The $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf featured 11 older fillies and mares going 1 1/4 miles on the turf. Defending champion Dank was sent off as the 2-1 favorite off a disappointing 5th place finish in the Prince of Wales's (G1) at Royal Ascot. In to challenge her included 9-2 second choice Stephanie's Kitten, winner of the Flower Bowl (G1) at Belmont, and 11-2 third choice Dayatthespa, winner of the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland.
Jockey Javier Castellano sent Dayatthespa to the lead down the hill and she set fractions of 23.89, 48.37, 1:13.12, and 1:36.96 over the good going while pressed by 27-1 Parranda and stalked by 7-1 Secret Gesture. Entering the stretch, Dayatthespa opened up a 2 length advantage over the tiring Parranda. Stephanie's Kitten, 8th early, put in a 5 wide rally into the lane but was left with too much ground to cover as Dayatthespa cruised to a 1 1/4 length win in 2:00.12. It was another 1/2 length back to Just the Judge third, and a head more to favorite Dank fourth.
Dayatthespa wins the Filly and Mare Turf
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
4 Dayatthespa Castellano 13.00 6.60 4.60
10 Stephanie's Kitten Velazquez 5.20 3.80
2 Just the Judge Spencer 4.60
Winning Time: 2:00.12
$1 Exacta 4-10 27.10
$1 Trifecta 4-10-2 182.80
$1 Superfecta 4-10-2-3 618.70
Left: Dayatthespa in the winner's circle. Co-owner Pete Bradley said, "This was a race all about pace. We have a filly that likes to be on or near the lead. She relaxes. And it was picture perfect. She ran her race against an exceptional group of fillies, put them to sleep on the front end, and took it home. I don't think that was hanging on, I think that was pulling away. She's scheduled to sell at Fasig Tipton on the 3rd."
Right: Dayatthespa returns after the race. Winning jockey Javier Castellano said, "I thought she could get the distance if we could get away with a slow pace. I was hoping we could go 24, 48, 1:13, and that's exactly what we did. When we got the 3/4 in 1:13 I thought to myself, ‘We're going to steal this thing,' and we did."
The trophy celebration with trainer Chad Brown on the far left. Brown said, "(Jockey) Javier (Castellano) did an awesome job. He was able to set an easy pace." Co-owner Steve Laymon added, "I asked (Castellano) for one thing, I asked for 1:13 for 3/4, and we got it. He looked at me and said, 'Boss, you asked for it, you got it'. Her mother's full brother was a 1 1/4 mile horse, and it's kind of hidden in the pedigree. So we always wanted her to have her on go long, and we finally got that chance."
Second place finisher Stephanie's Kitten returns after the race. Trainer Chad Brown, who also trains the winner, said, "We knew that if (Dayatthespa) got a little tired (on the lead), Stephanie's Kitten would be coming, so we had it covered either way. I just wish there could be two winners. Both mares ran terrific." Jockey John Velazquez added, "I got a good trip. By the second turn, I put her into the race because they started to slow down in front. I let her get a little closer and thought I had a chance to win, but the leader kept going."
Right: Third place finisher Just the Judge heads over to the turf course. Jockey Jamie Spencer said, "She's run really well. I was much better being on the inside than trying to go on the outside but I'm pleased with her. Beautiful position and everything was going smoothly the first time around. Then the pace started steadying and they stacked up to the end of the back straight. It was going to be very hard to catch the leaders from there. She's not a leader, so there has to be some pace. She fought well in the home straight. You have to be really proud of her; she tried really hard the last couple months and shown good form."
Fourth place finisher and beaten favorite Dank returns after the race. Trainer Sir Michael Stoute said, "She's run a very game race. They didn't go fast enough in the middle part of the race for her. Ryan (Moore) was a little further back than he wanted to be and had to come wide, but she's tried as always."
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where American Pharoah was an impressive winner in his final start before retiring to stud. Also on the card, Found won the Turf, Nyquist won the Juvenile, and Tepin won the Mile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here. Get more photos and comments for each race here.
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Thursday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 38 horses out on Thursday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including American Pharoah. Beholder was also out, but was found to have bled when scoped and is scratched from the Classic.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 46 horses out on a very rainy Wednesday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including Keen Ice, Frosted, and Golden Horn. No American Pharoah yet, hopefully he comes out tomorrow.
2015 Breeders' Cup Entries - Check out the entries, post postitions, and morning line odds for the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races to be held at Keeneland on October 30 and 31.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 31 horses out on a rainy Tuesday morning at Keeneland including Stephanie's Kitten, Grand Arch, and Private Zone.
Monday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 28 horses out Monday morning at Keeneland including Rachel's Valentina and a timed work by Beholder.
Sunday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 10 horses out Sunday morning at Keeneland including Liam's Map and Lea
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Review: Crushing the Cup 2015 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland updated for 2015.
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2014 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Untapable. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
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.
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Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track now.
Left: Dayatthespa in the winner's circle. Co-owner Pete Bradley said, "This was a race all about pace. We have a filly that likes to be on or near the lead. She relaxes. And it was picture perfect. She ran her race against an exceptional group of fillies, put them to sleep on the front end, and took it home. I don't think that was hanging on, I think that was pulling away. She's scheduled to sell at Fasig Tipton on the 3rd."
Second place finisher Stephanie's Kitten returns after the race. Trainer Chad Brown, who also trains the winner, said, "We knew that if (Dayatthespa) got a little tired (on the lead), Stephanie's Kitten would be coming, so we had it covered either way. I just wish there could be two winners. Both mares ran terrific." Jockey John Velazquez added, "I got a good trip. By the second turn, I put her into the race because they started to slow down in front. I let her get a little closer and thought I had a chance to win, but the leader kept going."
