The first day at the Breeders’ Cup was not what the Europeans would have hoped for, but all four of the Cup races were memorable in their way, none more so than the Distaff thanks to Rosie Napravnik’s post-race announcement.
She will be back at the track as a jockey one last time tomorrow, when the Europeans will be looking towards three favourites in Dank, Toronado and Flintshire to head up their hunt for winners on the main card. I’ll be back too, blogging from 18.00GMT, a hour and five minutes before the Juvenile Fillies’ gets the party underway.
This is Greg Wood at Santa Anita, signing off for now.
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A great memory to bow out with even if Rosie Napravnik draws a blank tomorrow.
#Untapable Wins the @Longines #BC14 Distaff with @RosieNapravnik pic.twitter.com/Y6UvnzY0MA
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 1, 2014
Napravnik’s announcement came completely out of the blue. She is comfortably in the top 10 jockeys in the States in terms of earnings, with nearly 200 winners this year and, after Untapable’s success, more than $13m in prize money.
She has four rides on the card tomorrow, her last day at the races.
Quite a postscript to the Distaff as Rosie Napravnik, the winning rider and without doubt the best female jockey in the world, has just announced that she will be retiring as of Sunday in order to start a family.
Trakus on how far Untapable actually travelled from her wide draw...
Untapable ran 12ft more than Don't Tell Sophia, 39ft > Iotapa, 38ft more than Ria Antonia, 51 > Unbridled Forever, 55 > Tiz Midnight
— Trakus (@TrakusRacing) October 31, 2014
A great reception for Untapable and Rosie Napravnik as they come back in front of Santa Anita’s huge grandstand.
A duel in the stretch, but not the one that most fans were anticipating. Untapable and Close Hatches both ran wide at the first turn, but Rosie Napravnik then got Untapable into a decent rhythm and position while Close Hatches never seemed to get interested down the back. Close Hatches was beaten turning in, but Untapable had to fight to get past Iotapa, who put up a brave struggle before yielding and then being edged out of second place by the fast-finishing Don’t Tell Sophia.
Breeders’ Cup Distaff result: 1. Untapable, 2. photo
Won’t be long now, the crowd at Santa Anita is really buzzing for this one and the two principals are gradually edging towards each other in the market. It’s 3-2 Untapable, 3-1 Close Hatches, and 6-1 bar the pair.
A little support for Close Hatches now to 7-2, while Untapable eases to 7-5. Seven minutes to post time.
This is Close Hatches in the Personal Ensign ...
Here is Untapable winning the Grade One Cotillion Stakes last time out...
The Breeders’ Cup Distaff will close proceedings on the opening day of the Cup meeting in about 20 minutes. L’Amour De Ma Vie is a rare European challenger for the race and is not without a chance, but all the focus here is on the head-to-head between Close Hatches and Untapable.
Untapable has been racing in Grade One company in her last four races, winning three, but disappointed when fancied for the Juvenile Fillies’ 12 months ago. She is still the clear pick in the market though at 6-5, with Close Hatches, who took the Grade One Personal Ensign Stakes in the summer but was only fourth in a Grade One last time out, a 4-1 chance.
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Trakus on the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf...
Lady Eli an inside run to win #BC14 JuvFillies Turf. Last 2F in 22.72, final 1F in 11.37. Fastest last 1F was 70-1 4th Prize Exhibit, 11.25s
— Trakus (@TrakusRacing) October 31, 2014
Lady Eli just left them standing in the straight...
You go girl #LadyEli pic.twitter.com/ACY8cdsKRJ
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) October 31, 2014
The money was spot on. Lady Eli seemed to be a little short of running room as they came to the end of the back stretch, but Irad Ortiz threaded her through against the rail on the turn into the straight and she flew away from her field. Frankie Dettori was forced a little wide off the turn on Osaila before running on for third, while Ryan Moore and Qualify were always at the rear from their wide draw and never threatened.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf result: 1. Lady Eli, 2. Sunset Glow, 3. Osaila.
Lady Zuzu is a late scratch, the race will be a little late off as they have been taken out of the stalls.
Here we go, if there’s going to be a European-trained winner on the first day card at the Breeders’ Cup, it’s probably going to be now.
Three minutes to post time here. Lady Eli was 6-1 on the morning line, but is a solid 5-2 favourite on the pari-mutuel now. Here she is winning the Grade 3 Grillo Stakes at Belmont last month.
Just watching the Dirt Mile again, it really was a remarkable performance by Goldencents, and one that - for all the drawbacks of dirt - is only ever likely to happen on a fast dirt track.
When they came past the press box on the run to the first turn, he was absolutely hammering along, and he just carried on blazing away through 11-second furlongs until past halfway. It seemed that Goldencents must surely curl up from the effort in the straight, but he found the strength from somewhere to keep going all the way to the line.
Frankie has a chance to complete a double in the next race, the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, aboard Osaila, owned by his principal employer, Al Shaqab Racing. Richard Hannon, Osaila’s trainer, has already won a Classic at the first attempt this season, saddled a Royal Ascot winner at the first attempt too and ended his debut season with a licence as champion trainer. If he could add a Breeders’ Cup winner to his cv, something his father Richard snr never achieved, it would cap one of the most impressive first seasons any trainer has ever enjoyed.
More from Frankie in the press conference after his victory on Hootenanny in the Juvenile Turf.
Wesley [Ward, his trainer] had lots of confidence, and basically my main concern was that he had never run beyond six [furlongs]. I knew Wesley’s other horse [Luck Of The Kitten] had a lot of speed, so I didn’t want to get into a duel. He blew the first turn a bit, but once I got him asleep, I knew then that I had the race at my mercy.
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The winning margin in the Dirt Mile was one-and-a-quarter lengths, with five back to the third, and the fractions were punishing, 22.06sec for the quarter and 44sec for the half.
A blazing performance by Goldencents, who fired into the lead and set up a duel with Vicar’s In Trouble which soon carried them well clear of the chasing pack. Vicar’s In Trouble was spent by the turn out of the back, but Goldencents kept pouring it on as Tapiture emerged from the pursuers to lay down a challenge. He closed, but Goldencents ground it out in the closing stages to win for the second year running.
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Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile result: 1. Goldencents, 2. Tapiture, 3. Pants On Fire.
Goldencents has eased slightly to 4-5, but there’s little interest in anything to beat him. And away they go...
Frankie Dettori after his victory on Hootenanny in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf: “It was my first time on him but I had seen him run in England, so I knew his style. He wasn’t pulling, I got him settled. When I turned him on, I knew I had the race.”
Next up on the card is the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, with a hot favourite in Goldencents, last year’s winner. He is currently showing as a 3-5 chance, and few of the locals can seeing anything getting close to him if he can grab the lead from his rail draw. Here he is setting a new track record in the Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar earlier this year.
That was the first Breeders’ Cup winner of Wesley Ward’s career, and he had the runner-up too. A complete blowout for the European-trained runners though, with Wet Sail fading after tracking the pace to the top of the stretch, and War Envoy caught wide going to the first turn and never threatening. Imperia looked unlucky not to finish closer, meanwhile, Javier Castellano travelled well into the straight but had nowhere to go on the far rail.
Hootenanny returned at exactly 6-1, paying $14.00 to a $2 stake. The Dettori flying dismount has just been duly performed.
Frankie Dettori wins at the Breeders’ Cup for the first time since 2010, bringing Hootenanny with a strong run in the stretch to wear down stablemate Luck Of The Kitten, who made almost all the running under Mike Smith. I wasn’t sure he had it in him at this trip, but he most certainly did.
Third place has just been announced as Daddy D T, with Conquest Typhoon completing a 1-2-3-4 for American-trained horses.
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Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf result: 1. Hootenanny, 2. Luck Of The Kitten, 3. photo.
They’re at the gates ... and loading ...
The runners are on the track for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. It looks as though War Envoy will start favourite at around 7-2, ahead of Imperia at 9-2, while Hootenanny is a little jig-joggy for Frankie Dettori, who is riding in the purple and white silks of Derrick Smith, part of the Coolmore syndicate. There’s been a little money for him though and he is in to 6-1.
The problem with Hootenanny’s form is that it is all at five and six furlongs, and he even started out this season over four-and-a-half, below the minimum trip in Britain. This is one speedy beast, and his effectiveness over a mile is clearly open to question. Even so, 7-1 does seem quite big.
About 20 minutes to post for the Juvenile Turf, and the local punters make Aidan O’Brien’s War Envoy the 7-2 favourite in the early pari-mutuel betting. Hootenanny, the runner-up in the Prix Morny and, as I should have said just now, the actual top-rated American-trained runner - is 7-1, which is a little surprising. Timeform have him on 134, while Imperia is second-best of the US horses, rated 127p.
The Damascus Stakes, the last race before the Breeders’ Cup events, is about to get underway here. If anyone wants to check out Imperia, the top-rated American runner in the Juvenile Turf (according to Timeform), here he is finishing with a flourish to win the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont late last month.
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Hmmm, I’m slowly getting the hang of it, though it seems pics will need to go via Twitter, like this...
No excuses for missing anything this evening as this is the view from my desk #BC14 pic.twitter.com/DTAbhV1ske
— Greg Wood (@Greg_Wood_) October 31, 2014
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Hello from Santa Anita, where a 10-race card which includes the first four of the weekend’s 13 Breeders’ Cup races is already underway beneath a sky which can only be described as ... well, rather grey and cloudy actually. There is even some rain forecast tomorrow - one website suggests that there is a 100 per cent chance of rain at 1pm local time on Saturday, which shows impressive confidence - but nothing like enough to make any difference to either of the tracks, which receive countless gallons from tanker trucks every day anyway.
Europe is represented in three of the four Breeders’ Cup events today, including the feature race, the $2m Distaff at 23.35GMT, when Pia Brandt’s L’Amour De Ma Vie and Maxime Guyon take on the best 10-furlong fillies and mares in America.
Aidan O’Brien is represented in both the Juvenile Turf and the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf by War Envoy and Qualify respectively, and seemed to this O’Brien-watcher at any rate to be more talkative about Qualify yesterday morning. Osaila (Richard Hannon) and Prize Exhibit (Jamie Osborne) complete the European team in the fillies’ race, while Wet Sail (Charlie Fellowes), Commemorative (Charlie Hills) and Faithful Creek (Brian Meehan) are in the Juvenile Turf, the latter a late substitute for Aktabantay after his injury yesterday, and a chance for Kieren Fallon to spring a surprise.
There’s a slightly low-key feel to this stage of the proceedings, and the race-count of Breeders’ Cup events is down by 20 per cent on the opening day this year with the Marathon - which never really felt at home on the schedule - downgraded to the undercard. Tomorrow is the day that really matters, but today’s racing could still be life-changing, or career-changing at any rate, for a trainer like Fellowes, one of the most upwardly-mobile young trainers in the game.
The Juvenile Turf is the first of the Breeders’ Cup race at 21.25GMT. This is a live experiment in using the new Guardian blogging software, so please bear with me if this first attempt is not quite - or nearly - as pretty as the ones that the MBM peeps produce.
Join Greg Wood from 8pm GMT/1PM local time.
