Breeders Cup Chat : Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic

Stardom Bound: The Forgotten Superstar

jshandler — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:19:00 GMT

Question: At this time last year, if you had to name the one juvenile filly with the best chance of being a 3-year-old superstar, who would it be?

Chances are, most of you would have chosen champion 2-year-old filly Stardom Bound, not Rachel Alexandra. I know I would have. I was blown away by her spectacular late runs in both the Oak Leaf and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. In fact, of all the great BC race last year, her victory was my favorite. There is something a young horse who can give that kind of late kick.

Stardom Bound, who was sold after the Breeders' Cup and transferred to the barn of Bobby Frankel and then Rick Dutrow Jr., seemed poised for the huge 3-year-old season that most expected after wins in the Feb. 7 Las Virgenes and March 7 Santa Anita Oaks, giving her an incredible five grade I scores in a six-month period. But then she finished a disappointing third in the Ashland and seemed to disappear. With the emergence of Rachel right around that time, Stardom Bound became the forgotten superstar filly.

It might be time to start thinking about the daughter of Tapit once again.

When I talked to Dutrow on Friday, he said the goal is still to make the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. And even though she will have been off for seven months, Dutrow has no problem training the filly right up to the race.

After the Ashland, Stardom Bound's ambitious campaign--in which she raced eight times in an eight and half month period--had finally caught up with her. Dutrow said she was dead tired and needed a lengthy rest. She was turned out for a couple months before returning to training in New York in July.

Dutrow had been very pleased with Stardom Bound's works up until the last few weeks. He said she had a "setback," earlier in the month which caused him to back off a bit. But on Sept. 23, Dutrow liked what he saw when she breezed for the first time in nearly three weeks, a three-furlong move at Aqueduct. He said the next month of works will determine whether or not they go to California.

Here is a little bit of what Dutrow had to say:

"She's doing good right now. She hadn't been clicking on all cylinders, but I really liked the way she moved (on Sept. 23).

"I would love for her to make the Breeders' Cup. Right now, I'm just not sure if she'll be fit enough by then. It's still up in the air. Two months ago, I would have been under the impression that she would be able to do it. I'm just not sure right now.

"It all depends on the next month and how she works. I would have no problem running the filly (off the layoff). If she is ready, I would expect her to run big. She only needs a couple of sharp works to be ready.

"(If we decide to go), I would want to keep her right where she is (at Aqueduct)."

That last comment was in reference to a question I posed about when they would ship her to Santa Anita. Dutrow said, if she goes, she would probably train up to the race at Aqueduct and won't ship to California until the week of the Breeders' Cup.

I hope Stardom Bound makes it. I still think Zenyatta will race in the Ladies Classic, not the Classic, and if other talented females like Music Note, Careless Jewel, Swift Temper, Seventh Street, Life is Sweet, and Icon Project are on board, the Ladies Classic will be quite a race. Stay tuned.

One Man's Prediction on Zenyatta's 'Mysterious' Path

jshandler — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:31:00 GMT

During the early stages of my interview with Jerry Moss earlier this week, two things became apparent to me right from the start: I wasn't going to get anything significant out of him regarding Zenyatta's future, and there is very little chance that she will ever face Rachel Alexandra.

The latter did not surprise me one bit. I stated last month that we should all begin to accept the fact that the showdown will never happen. The owners of each horse have two different agendas: Moss the Breeders' Cup, Jess Jackson locking up Horse of the Year by the end of the summer by beating males once (or twice) more. From where I stand, the showdown it ain't happening. We should all move on.

I was a little disappointed, however, that Moss would not budge on his stance of playing it close to the vest regarding her plans for the rest of the season. And believe me, I tried several times and in several different ways to get something out of him. During the course of our interview, Moss must have said, "I don't mean to be mysterious, but we're taking it one race at a time," about five times. He just wouldn't budge. Yes I was disappointed, but I also respected his position.

In the latter part of our conversation I finally got him to admit that they were going to do "something different" with her. That's about all I got. But by reading between the lines, here is my speculation on what they will do with her in her final four starts:

As we all know, she will race next in the Aug. 9 Clement Hirsch. There is also a very good chance that she will also go in the Oct. 10 Lady's Secret as a prep for the Breeders' Cup. Whether it will be the Breeders' Cup Classic or Ladies Classic, we don't know yet. Back to that in a moment.

Near the end of the interview, Moss said the two months between the Clement Hirsch and the Lady's Secret leaves room for another race. This is where they will likely do "something different" with her. What will it be? Well, it probably won't be out of California. Moss reiterated several times that they would prefer not to ship her out of state. When I mentioned the Oct. 3 Beldame at Belmont Park, a race that also might be enticing for Jackson, Moss said no. I think she is staying in California. But where?

In looking at the racing calendar, the options in early September are pretty slim in Cali. If they are going to do "something different" with her, to me the most probable option is the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar. This makes sense because it a) give her nearly five weeks until the Lady's Secret and b) it lets her face males for the first time.

In my theory, Zenyatta gets to take on the boys for a huge purse on a track she has already won over, and it satisfies the "something different" Moss is referring to. Then, they aren't forced to run her against what will likely be a very tough field in the Breeders' Cup Classic. My gut feeling is that they want to let her run in the Ladies Classic. This will likely be the final race of her career and there is a much better chance she goes out a winner in that race, which is at a more suitable distance and won't be nearly as tough to win.

Pacific Classic, Lady's Secret and Ladies Classic. That's my prediction for Zenyatta. If I am right, and she wins all of them, I still don't feel it's enough for Horse of the Year. But I'm not sure that is the main goal for Moss at this point anyway. I think he would just like to enjoy her final four races and let the chips fall where they may.

Division Leaders

jshandler — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:26:00 GMT

We're now a little more than five weeks into the Breeders' Cup season and the divisions are beginning to take shape. The continuing story thus far is how the male division seemingly gets more ordinary every day while the female division continues to get more exciting. Unless this Big Brown-Curlin thing actually happens, there is no doubt the Ladies Classic will be much more interesting come late October. I forget, what day is the Ladies Classic being run? Never mind.

Anyway, with about two more months of Breeders' Challenge events left to go, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at a few of the divisions. Let's do our best to rank the top 3 American-based horses in each one. Here goes:

Classic

1. Curlin - You still have to give him the edge even though we have no idea if Jess Jackson will send him to Santa Anita.

2. Big Brown - Looking forward to seeing the spot they pick for him. Something tells me it will be the Pennsylvania Derby.

3. Commentator - He ran the year's top Beyer (119) so you have to respect him. Looks like he'll go to the Mass Cap next month and point towards the Classic. But can he get 1 1/4 miles?

Don't forget about: Henrythenavigator - He's won four consecutive group I races and some say he is the best horse in the world. Aidan O'Brian says he will point towards this race, which should spice things up.

Ladies Classic

1. Ginger Punch - She's the champ. Until someone proves otherwise, I'm ranking her above Zenyatta.

2 . Zenyatta - Undefeated and getting better. Has a huge advantage because of the synthetics.

3. Music Note - Looking forward to this weekend's Alabama. She might be the best of them all.

Don't forget about: Hystericalady. She lost by a nose in the '07 Distaff and is even better this year.

Tough for me to leave out Proud Spell and Little Belle, but what can you do?

Turf

1. Red Rocks - Won the best U.S. turf race this year.

2. Gio Ponti - Hasn't faced grade I company yet, but a star in the making.

3. Einstein - Had a poor start in the Million, but the loss was more than just that.

Don't forget about: Any European. The Americans will have their hands full against all of them. All three that took money in Arlington Million might be back for BC.

Filly & Mare Turf

1. Mauralakana - Gotta love her. She just knows how to get it done.

2. Forever Together - Diana was no fluke.

3. Black Mamba - Not BC nominated, but owners will probably fork over the cash.

Don't forget about: J'ray: She narrowly lost to Mauralakana twice.

Sprint

1. Benny the Bull: All he does is win. The way he powers down the stretch is breathtaking.

2. J Be K - Has never lost at less than a mile.

3. Street Boss - That's five in a row for the synthetic specialist.

Don't forget about: Kodiak Kowboy: Highly-touted as a 2-year-old, he might be coming into his own.

Mile

1. Kip Deville: Pure miler is lightly-raced this year, but will be primed and ready for Santa Anita.

2. Daytona -Tired in American Handicap. A mile might be his best distance.

3. Monzante - Just beginning to hit his best stride.

Don't forget about: Red Giant: Very impressive off a 10-month layoff. Not sure what his best distance is, but Pletcher will figure it out.

More division rankings to come later...