Eight Grade I Winners Entered in F&M Turf

An oversubscribed field for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT) includes last year's champion Dank.



James Wigan's 5-year-old homebred daughter of Dansili is trying to become the second female to capture two Filly & Mare Turf titles but the first to accomplish back-to-back victories. Ouija Board completed the feat in 2004 and 2006.



Dank will have plenty of competition considering the 17 horses pre-entered in the 1 1/4-mile race at Santa Anita Park includes eight other grade or group I winners. The race will be the second Breeders' Cup race to be run Nov. 1, with a post time of approximately 12:43 p.m. PT.



Four of those eight grade/group I winners are coming into the race off of victories.



Juddmonte Farms' Emollient has the added benefit of having her grade I win come at the track in the Sept. 27 Rodeo Drive Stakes (gr. IT), which the daughter of Empire Maker won by half a length over Parranda. Irish Mission and Rusty Slipper dead-heated for third in that race. All three of these contenders have also been pre-entered.



The others with grade I wins include Dayatthespa, Just The Judge, and Stephanie's Kitten.



Dayatthespa has won her past two starts, the Aug. 24 Yaddo Stakes at Saratoga Race Course and most recently the Oct. 4 First Lady Stakes (gr. IT) at Keeneland. The 5-year-old daughter of City Zip   recorded a 114 Equibase Speed Figure at Keeneland, which was only a point higher than the Emollient's performance in the Rodeo Drive Stakes. Dayatthespa is co-owned by Jerry Frankel, Ronald Frankel, Steve Laymon and Bradley Thoroughbreds.



Irish-bred Just The Judge comes into the Breeders' Cup World Championships off a win in the E.P. Taylor Stakes (gr. IT) Oct. 19. She is owned by Qatar Racing Limited and the Sangster Family. In her previous start, the daughter of Lawman finished third in the Beverly D Stakes, which Dank won last year before claiming her Breeders' Cup crown.



And finally, Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Stephanie's Kitten finished second in the Beverly D. and rolled right into a victory in the Sept. 27 Flower Bowel Invitational Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park.