set a blistering pace. Eventually Roy H caught up with the front horses and then pulled clear easily to win by four lengths going away. Whitmore came in second with the 8-5 favorite Imperial Mint struggling on to get third. The win improves Roy H’s record to nine wins from twenty-two career starts and earnings now of just over a whopping $3 million for that team of Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen. Unfortunately Roy H is a gelding so no stud duties for him, so who is to say he will not be back next year to defend at Santa Anita. The six year old was bred in Kentucky and is a son of More Than Ready out of the Elusive Quality mare Elusive Diva.

SISTER CHARLIE TRIUMPHANT IN FILLY AND MARE TURF

Trainer Chad Brown had five runners in this race and his best chance Sister Charlie won a thrilling version of this year’s race over 5-2 favorite Wild Illusion ridden by William Buick. The very slow pace of the race helped the winner who came from way back to win by a head her fourth Grade One race of the year under jockey John Velazquez. Wild Illusion had been acting up terribly before the start, and I think those antics eventually cost her the race.

Sister Charlie ran her first five races in France at three different tracks before coming stateside under the tutelage of Chad Brown. She had won the Beverly D at Arlington Park in her last start and in my mind was the clear choice before the race at 3-1 odds. Sister Charlie was bred in Ireland out of the sire Myboycharlie out of Starlet’s Sister, and she now has a total of seven victories from eleven lifetime starts. Her earnings of $2.57 million make her a valuable brood mare prospect for owner Peter Brant.

CITY OF LIGHT TAKES THE DIRT MILE

The Breeders Cup Dirt Mile is now in its twelfth year and the prestigious race was taken by the 5-2 second favorite City of Light. It was the first Breeders Cup victory for trainer Mike McCarthy and the wire to wire winner was ridden by Javer Castellano. The pace throughout the race was pretty fast and frankly the winner never looked like giving up the race as the pilot had the winner on cruise control throughout. The punters made the previously unbeaten Catalina Cruiser the 3-5 favorite despite trainer John Sadler’s pitiful 0-41 Breeders Cup record. The hulking chestnut finished almost last after threatening early. City of Light has never been off the board in his ten career starts and the son of Quality Road now has earnings of about $1.61 million. In his last few starts he had won the Malibu Stakes and Triple Bend at Santa Anita as well as the Oaklawn Handicap where he had beaten none other than Accelerate.

STORMY LIBERAL WINS AGAIN – TAKES THE TURF SPRINT AT 7-1

Stormy Liberal is a real racehorse and proved it yet again by taking the Turf Sprint in a thrilling finish over the favorite World of Trouble. Trained by Peter Miller and smartly ridden by Drayden Van Dyck, the son of Stormy Atlantic was always close up, and in a thrilling tussle down the stretch, finally edged out the favorite to win a second Breeders Cup. Stormy Liberal won the same race a year ago at Del Mar and has a habit of making his supporters sweat a lot as he always seems to just win either by a nose or a head. He now has lifetime earnings of about $1.9 million and has a career record of twelve wins from thirty starts, most of them being on the turf. The six year old gelding is out of the Royal Academy mare Vassar and the owners are the Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen.

ACCELERATE TAKES THE BREEDERS CUP CLASSIC

As fully expected from this scribe at least the West Coast superstar ACCELERATE captured the Breeders Cup Classic in his first start in Kentucky. It also ended a much publicized Breeders Cup drought for trainer John Sadler that has lasted for thirty years and puts him firmly on the national stage. Accelerate went off as the 5-2 favorite in a fairly competitive field on paper at least, and just laid in fourth or fifth spot as the

speedster Mendelssohn set a furious pace with the first four furlongs at 46:46. Jockey Joel Rosario was just waiting his time on the eventual winner and then took the lead with a couple of furlongs left and held on without too many problems from the second and third placed horses, Gunnevera at 30-1 and Thunder Snow at 14-1. Accelerate against Justify for Horse of the Year honors will be an interesting topic for the pundits in the next couple of months, but the hard fact is that the son of Looking at Lucky has won five Grade One races this year and now has lifetime earnings of $5.7 million for Hronis Racing. It capped off a miserable day for jockey Mike Smith who was off the board with McKinzie, with the other Baffert runner West Coast also a no show, Gunnevera is also a consistent runner with earnings now of over $4 million from nineteen starts and Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow is up to just over $9 million.