Princess Noor Tops Talented BC Juvenile Fillies Field
Image:
Description:
Photo: Zoe Metz
Princess Noor (outside) works Oct. 30 at Santa Anita Park
The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland may have come up short on numbers as just seven were entered, but the talent runs deep. The 1 1/16-mile race brings together grade 1 winners from New York, California, and Kentucky.
Zedan Racing Stables' Princess Noor is the star attraction. She turned heads earlier this year by topping the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training auction with a $1.35 million tag. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the daughter of Not This Time is perfect in three starts in Southern California. Her 8 1/4-length score in Santa Anita Park's Chandelier Stakes (G2) at 1-5 makes her clearly the best of the west.
"She's another superstar," Baffert said. "Her numbers are slow, but I know a superstar when I see it, and she's a superstar."
Tim Hamm and Siena Farm’s Dayoutoftheoffice is also 3-for-3, having dominated two of New York’s top 2-year-old filly races. At six furlongs she won Saratoga Race Course's Schuylerville Stakes (G3) by six lengths, and stretched out to a mile to win Belmont Park's Frizette Stakes (G1) by two. Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Vequist was second, and she'll take her shot with another turn and a bit more real estate.
As trainer Ken McPeek was in Baltimore preparing Swiss Skydiver for her historic score in the Preakness Stakes (G1), two of his runners ran 1-2 in Keeneland's Darley Acibiades Stakes (G1). The trainer is pretty happy with his position.
"Everything is pretty well set; it's not complicated," McPeek said.
Simply Ravishing, bred by Bluewater Farm's Meg Levy and from the first crop of Laoban , took the lead soon after the start and never looked back in the Alcibiades, winning by 6 1/4 lengths.
"If she knocks this one down you are going to put her in 'freak' category because she really does everything quite easily," McPeek said. "There will be people high on Bob's filly, but she's got a world of talent and we're really excited."
Simply Ravishing races for Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing, and Nehoc Stables and was a $50,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale buy.
Second in the Alcibiades was Phoenix Thoroughbred's Crazy Beautiful. Earlier in the year the $250,000 sale yearling landed Ellis Park’s Runhappy Debutante Stakes at seven furlongs.
"She's very professional," McPeek noted. "The last race, she fought on to be second. She wasn't as good as the other filly … can she turn the tables on Simply Ravishing? She's got some work to do, but she's doing well and we'll give her a chance."
Songbird, who was based on the West Coast, was the winner of the Juvenile Fillies the other time Keeneland hosted the World Championships. However McPeek sees a bit of an advantage to having a pair of runners familiar with the Central Kentucky surroundings.
"The fact that they have shipped over there and back can't hurt," he said. "Every horse I've got running, even on the undercard, all trained on the Rice Road side because we have a year-round division there. They know the scenery; they've walked up the horse path and up the hill. That's a bit of an advantage."
Keeneland, Friday, November 06, 2020, Race 8Entries: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Simply Ravishing (NY)
Luis Saez
122
Kenneth G. McPeek
5/2
2
2Vequist (KY)
Joel Rosario
122
Robert E. Reid, Jr.
8/1
3
3Dayoutoftheoffice (KY)
Junior Alvarado
122
Timothy E. Hamm
5/2
4
4Thoughtfully (KY)
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
122
Steven M. Asmussen
20/1
5
5Girl Daddy (KY)
Joseph Talamo
122
Dale L. Romans
6/1
6
6Crazy Beautiful (KY)
Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
122
Kenneth G. McPeek
20/1
7
7Princess Noor (KY)
Victor Espinoza
122
Bob Baffert
9/5
