Size Might Matter in Juvenile Fillies

Certain things come into better focus in the morning light. There were several standouts on the track at dawn Oct. 30 at Churchill Downs, but one of the Thoroughbreds catching a lot of second looks was Bellafina.

Just about 12 hours before, Kaleem Shah's striking Quality Road  filly was made the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Nov. 2 Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) after drawing the outside post in the expected field of 10.

At the draw, held in downtown Louisville during Equestricon, trainer Tom Amoss and owner Dr. Joel Politi were relishing drawing post 2 for Serengeti Empress. The daughter of Alternation  comes into the Breeders' Cup off a 19 1/2-length romp in the Pocahontas Stakes (G2) under the Twin Spires after breaking from the wood.

Then came the light of day.

"The only development between last night and today was I saw Bellafina standing on the racetrack today," Amoss said. "It's kind of like when you walk onto the football field and you look across the field at the other team warming up and they're so big, it's like, 'Oh, my God. What have I done?'

"She is a big, good-looking filly. She looks like a late 3-year-old, not a 2-year-old. Fortunately, Serengeti Empress doesn't measure her opponents by sizing them up, because if she did, she'd be intimidated. I know I am."

Amoss isn't alone in his assessment of the filly who has won her past three starts—all graded stakes in Southern California—by a combined 15 lengths. Eclipse Thoroughbreds and Mr. and Mrs. Jim Williams' Vibrance ran second to Bellafina in the Sept. 29 Chandelier Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Vibrance is trained by Michael McCarthy.

"She is very big; a very imposing filly," McCarthy said of Bellafina. "And when they get good, it's tough to beat them. There was no disgrace running second to her the other day."

Bellafina, out of the Malibu Moon  mare Akron Moon, was bred by Joseph Minor and sold to Shah for $800,000 through Wavertree Stables' consignment to the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale in March. Trainer Simon Callaghan, agent Ben McElroy, and Shah were impressed.

"We loved her at the sale we were very hopeful she was going to be a top-class filly," Callaghan said. "She's a big, masculine filly; very imposing. And she's improved throughout the year. We paid a really good price for her, but Kaleem has already has a pretty good return on his investment.

"Looking at the other horses, they are really good fillies. We're respectful ... but confident."

Despite her size, no one is ready to cede victory. The other nine fillies in the race have their own set of credentials. That is what makes the Breeders' Cup so competitive.

Of Serengenti Empress, Amoss said, "She's strongly made. I would call her a medium-sized horse; certainly not as big as Bellafina. Bellafina is scopey and long and looks the part."

Serengeti Empress is the co-second choice on the morning line at 7-2. She shares the price with Cash is King and Leonard Green's Jaywalk. Jaywalk, winner of the Oct. 7 Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park, is a daughter of first-year sire Cross Traffic , a son of Unbridled's Song.

"(Trainer) John (Servis) has been high on the filly from day one," said Mark Toothaker, stallion sales manager for Spendthrift Farm, which stands Cross Traffic. "She just floats over the track.

"She looks a lot like Cross Traffic. He's a little bit different Unbridled's Song ... he's not that real big, 17.2-hand, heavier-made horse. He's more of a 16.2 ... a little lighter made. She's feminine; she's very pretty. I think she has a great chance to go in there and get the money."

McCarthy thinks he can turn the tables with Vibrance, a bay filly by Violence .

"She's well-made and has a lot of her sire in her," he said. "Obviously she gets some stamina influence in there from her broodmare sire, Dynaformer. The other day she was able to set some pretty serious fractions (in the Chandelier) and hang around late, getting beat by the favorite (Bellafina). We're going to try to turn the tables."

And the adrenaline is starting to flow, some 72 hours from race day.

"If the Breeders' Cup is in your backyard and you are able to participate in it, it's a good feeling," Amoss said. "I've certainly been in other Breeders' Cups where I didn't get to participate and it's not such a good feeling.

"We're one of the favorites," he continued. "The winner of the race is going to be the divisional champ and I've never been in that spot before, so for myself, Dr. Politi, and (jockey) Corey Lanerie, we're all excited but certainly a little nervous about how it's all going to go."