Breeders’ Cup Distaff Cheat Sheet (with odds)

Close Hatches brings the most accomplished 2014 record into the Breeders' Cup Distaff, winning four of her five starts this year, including three Grade 1s. (All photos by Eclipse Sportswire unless otherwise noted)
This year’s $2-million Breeders’ Cup Distaff anchors the Friday card at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Oct. 31 at Santa Anita Park.
With 2013 Distaff winner Beholder and runner-up Close Hatches among the contenders this year, along with top 3-year-old filly Untapable, the 2014 Distaff figures to be an outstanding race.
Want to know more about this year’s Distaff field? We’ve got you covered! 
1. L’Amour De Ma Vie (15-1)

Photo by Dubai Racing Club
Jockey: Maxime Guyon
Trainer:  Pia Brandt
Owner: Md Bloodstock Limited
Career Record: 13 starts – 2 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 thirds
Career Earnings: $322,632
Earnings Per Start: $24,818
Pedigree: Dansili - Cuaba, by Smoke Glacken
Age: 5
Color: Gray or Roan
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Based in Europe, L’Amour de Ma Vie has had a notable year, winning the Group 2 Balanchine Stakes over 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Flotilla at Meydan. While that was her only win in 2014, she was also second to Certify in another Group 2 at Meydan in Dubai and finished second in a Group 2 at Royal Ascot. Her dam is a Grade 3-placed runner in the United States and her sire’s daughter Dank won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
2. Tiz Midnight (10-1)

BENOIT Photo
Jockey: Victor Espinoza
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owner: Karl Watson and Paul Weitman
Career Record: 7 starts – 3 firsts, 3 seconds, 1 thirds
Career Earnings: $214,720
Earnings Per Start: $30,674
Pedigree: Midnight Lute - Tough Tiz’s Sis, by Tiznow
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running Style: Pacesetter/Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Tiz Midnight’s only stakes appearance came in the Zenyatta Stakes in late September when she finished second to Beholder. It should also be noted that in that race, she finished on three-quarters of a length behind the Distaff winner, the only horse to get within a length of Beholder in that race. Tiz Midnight is out of multiple Grade 1 winner Tough Tiz’s Sis, who also was trained by Baffert.
3. Iotapa (6-1)

BENOIT Photo
Jockey: Joe Talamo
Trainer: John Sadler
Owner: Hronis Racing
Career Record: 13 starts – 6 firsts, 4 seconds, 2 thirds
Career Earnings: $832,796
Earnings Per Start: $64,061
Pedigree: Afleet Alex - Concinnous, by El Corredor
Age: 4
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Pacesetter/Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Iotapa’s only lifetime off-the-board finish came in her only race outside of California in this year’s Humana Distaff, in which she finished sixth. She has won three graded stakes races, including the “Win and You’re In” Clement L. Hirsch Stakes that got her into the Breeders’ Cup this year. Iotapa’s first career loss came when she finished second to Beholder in the Santa Anita Oaks in 2013. She is by 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex and her grandam, Wild Jewel, is by 1984 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Wild Again.
4. Belle Gallantey (6-1)

Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Trainer: Rudy Rodriguez
Owner: Michael Dubb, Belthlehem Stables, and Gary Aisquith
Career Record: 43 starts – 9 firsts, 12 seconds, 7 thirds
Career Earnings: $1,111,270
Earnings Per Start: $25,843
Pedigree: After Market - Revealed, by Old Trieste
Age: 5
Color: Chestnut
Running Style: Pacesetter
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Stepping up to the graded stakes level this year, Belle Gallantey has held her own, winning the Grade 1 Delaware Handicap and Grade 1 Beldame Stakes. The mare has only lost two starts in 2014, with both of those coming against fellow Breeders' Cup Distaff entrant Close Hatches.
5. Unbridled Forever (20-1)

Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Dallas Stewart
Owner: Charles Fipke
Career Record: 9 starts – 2 firsts, 2 seconds, 3 thirds
Career Earnings: $410,257
Earnings Per Start: $45,584
Pedigree: Unbridled's Song - Lemons Forever, by Lemon Drop Kid
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker/Midpack
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Unbridled Forever is the winner of the Silverbulletday Stakes and was third in the Kentucky Oaks. Her other notable placings include top-three finishes in the Fair Ground Oaks, Acorn Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks and Indiana Oaks. Unbridled Forever’s dam, Lemons Forever, won the 2006 Kentucky Oaks and her sire, Unbridled’s Song, won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
6. Stanwyck (20-1)

Photo by NYRA
Jockey: Corey Nakatani
Trainer: John Shirreffs
Owner: Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss
Career Record: 17 starts –3 firsts, 3 seconds, 7 thirds
Career Earnings: $474,250
Earnings Per Start: $27,897
Pedigree: Empire Maker - Set Them Free, by Stop the Music
Age: 5
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker/Midpack
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Stanwyck is a half sister to 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and Grade 1 winner Tiago. The 5-year-old won her stakes debut in October of last year, taking home the Turnback the Alarm Stakes at Belmont. In 2014, Stanwyck has finished third in three Grade 1s, including the Apple Blossom and Personal Ensign against Close Hatches and the Santa Margarita against Iotapa.
7. Don’t Tell Sophia (5-1)

Jockey: Joe Rocco Jr.
Trainer: Phil Sims
Owner: Phil Sims and Jerry Namy
Career Record: 22 starts – 11 firsts, 4 seconds, 3 thirds
Career Earnings: $979,295
Earnings Per Start: $44,513
Pedigree: Congaree - Lost Expectations, by Valid Expectations
Age: 6
Color: Bay
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: She has won four of five starts this year, including the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes. Since November 2012, she hasn’t finished off the board and has won eight of her 13 starts. Don’t Tell Sophia was bought for just $1,000 as a yearling. Her first graded stakes victory came in the 2013 Chilukki Stakes. She gave trainer Phil Sims his first graded stakes victory since 2010 when she won the Chilukki and his first Grade 1 win since 2009 when she won the Spinster Stakes.
8. Valiant Emilia (20-1)

Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing
Jockey: Rafael Bejarano
Trainer: Juan Suarez
Owner: Stud Couet
Career Record: 23 starts – 11 firsts, 3 seconds, 3 thirds
Career Earnings: $81,667
Earnings Per Start: $3,551
Pedigree: Pegasus Wind – Valiant Saint, by Aljabr
Age: 5
Color: Brown
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: A Peruvian runner, Valiant Emilia earned her spot in the Distaff by winning the “Win and You’re In” Clasico Cesar Del Rio Suito. While she has had stakes success in the past, that race was her first group stakes victory. Valiant Emilia has been working in California since early September in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup. 
9. Ria Antonia (15-1)

Jockey: Paco Lopez
Trainer: Tom Amoss
Owner: Christopher Dunn and Loooch Racing Stable
Career Record: 13 starts – 2 firsts, 3 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $1,405,496
Earnings Per Start: $108,115
Pedigree: Rockport Harbor - Beer Baroness, by Mr. Greeley
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Ria Antonia won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies via disqualification and was named the champion 2-year-old filly in Canada. She looks to become only the second filly to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a feat Beholder pulled off in 2012 and 2013. This year, Ria Antonia doesn’t have any victories but she finished second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks, Grade 1 Spinster Stakes, and Grade 2 Iowa Oaks.
10. Untapable (5-2)

Jockey: Rosie Napravnik
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds
Career Record: 10 starts – 7 firsts, 0 seconds, 1 thirds
Career Earnings: $1,896,725
Earnings Per Start: $189,673
Pedigree: Tapit - Fun House, by Prized
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: The winner of the 2014 Kentucky Oaks, Cotillion Stakes, and Mother Goose Stakes — all Grade 1 races — Untapable is the top 3-year-old filly in training in the U.S. right now. Her only loss in 2014 came against males in the Haskell Invitational Stakes after a rough trip. In her five wins this season, she has finished more than 4 ½ lengths ahead of the field in all but the Cotillion. Untapable is by Tapit, who has sired four Breeders’ Cup winners, and is out of Grade 2 winner Fun House. Her half-brother Paddy O’Prado was a top turf horse who also finished third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby.

11. Close Hatches (3-1)

Photo by NYRA/Lauren King
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: Bill Mott
Owner: Juddmonte Farms
Career Record: 13 starts – 9 firsts, 2 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $2,707,300
Earnings Per Start: $208,254
Pedigree: First Defence - Rising Tornado, by Storm Cat
Age: 4
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Pacesetter
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Close Hatches is a homebred for industry giant Juddmonte Farms as are both of her parents. Her only two off-the-board finishes came in the 2013 Kentucky Oaks and 2014 Spinster Stakes.  She is a five-time Grade 1 winner with three of those wins coming this year. Close Hatches has won six of her last eight starts and finished second in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Distaff during that stretch as well. She currently ranks eighth in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.