Phillips' Luck: Pair Draws In From AE

John Phillips is walking around lucky Breeders' Cup week at Keeneland. The Central Kentucky horseman who owns Darby Dan Farm entered a pair of Phillips Racing Partnership horses for the Oct. 30-31 Breeders' Cup World Championships and both landed on the also-eligible list.

Both have drawn into to their respective races: Time and Motion to the Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT) on Oct. 30, and Recepta to the Mile (gr. IT) on Oct. 31.



"One door closes and another opens," Phillips said of the James Toner-trained horses. "And in this sport I've been on the other side, too, and it's not easy. It's part of the game. I'm on the lucky side of this time.



"The thing I'm most proud about is that they're both homebreds," he continued. "They represent two, five-generation families of Darby Dan."



Time and Motion, a 2-year-old filly by Tapit   is out of Ellie's Moment, by Kris S. A half sister to grade II-placed Awesome Bet and grade III-placed Moment in Dixie, Time and Motion is out of a half sister to Brian's Time, the Florida Derby (gr. I) winner and leading Japanese sire and she's from the family of Phillips' grand Memories of Silver and Andover Way, the dam of Dynaformer.



Fourth in her debut on turf at Saratoga, she was third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Tin Type Gal in the Sept. 27 Miss Grillo Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Belmont Park. Tin Type Gal was withdrawn from the Breeders' Cup Oct. 27 due to a bruise, making way for Time and Motion to get into the one-mile race.



"I have some real mixed feelings about Time and Motion," Phillips said. "The owner of Tin Type Gal (Leonard Riggio) is a friend of ours and he was very much looking forward to it and she won the Miss Grillo and that is the big race to win going into the Breeders' Cup."



Recepta (Speightstown  —Honored Bestowed, by Honor Grades) makes her way into the Mile off a win Sept. 19 in the Noble Damsel Stakes (gr. IIIT) at a mile at Belmont Park.



"The numbers guys said she ran a tremendous race last time out in the graded stakes effort at a mile," Phillips said. "She came back super and I think is on the improve. She's coming into the best form of her life."



However, Phillips can temper his enthusiasm ... just a bit.



"They were both on the also-eligible list for a reason," he said. "They'll both have to step up but they're coming into the race in the best form of their lives. They trained really well. They're sound. Both have great temperaments and I think we'll have to have good racing luck, but they have that potential. I wouldn't be racing if I didn't think they had that potential.



"The Breeders' Cup is so hard because you have international form to contend with and it's been a hard year for a lot of horses," he said. "They may have good form, but may not be in good form and that's something that we are—in the best form."



Phillips, a student of the game, knows the Breeders' Cup well. His uncle, Daniel Galbraith, ran a horse in the very first Breeders' Cup race, the 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I). His Script Ohio ran fourth behind a pretty nice trifecta of Chief's Crown, Tank's Prospect, and Spend a Buck. The following year Galbraith's Steal a Kiss was third in the Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) and Darby Dan's Proud Truth won the Classic (gr. I) for Phillps' grandfather John W Galbraith.



Phillips Racing Partnerships won the inaugural Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT) in 1999 with champion Soaring Softly. Winter Memories ran second in the Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2010.



"We go back a long way with it," Phillips said. "We've had our great moments and had our disappointments, but it's just great to be here. If you like this sport, it's just a great two days."