Bast Aims to Tame Sometimes Wild BC Juvenile Fillies
Image:
Description:
Photo: Benoit Photo
Bast (left) edges Comical in the Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita Park
The $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) hasn't been the most formful of the World Championship races, and for good reason.
Young Thoroughbreds, at this stage of their 2-year-old year, are works in progress as they develop, go through growth spurts, and are asked to do new things, like run two turns. This year's cast, nine strong, has a fairly wide-open feel for the 1 1/16-mile race Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
The headliner is Baoma Corporation's Bast, who already has a pair of grade 1 wins for trainer Bob Baffert, a two-time winner of the Juvenile Fillies. Bast, by Uncle Mo , was an 8 3/4-length winner of the seven-furlong Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) at the end of August but had to dig deep to win the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier Stakes (G1) by a neck over rival Comical at Santa Anita.
Comical, by leading sire Into Mischief , won the Schuylerville Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course and was third in the Del Mar Debutante for trainer Doug O'Neill. O'Neill also conditions Lazy Daisy, a Paynter filly who shipped from Southern California to Churchill Downs for the Sept. 14 Pocahontas Stakes (G2) at two turns and won by 1 1/4 lengths.
Another thing both fillies have in common is Erik Johnson of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Johnson's ERJ Racing co-owns Comical with Gary Barber, Steve Keh, Dave Kenney, Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, Westside Racing Stable, and O'Neill. Lazy Daisy is owned by ERJ Racing, Great Friends Stable, CTR Racing, MyRaceHorse Stable, and Jerry Caroom.
"I'm really excited. Both fillies are doing really well right now, and Doug has them tuned up to perfection," Johnson said. "Comical was a yearling purchase last year. The original plan was to pinhook her, but she didn't meet the reserve, so we sent her to Doug and added a couple of buddies as owners. We weren't totally sure she was going to stretch out, but she proved that she could while taking Bast, who is arguably the division leader, to a neck in the Chandelier.
"Lazy Daisy was a 2-year-old in training purchase by the original owners, and I jumped in about a month before her debut," Johnson said. "We thought she'd be better going long, but she won first time out going six furlongs. She went to the Pocahontas because it was a 'Win and You're In' race. She won that impressively."
The Juvenile Fillies has several other impressive fillies in the cast. The Brad Cox-trained British Idiom blew away her foes in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, leaving Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Perfect Alibi, trained by Mark Casse, in her wake by 6 1/2 lengths.
The top filly coming from the New York circuit is Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Wicked Whisper, a Liam's Map filly who went wire-to-wire in the Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park for trainer Steve Asmussen. That effort was preceded by a 6 1/4-length maiden romp going six furlongs at Saratoga.
Kaleem Shah's Donna Veloce enters off an impressive maiden win Sept. 28 at Santa Anita.
Santa Anita Park, Friday, November 01, 2019, Race 7Entries: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Donna Veloce (KY)
Flavien Prat
122
Simon Callaghan
3/1
2
2Two Sixty (FL)
Edgard J. Zayas
122
Mark E. Casse
15/1
3
3Perfect Alibi (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
122
Mark E. Casse
10/1
4
4British Idiom (KY)
Javier Castellano
122
Brad H. Cox
7/2
5
5Lazy Daisy (KY)
Rafael Bejarano
122
Doug F. O'Neill
12/1
6
6Bast (KY)
John R. Velazquez
122
Bob Baffert
7/2
7
7Wicked Whisper (KY)
Joel Rosario
122
Steven M. Asmussen
7/2
8
8K P Dreamin (FL)
Ruben Fuentes
122
Jeff Mullins
20/1
9
9Comical (KY)
Abel Cedillo
122
Doug F. O'Neill
8/1
