Returning Stars Make Female Turf Division a Powerhouse

The ladies made it quite tough on the boys in some major turf races last year, and more of the same could be in store for 2020.

At least eight grade 1-winning turf fillies and mares, including all three finalists for champion turf female of 2019, are currently in Florida either racing or preparing for stakes in the coming months, making for a powerhouse division that seems destined to overflow into major open races.

Just as it did two weeks ago when the European mare Magic Wand finished second against males in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1T) in back-to-back years.

"Could the fillies run against the colts this year? It's a good question. It's a possibility," said Chad Brown, who trains five of the aforementioned grade 1 winners. "We'll have to see how the male division turns out."

While the male turf division faces a huge void with the retirement of 2019 Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, the filly and mare side resembles a college basketball team with All-Americans returning at each position. Foremost among the group are Uni and Got Stormy, who finished 1-2 against males in the TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), and Sistercharlie, who won six straight grade 1 stakes until she finished third in her last start, the Makers Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T).

Brown has previously spoken about the Arlington Million (G1T) being an option for the 6-year-old Sistercharlie, who captured the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) for fillies and mares on that same card the last two years, and already the wheels are turning in some heads about straying outside of the division.

While Gary Barber's Got Stormy is set to make her 2020 debut Feb. 8 in the Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes (G3T), if the 5-year-old Get Stormy  mare handles that assignment with aplomb, trainer Mark Casse may opt to send her to California to face males in the March 7 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.

"The Endeavour is a nice place to get started and after that, there's a good shot she'll run in the Kilroe Mile," Casse said. "We're not so much looking to run against colts or fillies. We're looking for grade 1s and races that suit her. We're trying to get her to the Breeders' Cup. That's our number one goal."

While Got Stormy may be one of the pacesetters in terms of getting back to the races, she will have some rather glamorous company by the spring and summer.

Also heading back to the races are a quintet from Brown's barn in Sistercharlie, Uni, Rushing Fall, Newspaperofrecord and Cambier Parc, as well as Concrete Rose, who dominated the 3-year-old female turf division a year ago before an injury ended her season in early August and prevented her from chasing a sweep of the New York Racing Association's inaugural Turf Tiara series.

Of those six, none are expected to race before the Keeneland meet, which could lead to a rather star-studded field in the April 11 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) at the Lexington track.

Then there's Blue Heaven Farm's Starship Jubilee, who won the E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) last year. Trained by Kevin Attard, she is scheduled to make her second 2020 start Saturday in the Suwannee River Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park. The 7-year-old Indy Wind  mare was invited to the Pegasus Turf but opted instead to face state-bred fillies and mares in the Jan. 18 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Stakes at Gulfstream, a race she took decisively by 3 1/4 lengths.

A key element in seeing 5-, 6- and 7-year-old grade 1 winners on the track involves the willingness of owners to continue racing their talented mares and resist the urge to send them to the breeding shed.

"A lot of the good fillies are owned by real sportsmen and they would rather see them race than become moms right now, and that's good for everyone," Casse said. "It's nice that there's more of an emphasis to keep the stars running."

Rusty Arnold, who trains Concrete Rose, echoed the benefits across the board from keeping stars on the racetrack.

"It's a win-win," he said. "It's good for the fan base that these horses are still running and good for the owners that they are having fun running them."

For Brown, these days are much akin to the start of the National Football League season as he prepares his grade 1 winners and a slew of promising grade 2 and grade 3 winners for their 2020 campaigns.

"It's like week 1 of the NFL season when everyone loves their team. Everyone loves their horses right now," the four-time Eclipse Award winner said. "My grade 1 winners are all coming along nicely, but let's check back in Week 8 and see how everyone is doing. If we can keep all of them healthy, it can be a big year."

Brown does not expect to run any of his five grade 1 winners at Gulfstream's championship meet, preferring to point some of them for comeback starts at Keeneland.

The 6-year-old Uni, owned by Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta and Bethlehem Stables, is the reigning champ of the division after her exploits in 2019 that included a win in the First Lady Stakes Presented by UK Health Care (G1T) along with her Nov. 2 victory at the Breeders' Cup in her last start. 

The daughter of More Than Ready  is jogging at Brown's winter base at Palm Meadows and is expected to start galloping soon.

Peter Brant's Sistercharlie was the 2018 female turf champion and suffered her lone loss in four starts last year when she finished third in the Filly & Mare Turf. The Myboycharlie mare came out of the Breeders' Cup with some bone bruises and Brown is taking it slow with the 6-year-old, much like he did in 2019 when she started the year July 13 with a second victory in the Diana Stakes (G1T).

"I'm happy to have her back but she needs more time before we start jogging her," Brown said. "We're hoping to start jogging her in another week or two."

Rushing Fall, owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, enjoyed a great start to 2019, reeling off two grade 1 wins. But the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner went off form after finishing second to Sistercharlie by 1 3/4 lengths in the Diana when fourth in the First Lady in her final start of the year. Her 2019 finale marked the only time in 11 starts that she finished worse than second.

Owner Bob Edwards visited his mare in Florida recently and said she was looking "bigger and stronger" for her 5-year-old campaign.

She has already put in two three-furlong turf works, covering that distance in :37.80 Feb. 3 in her most recent effort.

"Rushing Fall is training good and looks real good," Brown said.

Though the 5-year-old More Than Ready mare is making progress in Florida, her 2020 season is not expected to start until April with the 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley a likely target. Rushing Fall started her 2019 campaign with a victory in the Jenny Wiley and owns a record of four wins in five starts at Keeneland.

Klaravich Stables' Newspaperofrecord is also on the comeback trail following a brief and disappointing 2019 campaign. After winning the 2018 Juvenile Fillies Turf to cap an unbeaten 2-year-old year, she seemed destined to be the horse to beat in the initial Turf Tiara. Yet she was winless in three starts at 3 and her season ended after a ninth-place finish behind Concrete Rose in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) due to a splint bone fracture.

"She went the wrong way on us mentally, first and foremost, and after her last race, we discovered she had a fracture in her splint bone. It did not need surgery and we gave her all the time she needed," Brown said.

The daughter of Lope de Vega has logged a trio of works at Palm Meadows and Brown said her Feb. 3 four-furlong breeze in :49.60 was "terrific."

"She really looks good. She's nice and relaxed during her works and she's filled out into a really good-looking older filly. We hope we can hit the reset button with her because she was really brilliant at 2 when she kept her mind on business," he said.

Cambier Parc, a $1.25 million buy at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, closed out 2019 with back-to-back victories in the Del Mar Oaks Presented by The Jockey Club (G1T) and then the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Lane's End (G1T) for Brown and owner Larry Best of OXO Equine. But the Medaglia d'Oro  filly came out of the Queen Elizabeth with some bone bruises and the 4-year-old may not race until the summer.

"Cambier Parc will be jogging again soon," Brown said. "In the Queen Elizabeth she got some bone bruising like Sistercharlie and she needs some extra time. Fortunately, both horses are owned by two great men in Peter Brant and Larry Best who do the right thing by the horses. We'll focus on the middle of the year for both Cambier Parc and Sistercharlie and point them toward races at the classic distances."

An injury also cut short Concrete Rose's 3-year-old season after she notched four wins in as many starts. After earning grade 1 laurels in the Belmont Oaks, the opening leg of the Turf Tiara, she romped by 4 3/4 lengths in the Saratoga Oaks as a 3-10 favorite. She seemed poised to complete the sweep in the Jockey Club Oaks but an injury to her right front leg brought the curtain down on her campaign.

"There was a small crack that we thought would heal on its own but after a few weeks we X-rayed it again and we decided on surgery. They took a small chip out of her knee and she's recovered well," Arnold said.

A daughter of Twirling Candy  owned by Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing, Concrete Rose returned to Arnold's barn about three weeks ago.

"Her first work will be the latter part of February. She's doing well, traveling good. She was at Margaux Farm from about Sept. 1 until mid-January and they did a good job with her," Arnold said.

Arnold explained if all goes well on the comeback trail, the Jenny Wiley would be the first target.

"If we don't make the Jenny Wiley, it will be (the grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes) on Kentucky Derby weekend," Arnold said. "It's far ahead, but it should be one of those two."

Given Concrete Rose's versatility, with wins ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, Arnold knows he has plenty of options to reach his filly's main goal, the Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland in November.

"We know she can accelerate and carry her speed. So a lot of what we do with her will be decisions made throughout the year, but where we want to end up is the Breeders' Cup. How we get is there is what we have to map out," he said.

Even if that path includes major stakes with top-heavy fields that scare off some of the competition, Arnold believes the star power in the female turf division will keep fans on the edge of their seats.

"We all want big fields but you when put some of these fillies in a field, the fans will want to see that too," he said.