Maiden Winners Train for Longshot BC Runs
Description:
Two maiden-winning fillies were out on the main track at Santa Anita Park Oct. 24, with their connections hoping for upset scores in the upcoming Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.
Mrs. Fitriani Hay's Mirage, a debut winner at Brighton in England in June, was out for the 7:45 a.m. PT session and covered four furlongs in :47 3/5, working in company with a stablemate to prepare for the Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT)
A £380,000 ($591,356) purchase by Dr. Jim Hay during the Goffs London Sale just after her debut, the Oasis Dream filly crossed the wire third, but was elevated to second via disqualification in her first start for trainer Simon Callaghan Oct. 10 in the Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita. In the Surfer Girl, jockey Tyler Baze had to steady the filly sharply on the rail in the final furlong when Lucky Folie drifted in and impeded her, and Callaghan was encouraged that she was able to re-rally.
"She did all that you could ask for," Callaghan said of Mirage, who will be ridden by Jaime Spencer in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. "She was definitely going to be second and maybe (first), but she was going to be right there. What I liked (after the steady) was that she came right back and hung on for third. There was a lot to like about that effort.
"We know we're a longshot, but we feel she's fit and game to do it. I think it's a very open race."
Another Southern California-based freshman runner taking a longshot run will be Forever Darling, who is owned by trainer Richard Baltas in partnership with Herbert Bloodstock and J K Racing. The Congrats filly drilled six furlongs in 1:14 2/5 Saturday, working toward a start in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I). The move was her fourth timed work since breaking her maiden by 1 3/4 lengths at second asking Sept. 26 at Santa Anita.
"It's a combination of a couple things," Baltas said of the decision to send Forever Darling to the Breeders' Cup, pointing to positive speed and sheet figures. "Maybe we're being a little ambitious... It's a big opportunity. It's $2 million and sometimes 2-year-old fillies develop. We're taking a shot. We're not going in there saying we're going to win."