At Keeneland’s Fall Meet, 10 horses have qualified for the Breeders’ Cup. Here’s how.
The opening week of Keeneland’s 2021 Fall Meet has made a significant impact on the horse racing landscape.
From the first day of the Fall Meet last Friday through Wednesday, 10 races were run that served as “Win and You’re In” events for next month’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar Racetrack in California.
The winning horses from these 10 races are awarded fees-paid berths into corresponding races at the 38th World Championships at Del Mar, although it’s not a certainty that the horses will actually run in the Breeders’ Cup.
Here’s a look at which horses secured their spots in the Breeders’ Cup and how they did so.
$400,000, Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (Oct. 8).
Juju’s Map took over in the final turn of the Darley Alcibiades Stakes to decisively win the 70th edition of the race and earn a spot in next month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
She won the 1 1/16-mile race by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:43.52.
Louisville native Brad Cox, who trains Juju’s Map, will be looking to repeat history in just a few weeks.
Cox won the Darley Alcibiades Stakes two years ago with British Idiom, who then went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
$250,000, Grade 2 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (Oct. 8).
Special Reserve took over coming out of the final turn to win the Phoenix Stakes and clinch a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Trainer Mike Maker said immediately after the race that Special Reserve would indeed be pointed to that race for his next start.
Special Reserve now has five wins and two runner-up finishes in seven starts this year, after running the 6-furlong Phoenix in 1:08.54.
$750,000, Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile (Oct. 9).
In Love, a Brazilian-bred 5-year-old gelding, bested a stacked field in the Turf Mile that included defending champion Ivar and morning-line favorite Order of Australia, who won the Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall at Keeneland.
In Love, ridden by Frenchman Alex Achard, won the Turf Mile by 1 1/2 lengths, earning the horse a spot in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Earlier this year In Love also won at Kentucky Downs in Franklin.
$500,000, Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (Oct. 9).
Rattle N Roll surged past the field to win the Breeders’ Futurity by 4 1/4 lengths and earn a spot in next month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
The futurity has featured eight future Kentucky Derby winners since it was first run in 1910.
Lexington trainer Kenny McPeek, who oversees Rattle N Roll, said after the race that he was not sure yet if Rattle N Roll would race in the Breeders’ Cup.
$400,000, Grade 1 First Lady Stakes (Oct. 9).
In a tightly contested race down the stretch, Blowout defeated Regal Glory in the First Lady Stakes, a turf race for fillies and mares.
Blowout is trained by Chad Brown, who has now won four straight editions of the First Lady and five overall.
Blowout now has a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
$250,000, Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America (Oct. 9).
Bell’s the One finished in the first spot by a neck in the TCA, besting a six-horse field.
Among the beaten horses was defending champion Inthemidstofbiz, who finished fourth.
Bell’s the One earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
“She’s one of the best mares, if not the best horse, I’ve ever had,” said Neil Pessin, the winning trainer of Bell’s the One. Pessin also said it remains to be seen whether Bell’s the One will race in the Breeders’ Cup.
$500,000 Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (Oct. 10).
Superstar Letruska went wire-to-wire over 1 1/8 miles to win for the sixth time in seven races in 2021 and claim the Juddmonte Spinster title.
The Kentucky-bred daughter of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver has now won 17 of 22 races in her career.
Letruska now has four wins this year in Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events, and has earned a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
$200,000, Grade 1 Indian Summer Stakes (Oct. 10).
Undefeated Averly Jane, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Midshipman, remained unbeaten by recording a 3-length victory over 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in the Indian Summer.
This earned Averly Jane a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Wesley Ward, 2-year-old Averly Jane now has four wins in four career starts, although the first three were all on dirt.
$200,000, Grade 2 Castle and Key Bourbon Stakes (Oct. 10).
Tiz the Bomb qualified for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf with a victory in the Bourbon.
Another horse trained by McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Tiz the Bomb broke through the gate before the start of the race before going on to launch a big run in the final eighth of a mile in the 1 1/16-mile turf event.
This was McPeek’s fourth victory in the Bourbon Stakes, having done so previously with Pineaff (1998), Rogue Romance (2010) and Lawn Ranger (2014).
$200,000 Grade 2 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (Oct. 13).
California Angel recorded an upset victory in the Jessamine, rallying from far back in the field to win by a head over Diamond Wow in a race for 2-year-old fillies.
California Angel ran the 1 1/16 miles turf course in 1:44.30, circling the field on the final turn and roaring from 12th place to first in an instant.
California Angel paid $37.60 to win, $14 to place and $5.60 to show.
With the victory, California Angel earned a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
The horse was trainer George Leonard III’s first starter in a graded stakes, and jockey Rafael Bejarano earned his 19th Keeneland stakes win and his first since 2010 in the process.
“I thought I had a special filly from the beginning, but I never dreamed of being here and winning this,” Leonard said.
This weekend at Keeneland
Friday: A 10-race card featuring the $150,000, Grade 3 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes.
Saturday: An 10-race card featuring the $500,000, Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.
Sunday: Full day of racing with no featured stakes.
First post: 1 p.m. each day.
TV: All Keeneland races on TVG.
