Meditate Flies Home in BC Juvenile Fillies Turf

As easy as Meditate  won the $920,000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) Nov. 4 at Keeneland, it seems remarkable the striking charcoal black gray/roan filly nearly missed the opportunity.

Owned by longtime partners Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith along with Westerberg, Meditate had never been tested beyond seven furlongs, so the one-mile Juvenile Fillies Turf didn't seem an obvious target.

"Speaking to Michael the last week or 10 days, we were thinking of bringing the filly called Never Ending Story , a filly that ran in France," said trainer Aidan O'Brien, referring to a daughter of Dubawi  that placed in the about one-mile Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac Criterium des Pouliches (G1). "Michael (Tabor) just thought that maybe this race would suit this filly better.

"We gave her every chance since Newmarket not to come here, but she kept passing all the tests," O'Brien continued. "She was doing everything right."

Another factor in bringing Meditate to the Breeders' Cup World Championships is her dam, a winning daughter of Dalakhani , who won the 2003 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere (G1) and Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby (G1)—both at 1 1/2 miles. Such a strong stamina influence was anticipating to stretch out the speed Meditate has already shown through her sire No Nay Never . A son of Scat Daddy, No Nay Never won Darley Prix Morny (G1) at 2 going six furlongs. At 3, he won the 2014 Woodford Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G3T) at 5 1/2 furlongs and was second in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at 6 1/2 furlongs.

"No Nay Never is a speed influence and we have the highest quality 2-year-olds by him this year, so (we) want to see if they can stay farther than five, six, or seven (furlongs). We were looking to find out if No Nay Never (runners) out of stamina mares will stay and we found out they can get the mile," O'Brien said. "(Horses by No Nay Never) have great minds and good personalities and are very exciting horses, really. Seeing this filly do it over a mile even makes them more exciting."

O'Brien gave repeated credit to jockey Ryan Moore for giving Meditate a patient ride.

Soon after the break, Meditate and Moore were tracking near the back of the 14-horse field, with only four horses behind them. They held their position down the backstretch as Charles Fipke's homebred Spirit Gal  set all the pace in the early running, going a quarter in :23.19, the half in :47.60, and six furlongs in 1:12.30.

Heading into the second turn, Moore began to rally Meditate. Prior to the top of the stretch, the filly was still seven lengths behind the leaders but a move to the middle of the track and a furious burst of speed propelled her with stunning ease to the front. She kept going while the rest of the challengers seemed to back up, leaving Meditate with a 2 1/2 length advantage at the wire. The final time was 1:35.38.

As Meditate was making her move through the second turn, Emory Hamilton's homebred Pleasant Passage  and jockey Irad Oritz Jr. simultaneously responded. They also moved to the middle of the track with their own rally, which wasn't enough to catch the leader but enough for a good second 2 1/4 lengths in front of William Thompson Jr.'s 19-1 longshot Cairo Consort .

"She had them covered very quickly. The race was over a furlong and a half out and I felt she had a lot left," said Moore of Meditate. "She's just got an awful lot of class, and I thought she was a level above these. She was dominant, really."

Meditate was bred by Lynch-Bages and Rhinestone Bloodstock. She was offered at Arqana's 2021 Deauville August Yearling Sale by Capucines that sold her for €360,000 (US$424,620) to agent Jamie McCalmont. The filly won her debut April 10 at the Curragh by 3 1/4 lengths with Moore in the saddle. She became a group winner in her next start by taking the Coolmore Stud Irish E.B.F. Naas Fillies Sprint Stakes (G3). She would win her first four starts that included two more group victories.

Meditate took her first loss in the Sept. 11 Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) at the Curragh, where O'Brien said the ground was terrible. She was back in the starting gate Sept. 24 at Newmarket for the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) and was second by three-quarters of length. O'Brien said the trip back to Newmarket was too quick.

Not only did Meditate prove that No Nay Never's progeny could be more than pure sprinters, the filly has earned an opportunity to contest the British filly classics.

"Before the race Michael felt if she didn't get a mile around here, that we wouldn't train her for the (One Thousand) Guineas," said O'Brien. "Obviously with what she did and Ryan's very patient ride to get the trip, I think now we will be training her for the Guineas."

The one-mile One Thousand Guineas (G1) will be run May 7 at Newmarket.

"She was probably just a level above all of them really, so hopefully there is more to come," Moore said.