Runhappy, Songbird Among Breeders’ Cup Saturday Stars

Runhappy overhauled Private Zone late to win the TwinSpires.com Breeders' Cup Sprint on Saturday at Keeneland Race Course. (All photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
by Claire Novak, @BH_CNovak
Runhappy lived up to the hype and galloped home strong in the $1.5-million TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint, running down veteran Grade 1 winner Private Zone in the final furlong to collect his fifth straight win.
Racing for owner James McIngvale and trainer Maria Borell, Runhappy gave both their first Breeders’ Cup wins on Oct. 31 at Keeneland Race Course. The 3-year-old Super Saver colt set a new track record for six furlongs (three-quarters of a mile), completing the distance in 1:08.58 under Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado for a three-quarter-length victory.
With the win, Runhappy sewed up seasonal honors in the champion sprinter division.
Runhappy came off a solid victory in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland after collecting his first Grade 1 in the NYRA.com King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
He was sent off the favorite in a 14-horse field for the Sprint, and paid $5.20 to win, $3.40 to place, and $2.80 to show. After runner-up Private Zone came Favorite Tale to complete the trifecta.
BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup

FOUND UPSETS GOLDEN HORN IN TURF THRILLER

by Tom LaMarra, @BH_TLaMarra
Three-year-old filly Found, second to Golden Horn in the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes, turned the tables on her familiar rival to take the $3-million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf.
Ridden by Ryan Moore for trainer Aidan O'Brien, Found rallied from well off the pace to win the 1 1/2-mile race in 2:32.06 on turf rated good.
Found, by Galileo out of the Intikhab mare Red Evie, was bred in Ireland by Roncon, Wynatt, and Chelston.
Golden Horn, winner of the Investec Epsom Derby and the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, got the jump on Found turning for home but couldn’t hold off the filly. Big Blue Kitten made a bold move to challenge the top two in the final eighth of a mile but couldn't sustain the run.
Found, who paid $14.80 to win, defeated Golden Horn by a half-length for owners Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Susan Magnier.
“It's very special to beat a very good colt who has won everything in Europe this year, so it was a great performance,” Tabor said.
Big Blue Kitten finished another three-quarters of a length back. Slumber checked in fourth.
The early tempo in the Turf was set, not surprisingly, by Shining Copper, who has successfully served as a pacesetter for stablemate Big Blue Kitten on two previous occasions. Shining Copper began to fade after a mile as Golden Horn, Found, and The Pizza Man picked him up on the far turn. Golden Horn emerged with the lead through 1 1/4 miles in 2:07.20, but Found never let him out of her sights. She gradually wore him down to get the victory.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” O’Brien said. “She’s a very special mare. To run in two Champion Stakes and the Arc, and then to come here and win, is quite remarkable. She's very special.”
“She is a very tough filly,” Moore said. “She beat a champion [in Golden Horn], and that is special, too.”
TURF REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup

SONGBIRD SOARS IN JUVENILE FILLIES

by Claire Novak, @BH_CNovak
Fox Hill Farms’ Songbird delivered a beautiful performance Oct. 31 in the $2-million 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland, controlling the pace throughout and drawing off to win by 5 3/4 lengths over fellow Grade 1 winner Rachel’s Valentina.
Sent off as the overwhelming favorite, Songbird nailed down the 2-year-old filly championship with her third straight Grade 1 victory. The Medaglia d’Oro filly galloped clear to the lead in a few bounds leaving the outside post in a field of 10, and was never challenged.
“Once we jumped out the gate, it was just a matter of me staying on,” Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith said. “She’s so talented and she gives you so much confidence. I almost felt like yawning as we went along. I don’t mean that in a bragging way. She just gives me that much confidence. I’m really blessed to be a part of this great team.”
The Breeders' Cup win was a record 22nd for Smith, who added to his advantage as the event’s all-time winningest rider after Songbird led from start to finish.
“From the 10 hole, we knew we had to get a good break, but Mike said this was the longest jump she’s ever had to make to get into position on the first turn, that was the key,” owner Rick Porter said. “I knew we had the best horse going in, but the problem is, I’ve had the best horse in races before ... the best horse doesn’t always win.”
Songbird preserved her perfect record with yet another front-running score for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. She is now 4-for-4 after previously taking the Chandelier Stakes and Del Mar Debutante.
Songbird finished the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.73 on a fast track, with Rachel’s Valentina, Dothraki Queen and Nickname rounding out the top four.
JUVENILE FILLIES REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders’Cup

TEPIN DOMINANT IN BREEDERS' CUP MILE

by Frank Angst, @BH_FAngst
Tepin delivered her second straight monster performance in a Grade 1 turf race at Keeneland, this time beating males in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile Oct. 31.
After winning the First Lady Stakes against females Oct. 3 at Keeneland, Robert Masterson’s Tepin came through again in the Mile, scoring by 2 1/4 lengths over Woodbine Mile winner Mondialiste, completing the race in 1:36.69 on good turf.
Tepin was guided to victory by Julien Leparoux for trainer Mark Casse, who earned his second Breeders’ Cup win of the weekend after saddling Catch a Glimpse to victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf Oct. 30.
In the Mile, Breeders' Cup veteran Obviously hustled to the lead through a quarter-mile in :23.77 and a half-mile in :48.08 on the good turf. But Tepin tracked the early leader and launched her move with a quarter-mile remaining. None of her 11 rivals answered quickly enough and Tepin opened a three-length lead in mid-stretch and cruised to the win.
Tepin paid $11.80 to win, with place and show payouts of $5.20, and $4.
Geoff and Sandra Tunbull's Mondialiste delivered his second straight strong finish in North America as the son of Galileo finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of Jim and Susan Hill's Grand Arch, who entered off a Grade I win at Keeneland himself in the Shadwell Turf Mile.
A 4-year-old filly by Bernstein out of Life Happened, a Stravinsky mare, Tepin was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall.
BREEDERS' CUP MILE REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders' Cup World Championships

STEPHANIE’S KITTEN SCORES SECOND BREEDERS’ CUP WIN IN FILLY AND MARE TURF

by Frank Angst, @BH_FAngst
Four years after claiming her first Breeders’ Cup victory, Stephanie’s Kitten returned to a Breeders’ Cup winner’s circle again on Saturday after a courageous rally to win the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland.
The four-year gap between Breeders' Cup victories is the longest in the event’s history. Not that Stephanie’s Kitten has ever gone away. When she split rivals near midstretch to rally to a clear victory over multiple Group 1 winner Legatissimo, Stephanie’s Kitten claimed the fifth Grade 1 victory of her career and 10th stakes win overall in five seasons of racing.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s homebred daughter of their sire Kitten's Joy also won the 2011 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs and finished second to Dayatthespa in last year’s Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita Park.
Trained by Chad Brown and guided to victory by Irad Ortiz Jr., Stephanie’s Kitten completed the 1 3/16-mile race in 1:56.22.
“She’s tough, I’ll tell you,” said Brown, noting that the Ramseys considered retiring her at the end of last season. “They were rewarded today. She won here today just six miles from where she was born and raised, and I’m happy for them.”
Secret Gesture led the field of 10 through a half-mile in :49.26, while pressed by Photo Call. Those two led the way into the stretch but Stephanie’s Kitten, who raced last through the first six furlongs, surged into the stretch where she split the early leaders.
“I broke from the outside so I was trying to save some ground,” Ortiz said. “I found a hole to go through around the quarter pole and then when I asked her, she just took off.”
Classic winner Legatissimo, who entered off two straight Group 1 wins against older horses in Ireland and England, rallied wider but posed no real threat to the winner. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to third-place finisher Queen's Jewel, who edged Sentiero Italia by a neck for third.
Out of the unraced Catienus mare Unfold the Rose, Stephanie’s Kitten improved her career earnings to $4,292,904 with 11 wins from 25 career starts.
Stephanie’s Kitten returned $17.60 to win, $5.40 to place and $3.60 to show.
FILLY AND MARE TURF REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup

FAST-FINISHING WAVELL AVENUE TAKES FILLY AND MARE SPRINT

by Eric Mitchell, @BH_EMitchell
With a strong late kick, Wavell Avenue rolled past front-runner La Verdad to take the $1-million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
She completed seven furlongs in 1:22.39 for her first graded stakes win.
The 4-year-old filly Harlington is owned by the partnership of Michael Dubb, David Simon, Head of Plains, and Bethlehem Stable. She was ridden by Joel Rosario and is trained by Chad Brown. Wavell Avenue was bred in Ontario by Eugene Melnyk.
“We thought there’d be a strong pace up front. Joel [Rosario] has gotten along with this filly so well. He’s really been instrumental in her development, as much as me. It’s really been a team effort,” Brown said. “I have to give Steve Young a lot of credit - he found the filly at the farm and put her in our care. It was a great find.
“From there, she just fit well in the system and she keeps getting better. Joel has given me terrific feedback every time he's ridden her. We were really confident if she got a strong pace she could get there. It’s a thrill to be here. I’m so proud of her.”
Wavell Avenue paid $22 to win, $10.20 to place, and $6.60 to show. 
FILLY AND MARE SPRINT REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup

MONGOLIAN SATURDAY HOLDS ON GAMELY TO WIN TURF SPRINT

by Lenny Shulman
In a thrilling edition of the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Sprint, Mongolian Saturday prevailed by holding off Lady Shipman by a neck. Mongolian Saturday had finished second in the Woodford Stakes in the mud at Keeneland Oct. 3.
Lady Shipman broke alertly in the 5 1/2-furlong event, but Ready For Rye quickly wrested the lead from the filly while rider Florent Geroux placed Mongolian Saturday just outside the leader. Lady Shipman and Joe Franklin stayed close to the front through a half-mile in :45.09.
Turning for home, Mongolian Stable's Mongolian Saturday separated from the other 13 runners and opened up a 3-length advantage. But Lady Shipman was determined, and made a sustained run at the leader down the lane, shortening the margin between them with every stride.
The finish line came just in time for Mongolian Saturday, who completed the distance in 1:03.49. Lady Shipman was a half-length ahead of third-place finisher Green Mask. Defending Turf Sprint winner Bobby's Kitten rallied for fourth.
Mongolian Saturday paid $33.80 to win, $13.60 to place, and $7.80 to show.
Mongolian Saturday was bred in Kentucky by Normandy Farm and is trained by Enebish Ganbat. The 5-year-old gelding has won seven of 31 lifetime starts and has hit the board in all 10 of his starts this season. 
TURF SPRINT REPLAY

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup