BackTrack: Ventura Wins 2008 Filly & Mare Sprint

The first Ladies Day in Breeders' Cup history was anything but demure. Ventura kicked off the five races devoted solely to fillies and mares Oct. 24 by blasting past champion Indian Blessing in the stretch of the Sentient Flight Group Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Oak Tree to win by four emphatic lengths.

In the process, Ventura gave owner/breeder Judd­monte Farms its third Breeders' Cup victory, trainer Bobby Frankel his sixth, and jockey Garrett Gomez his fifth. The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Chester House—Estala, by Be My Guest, had begun her racing career in England, and originally she wasn't ever supposed to leave that country.

"They had her in a sale in Newmarket last year," said Frankel. "But she won a listed stakes, and so they sent her here instead."

Countless horses owned by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte that were started in Europe have developed into American graded stakes winners under Frankel's guidance. He does it by giving them plenty of time to acclimate and patiently bringing them along at their own pace. But Ventura surprised the veteran conditioner.

"When she came over from England, she adapted so quickly and she turned around so fast," he said.

After Ventura toured Santa Anita Park's unique downhill turf course to win by two lengths in her very first U.S. start this past March, both Frankel and Gomez knew they had encountered a phenomenal filly.

"She's very petite and she looks like a deer," Gomez said. "She's very light, but she's very strong."

Synthetic surface or turf and no matter the racetrack's geographic location, Ventura doesn't seem to care. She has won in England, California, Kentucky, and New York. She became a grade 1 winner in Belmont Park's Just a Game Stakes, defeating a field that included eventual Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) winner Forever Together. Ventura missed taking the Woodbine Mile (G1) in Canada against males by only 1 1/4 lengths.

With the expansion of the Breeders' Cup program to 14 races, the versatile Ventura fit into several categories. She could have run against males in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), Sentient Flight Group Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), or down the hill in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Juddmonte and Frankel pre-entered her in the Mile and the Filly & Mare Sprint, but the distaff race remained Frankel's primary goal.

"I thought this was the best race for her," the trainer said. "It looked like it was going to set up for her with all the speed."

The Filly & Mare Sprint, inaugurated in 2007 along with a new Eclipse Award for champion female sprinter, has quickly become popular. It drew 10 runners last year at Monmouth Park and a full field of 14 this year at Oak Tree. (Indyanne was declared from the race the day before because she developed a slight fever, leaving 13 to face the starter.)

Distaffers haven't been shy about facing males in the Sprint. Three have won it, beginning with Very Subtle in 1987, followed by Safely Kept in 1990 and Desert Stormer in 1995.

Malibu Mint, who finished 12th in the 2006 TVG Breeders' Cup Sprint, was the last female sprinter to compete against the boys. However, trainer Bob Baffert considered running Indian Blessing in the Sprint instead of the Filly & Mare Sprint this year, pre-entering her in both events.

With defending Sprint champion Midnight Lute  returning, however, Baffert elected to keep Indian Blessing with the girls. Winner of the 2007 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) and last year's champion 2-year-old filly, Indian Blessing had won eight of 10 lifetime starts with two seconds, making her a worthy 9-5 Filly & Mare Sprint favorite. She was also two for two at the seven-furlong distance.

But Baffert worried that Santa Anita's synthetic surface might compromise Indian Blessing's speed. She could devastate her foes on dirt, such as when she beat older distaffers by 6 1/4 lengths in Belmont Park's Gallant Bloom Handicap (G2). But she won her only start over a synthetic surface by a scant head, in the Santa Ynez Stakes (G2) during the winter Santa Anita meeting.

As the horses walked into Santa Anita's saddling paddock, Baffert stood with Indian Blessing's co-owner/breeder, Hal Earnhardt.

"I'd feel much more confident if this were on the dirt," Baffert muttered. "I might be vulnerable here."

Only Acorn Stakes (gr. I) winner Zaftig and Argentine champion sprinter Lady Sprinter had never attempted any race over a synthetic surface. Of the rest, Ventura, Dearest Trickski, Intangaroo, Tiz Elemental, and Tizzy's Tune had multiple wins over some type of synthetic track.

In the end, too much early speed coupled with a seriously good come-from-behind performance made the difference.

Two days before the Sprint, Frankel said that he liked Ventura's chances perhaps the best of all seven of his Breeders' Cup entries.

"The race might set up nicely for her," Frankel said. "She'll be back there a bit; there's lots of speed in the race. She's never been better than she is right now."

That worked out particularly well for Gomez, who at one point rode both Ventura and Indian Blessing. Despite the two fillies crisscrossing the country, Gomez was able to juggle his commitments to them until Fourth of July weekend. Frankel entered Ventura in Hollywood Park's CashCall Mile Invitational Stakes (G2T) July 5, the same day Indian Blessing was due to run in Belmont's Prioress Stakes (G1).

Gomez and agent Ron Anderson elected to ride the Hollywood card, which included mounts on Clearly Foxy in the American Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) and Let'spickupthepace in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes (G3).

"You never want to give up a grade 1 winner," Gomez said. "With the kind of business that Ron has gotten for us and what we have gotten for ourselves and that people have been so gracious to give to us, we run into problems every now and then. We can't be in two places at once."

Under John Velazquez, Indian Blessing won the Prioress, while Ventura lost the CashCall by a nose to Diamond Diva and Clearly Foxy finished third in the American Oaks.

"In the CashCall Mile, she pulled up on me," Gomez said. "She went by a horse really easy, and she was doing it well within herself. It felt like I was going to win by three or four just pulling away. And all of a sudden I opened up about a half-length and she stuck her toes in the ground and her head came up."

Gomez was determined that Ventura wouldn't get that chance again.

When the gate opened for the Filly & Mare Sprint, Dearest Trickski wasted no time bulleting to the front, while Ventura broke 10th.

"She was just a little antsy in the gate," Gomez said. "Just as they kicked it (open), she just gave a little crow hop."

Frankel wasn't too concerned.

"Even if she broke sharp, (Garrett) was going to take her back a little bit," Frankel said.

Gomez wanted to give Ventura the chance to find her stride.

"My main concern early is just trying to find her spot where she's in a good rhythm and relaxing," the jockey said.

Ventura loped along contentedly toward the back of the field until the turn. When she switched leads at about the three-eighths pole, Gomez gave her a moment before asking her to turn on the afterburners.

The result was an explosion of power that took Ventura outside of the field, past horses in the blink of an eye, and with dead aim on Indian Blessing.

"She showed a great turn of foot, that's for sure," said Frankel.

Though Velazquez asked Indian Blessing for everything she had, it wasn't enough. Ventura swooped past Indian Blessing en route to victory.

With Dearest Trickski and Indian Blessing having set swift early fractions, Ventura stopped the timer in 1:19.90, just one-hundredth off the track record. Indian Blessing owns that mark of 1:19.89 from her performance in the Santa Ynez.

Zaftig ran well in her first attempt on a synthetic track to finish third.

"She may have gotten a little tired because she hasn't raced since June and had to run pretty fast to keep pace," said trainer Jimmy Jerkens. "She tried hard."

Indian Blessing's effort didn't diminish her luster in Baffert's eyes.

"She ran a great race," Baffert said. "Frankel was right. He was telling me all week that he was going to get me, and he did."