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."
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where Fort Larned won by a half length over Mucho Macho Man. Also on the card, favorites Wise Dan won the Mile and Shanghai Bobby won the Juvenile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 6 races Friday highlighted by the Ladies' Classic where favorite Royal Delta held off My Miss Aurelia to win for the second year in a row and the Filly and Mare Turf where Zagora was an upset winner. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 6 races here.
2012 Breeders' Cup Entries - Lots of info about the Breeders' Cup, each race, links to profiles for all the horses entered, and info about each race. Free Past Performances - for all the races
Thursday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 49 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on Thursday morning at Santa Anita. The Europeans were out of quarantine and the east coasters delayed by Hurricane Sandy finally arrived, so it was a very busy morning.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 34 of the Breeders' Cup horses out in the fog on Wednesday morning at Santa Anita. The sun didn't make it out until 8:30am and visibility was quite poor at times.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Photos and comments for 69 of the Breeders' Cup horses out on the track Tuesday morning at Santa Anita, including Classic favorite Game On Dude and 7 more of the Classic horses.
Breeders' Cup Weather - What will the weather be like at Santa Anita Park on November 2 and 3? Here are lots of places to find out!
2011 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic where Drosselmeyer was an upset winner. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2011 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic (formerly the Distaff) won by Royal Delta. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 6 races here.
Review: Crushing the Cup 2012 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita updated for 2012.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
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.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Blazing Silks, Breeders' Cup Edition- an interactive social network game that allows horse racing fans and social gamers to train and care for Thoroughbred horses.
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."
