A field of 13 two-year-old fillies went to post in the $2 million Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). Awesome Feather, undefeated in 5 starts all against Florida-breds including the My Dear Girl Stakes last out, was sent off as the lukewarm 4-1 favorite in this 1 1/16 mile main track event. Also in the field were 4.2-1 second choice A Z Warrior, winner of the Frizette (G1) at Belmont Park, and 4.7-1 third choice Theyskens' Theory, third in the Fillies Mile (G1) at Ascot after winning the Prestige Stakes (G3) at Goodwood.
Awesome Feather and R Heat Lightning at the finish
Theyskens' Theory and 5-1 R Heat Lightning contested the early pace through fractions of 23.90 and 48.14 over the fast track while being stalked by Awesome Feather third. R Heat Lightning stubbornly held the lead into the lane, but Awesome Feather was up to the challenge, passing her at the 1/8 pole and powering away to a 2 1/4 length win in 1:45.17. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back from R Heat Lightning to 11-1 Delightful Mary third.
Awesome Feather wins the Juvenile Fillies.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
4 Awesome Feather Sanchez 10.40 5.40 4.00
3 R Heat Lightning Velazquez 6.20 4.20
9 Delightful Mary Bridgmohan 7.60
Winning Time: 1:45.17
$2 Exacta 4-3 57.80
$2 Trifecta 4-3-9 616.60
$1 Superfecta 4-3-9-10 4,116.30
Left: Awesome Feather heads to the winner's circle. Owner Fred Brei said, "We're a small breeder. We only have 14 to 16 foals a year. You know, we foal the mares on the farm, raise the foals, take them to our training barn, break them, get them ready to go to Stanley at Calder. And we do it year after year hoping we're going to get the good ones. We bred and own her sire, Awesome Of Course. And we bought her dam as a yearling and raised her. So when you have a double homebred, that's as good as it gets."
Right: Awesome Feather in the post parade. Jockey Jeffrey Sanchez said, "I waited and waited with my filly. I wanted to make one move with her. When I asked her, she went. Then, when we got in the stretch with (R Heat Lightning) and when she bumped us, my filly tried harder. She came away from that other filly. I love this filly. The first time I rode her, I told everyone that this was a champion filly. Now she is a champion filly."
Left: Second place finisher R Heat Lightning returns after the race. Mike McCarthy, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher said, "The filly ran a fantastic race. It's a bit unfortunate that she didn't have a target to run at, but she put up a good fight down the lane; a very respectful effort." Jockey John Velazquez added, "She just kept switching leads back and forth in the stretch. She never got to really relax the first part of the race. Even though she was on the lead, she didn't get into that nice relaxed rhythm."
Right: Third place finisher Delightful Mary in the post parade. Trainer Mark Casse said, "That's the horse (winner Awesome Feather) I said we had to beat. She's tough. If I could have eliminated one horse in the field it would have been her. But my filly did run a good race. Shaun (Bridgmohan) gave her a great ride. I'm proud of her."
2011 Breeders' Cup Entries and Post Positions - Final entries were taken and post positions drawn on Monday for the 15 races on November 4-5 at Churchill Downs. Lots of info about the Breeders' Cup, each race, and links to profiles for all the horses with post positions, morning line odds, and free past performances.
Thursday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 35 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on the track Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, including Goldikova who actually galloped, Drosselmeyer, and Gio Ponti. Very few repeats from previous days.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 57 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on the track Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs, including Havre de Grace, juvenile Speightscity who had a bullet work, and Game on Dude. All different horses from Tuesday!
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 41 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on the track Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs, including Mile favorite Goldikova, Turf favorite Sarafina, and Juvenile favorite Union Rags.
Review: Crushing the Cup 2011 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Churchill Downs updated for 2011.
Breeders' Cup 360 - 'The Bettor's Inside Source' for all things Breeders' Cup handicapping
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
European News - the latest on the Euro contenders from Sporting Life
Saturday Breeders' Cup Results - Goldikova became the first horse to win three Breeders' Cup races with her victory in the Mile. Zenyatta came up a head short in her quest for a 20th consecutive win when she was unable to catch Blame in the Classic. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 8 races here.
Friday Breeders' Cup Results - Unrivaled Belle held off the late close of Blind Luck to win the first Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic run at night. Also on the card, Shared Account won the Filly and Mare Turf, Awesome Feather won the Juvenile Fillies, Dubai Majesty won the Filly and Mare Sprint, More Than Real won the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Eldaafer won the Marathon. Get the results, charts, and photos here.
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Left: Awesome Feather heads to the winner's circle. Owner Fred Brei said, "We're a small breeder. We only have 14 to 16 foals a year. You know, we foal the mares on the farm, raise the foals, take them to our training barn, break them, get them ready to go to Stanley at Calder. And we do it year after year hoping we're going to get the good ones. We bred and own her sire, Awesome Of Course. And we bought her dam as a yearling and raised her. So when you have a double homebred, that's as good as it gets."
Left: Second place finisher R Heat Lightning returns after the race. Mike McCarthy, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher said, "The filly ran a fantastic race. It's a bit unfortunate that she didn't have a target to run at, but she put up a good fight down the lane; a very respectful effort." Jockey John Velazquez added, "She just kept switching leads back and forth in the stretch. She never got to really relax the first part of the race. Even though she was on the lead, she didn't get into that nice relaxed rhythm."
