Moonshine Memories Heads Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Undefeated Moonshine Memories wins the Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita Park
With the exception of Songbird in 2015, the role of favorite for the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) over the last few years hasn't exactly been an award-winning performance.
Three of the past four winners won at odds longer than 30-1, but with a new venue—Del Mar hosts the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the first time—and a local standout in Moonshine Memories, the chances for the chalk to prevail appear to be slightly higher this time around.
Moonshine Memories, who races for John Malone's Bridlewood Farm and the Coolmore team of Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith, not only broke her maiden at Del Mar, but she has also won a grade 1 over the track, where she held off Piedi Bianchi in the Sept. 2 Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1).
She followed that with a 2 3/4-length score in Santa Anita Park's Chandelier Stakes (G1) to put her on top of the West Coast contingent.
Moonshine Memories, one of three fillies by Malibu Moon pre-entered in the Juvenile Fillies, was bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Farm. Out of the Unbridled's Song mare Unenchantedevening, she was a $650,000 purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale by the Bridlewood/Coolmore partnership.
"She had a monster walk at the sale and her energy level was very high," said Bridlewood general manager George Isaacs. "The walk drew us in. She's not super big. She's very correct. Sometimes that's what a 2-year-old type is—medium-sized and early looking ... and very sound looking. She struck (us) as one who was going to be a speedy type, but we thought the Unbridled's Song would give her some stamina."
In addition to Chandelier runner-up Alluring Star and Piedi Bianchi, Moonshine Memories will face a host of runners from East of the Mississippi for the first time.
From Kentucky comes Debby Oxley's Heavenly Love, another by Malibu Moon, who ran off with Keeneland's Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 6. The win came at the Juvenile Fillies distance of 1 1/16 miles. Mark Casse trains her along with John Oxley's (Debby's husband) Gio Game, a nine-length maiden winner earlier on the Alcibiades card. John Oxley and Casse teamed to take last year's Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) with champion 2-year-old male Classic Empire .
Casse hopes to fill the frame with Gary Barber's Wonder Gadot, a six-length winner of the grade 3 Mazarine Stakes on Woodbine's synthetic surface.
New York's top lot appears to be Klaravich Stables' Separationofpowers, a bay filly by Candy Ride who separated herself from the pack in Belmont Park's one-turn mile Frizette Stakes (G1).
"This horse has always given us the impression she would be better around two turns," said trainer Chad Brown. "You look at her pedigree (Candy Ride—Shehadmefromhello, by Empire Maker ) and you look at her physically, how she's grown through the course of the summer. I'm excited to get her around two turns."
She'll get her chance Saturday in the first Breeders' Cup race on the program.
Del Mar, Saturday, November 04, 2017, Race 4Entries: 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Heavenly Love (KY)
Julien R. Leparoux
122
Mark E. Casse
9/2
2
2Tell Your Mama (KY)
Kent J. Desormeaux
122
Robert B. Hess, Jr.
30/1
3
3Princess Warrior (KY)
Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
122
Kenneth G. McPeek
12/1
4
4Gio Game (KY)
Manuel Franco
122
Mark E. Casse
15/1
5
5Blonde Bomber (FL)
Jose Lezcano
122
Stanley I. Gold
20/1
6
6Stainless (KY)
John R. Velazquez
122
Todd A. Pletcher
20/1
7
7Moonshine Memories (KY)
Flavien Prat
122
Simon Callaghan
7/2
8
8Piedi Bianchi (IN)
Mario Gutierrez
122
Doug F. O'Neill
15/1
9
9Alluring Star (KY)
Joseph Talamo
122
Bob Baffert
6/1
10
10Maya Malibu (KY)
Javier Castellano
122
H. Graham Motion
20/1
11
11Wonder Gadot (ON)
Patrick Husbands
122
Mark E. Casse
8/1
12
12Caledonia Road (FL)
Mike E. Smith
122
Ralph E. Nicks
15/1
13
13Separationofpowers (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
122
Chad C. Brown
4/1
