The first of two grass events on Friday was the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), for 2-year-old fillies going 1 mile on the turf at Santa Anita. Like all juvenile races at the 2012 Championships, all race-day medications are prohibited. Sky Lantern was sent off as the 5-2 favorite in the full field of 14, off her win in the Moyglare Stud (G1) in Ireland. In to challenge her included 7-2 second choice Spring Venture, winner of the Natalma (G2) and Mazarine (G3) at Woodbine, and 6-1 third choice Watsdachances, winner of the P.G. Johnson and Miss Grillo (G3).
Flotilla (far left) rallies from 9th place in the stretch
Jockey John Velazquez sent 15-1 Tara From the Cape to a clear lead through fractions of 23.14, 47.39, and 1:11.16 over the firm course, while stalked by 38-1 Moonwalk. Entering the lane, Tara From the Cape continued to lead, getting 7/8 in 1:23.17, but 11-1 Flotilla, 9th early, came through between horses to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Watsdachances in 1:34.64. It was another 1/2 length back to 43-1 Summer of Fun third, while favorite Sky Lantern checked in 8th.
Flotilla wins the Juvenile Fillies Turf
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
4 Flotilla Lemaire 24.80 10.80 7.80
6 Watsdachances Castellano 6.40 5.40
2 Summer of Fun Dominguez 19.40
Winning Time: 1:34.64
$1 Exacta 4-6 85.50
$1 Trifecta 4-6-2 1,791.50
$1 Superfecta 4-6-2-8 19,875.40
Left: Flotilla in the winner's circle. Thierry Delegue, representing owner Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said, "I don't know if she would like the tight turns, but the tight turns help her to relax and we felt she might be better on fast ground. I wouldn't say it was a long term target. We were happy with our race in Longchamp, she was a little bit unlucky, but the way she won was quite impressive and she was keen on coming to America, so we decided we should have a try."
Right: Flotilla heads back to the barn in her winner's blanket. Jockey Christophe Lemaire said, "The first thing was to relax her may be in the middle of the field and she was still a little bit on the bridle because of the slow pace, but she was racing very well, so I was not worried in the last turn because I knew she would be able to react very well down the stretch."
Left: Second place finisher Watsdachances returns after the race. Jockey Javier Castellano said, “We had a great trip. She ran really hard. She was tracking behind the leaders, and when I asked her to go, she put in her run. There are no excuses. She was second-best today. Sometimes that’s just the way it is.” Trainer Chad Brown added, “I thought she ran great. I thought Javier gave her a good ride and he got the running room he needed turning for home. She was second-best. I was real proud of the way she ran.”
Right: Third place finisher Summer of Fun in the post parade. Trainer George Weaver said, “I knew she was better than 40-1. She finished third in her last start at Keeneland and we knew we had to step our game up. I wasn’t surprised that she finished third and wouldn’t have been surprised if she won. She will continue to get better.”
Eighth place finisher and beaten favorite Sky Lantern in the post parade. Jockey Richard Hughes said, “I had plenty of horse. Just nowhere to go. Usually in these kind of races, something will open up, but today there was no hole at all.”
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: Flotilla in the winner's circle. Thierry Delegue, representing owner Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said, "I don't know if she would like the tight turns, but the tight turns help her to relax and we felt she might be better on fast ground. I wouldn't say it was a long term target. We were happy with our race in Longchamp, she was a little bit unlucky, but the way she won was quite impressive and she was keen on coming to America, so we decided we should have a try."
Left: Second place finisher Watsdachances returns after the race. Jockey Javier Castellano said, “We had a great trip. She ran really hard. She was tracking behind the leaders, and when I asked her to go, she put in her run. There are no excuses. She was second-best today. Sometimes that’s just the way it is.” Trainer Chad Brown added, “I thought she ran great. I thought Javier gave her a good ride and he got the running room he needed turning for home. She was second-best. I was real proud of the way she ran.”
