Shamrock Rose Pulls Off Upset in BC Filly & Mare Sprint
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Shamrock Rose and Irad Ortiz Jr. (center) get the victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs
Trainer Mark Casse kept hearing the voice of a legend rolling through his mind.
As he evaluated his charge, Shamrock Rose, in the days following her first graded stakes win and watched her behave like a horse with the world at her feet, he recalled a vital lesson imparted to him from one of the great teachers of the game.
"I keep harping on this, but I remember 35 years ago, with (Hall of Famer) Allen Jerkens, and he kept telling me, 'I don't understand trainers. They want to give them a rest when they're running good. Rest them when they're running bad,'" the Canadian Hall of Fame trainer said. "And that kept going through my mind, because … this filly right now thinks she can beat anybody."
Shamrock Rose backed up her arrogant attitude by throwing down the goods Nov. 3 in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), when she put in a furious rally under Irad Ortiz Jr. to edge Chalon by a head in the seven-furlong test at Churchill Downs.
To say it has been a wild couple of weeks for owner Conrad Farms would be an understatement. On Oct. 20, the 3-year-old filly stunned the Keeneland faithful when she took the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2) at odds of 18-1. It was the first time the daughter of First Dude prevailed over such company, but it marked her third consecutive stakes victory after enduring a five-race losing skid.
She was so full of vigor following that outing that the decision was made to pay the $130,000 needed to supplement her to the Filly & Mare Sprint. While the betting public was hesitant to buy in and sent her off at 25-1 Saturday, her connections were taking their cues from her blatant signals.
"It's never easy to write a check like this, unless you have a lot of money but … we had faith in the horse, and naturally I listened to Mark," said Manfred Conrad, who operates Conrad Farms with his wife, Penny. "She's been doing so great the last four races, and why not have the fun and excitement and come here? If you lose, you lose. I mean, it's a horse race. And I really believe the horse is not done yet."
Casse described Shamrock Rose as "a terror," in a good way, since she got some time off following her loss in the April 21 Weber City Miss Stakes. When she returned in the Aug. 5 Malvern Rose Stakes at Presque Isle Downs, she got a confidence boost in the form of a 10 1/4-length victory—and there has been no besting her since.
As the 14-horse field got away in the Filly & Mare Sprint, Shamrock Rose had every one of her rivals to pass as she rated at the rear of the pack while Selcourt bounded out to the lead and cut a sizzling opening quarter-mile in :21.89. When Selcourt reached the far turn and the half-mile went up in :44.99, Ortiz made the decision to save a bit of ground instead of trying a sweeping move around his foes—a move Casse said was the difference between his barn getting its fifth Breeders' Cup triumph in the last four years and getting its hopes dashed.
"He knew the only chance of winning was to duck in and save ground and come with a run," Casse said of Ortiz's ride. "Had he stayed out wide, we wouldn't be here right now."
As Chalon ranged up to take over the lead in the lane and began to inch clear, Ortiz guided Shamrock Rose up from eighth through a sea of rivals. When she got by Golden Mischief to her inside, it looked as though she would fill out the exotics. Instead, she kept driving to the outside of Chalon and emerged in a blanket finish that saw the top four separated by a head, neck, and a head, respectively.
"She had a great trip, and Javier (Castellano) gave her a great ride," said Arnaud Delacour, trainer of Chalon. "The seven-eighths (of a mile) may have been a touch too far, but you can't take anything away from her. I'm very pleased."
The final time for the distance was 1:23.13 over a track rated fast. Anonymity put in a strong run from 10th to get up for third, with 4-5 favorite Marley's Freedom fourth.
"She just didn't get away like she can," said Bob Baffert, trainer of Marley's Freedom. "I am pretty disappointed. And she was pretty wide the whole way. She tried, but she was just not good enough today. You have to be real good today, and she was not real good."
Bred in Pennsylvania by Best A Luck Farm out of the Elusive Quality mare Slew's Quality, Shamrock Rose improved her record to five wins from 10 starts with $917,687 in earnings.
"It was $130,000 for (Conrad Farms) to run her, and they had that much faith in me, and I appreciate it," Casse said. "I knew it was a tall task, but she's an exceptional filly."