Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Notes, quotes for all 13 contenders
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Here are notes and quotes from Tuesday morning from Del Mar looking ahead to Saturday's Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Alice Verite
Trainer: Kazuya Nakatake
Jockey: Kyle Frey
Tuesday morning activity: Cantered once around, schooled in gate
Planned activity: Breeze will be on Wednesday, Oct. 29, her jockey Kyle Frey will ride
The quote: “We are happy that she is drawn in stall 6. She will breeze (Wednesday) morning with Kyle Frey aboard.” – stable representative Yoshitake Hashida
Gin Gin, Clicquot
Trainer: Brendan Walsh
Jockeys: Luis Saez, Flavien Prat
Morning activity: Both galloped an easy lap of Del Mar’s dirt track
Planned activity: Will train a little quicker in their circuits of the dirt track and possibly school on Wednesday
The quote: “Everyone was good today and there’s luckily nothing really to report on a drama-less morning. There’s always pressure in racing, especially at the Breeders’ Cup. But I’m so happy to be a part of it, and it makes it a lot easier when the horses are all doing well. You can be more relaxed when that happens.
“I thought they all drew well. For Clicquot, I wanted anything from 3 to 8 and she drew 3, so I was happy. Gin Gin drew 7, which is great for her. The main thing is just not having an extreme draw. With Gin Gin, we will send her away from there, but that’s the way she needs to be ridden. We’re not going to kill her to get there, but she will be ridden positively. She doesn’t absolutely need the lead, but she needs to be forward.
“(Gin Gin) is all business. It’s like she always wants to go at a hundred miles an hour doing everything, so we train her nice and early in the morning, so that she gets out and gets back in and relaxes for the day. She’s a lovely character and always eager to please. We’re very fond of her.
“(Clicquot) is a sweetheart. She’s the easiest filly in the world to be around. A total pro, she just does it all herself and you can leave it to her. She’s done so well physically through the whole year, really. She’s been working great and just keeps advancing and advancing, so we’re very hopeful.” – Brendan Walsh
Dorth Vader
Trainer: George Weaver
Jockey: John Velazquez
Morning activity: Galloped 1 1/8 miles
Planned activity: Gallop 1 3/8 miles at 7 a.m.
The quote: “She’s a forward filly, and everything is going according to plan. I’m not thrilled about the 12 hole, but those are things we can’t control, so we’ll focus on getting her over there and seeing what she can do.
“John (Ropes, owner-breeder) and I have known each other for a while, and luckily, he decided to send Dorth Vader to us. He wanted to be able to run her on the East Coast and in New York, and I’m lucky to have her. She’s been a runner, and he’s entrusted me to get the best out of her. It’s taken some time, but he’s been very patient, and I think she’s proven this year how good she is. Just a very top-caliber mare, and she’s got a big chance in the race.” – George Weaver
Dry Powder
Trainer: Chad Summers
Jockey: Antonio Fresu
Morning activity: Galloped 1 1/4 miles and picked up the pace in the lane
Planned activity: Jog and school at the gate and paddock
The quote: “She’s always shown up, and she just tries. She’s a fun horse to ride for the riders because she’s very tactical and she puts you where you need to be. If you go back to the Cotillion, Luis Saez forced our hand a little by pushing Good Cheer out of the gate, which forced us either into no-man’s land or Antonio (Fresu) had to make a decision, and he was able to push her up and sit right off the early pace, which worked out fine. We just got beat by a horse that had a dream trip that day, but Clicquot is a nice filly in her own right and Brendan (Walsh) does a great job. I know we’re a bit of an outsider here, but that’s fine. We’re used to that. I think she has shown she deserves to be here, and hopefully she’ll’ll show why on Saturday.” – Chad Summers
Gun Song
Trainer: Mark Hennig
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Morning activity: Galloped 1 1/4 miles under Gregory Benitez
Planned activity: Gallop with possible visit to the paddock
The quote: “She has to step up. The Beldame (which she won on Sept. 26 at the Distaff distance of 1 1/8 miles) was a good step forward. She had had some foot issues the early part of the year, but we were optimistic she would run well in the Beldame and she did.” – Mark Hennig
Majestic Oops
Trainer: Dan Ward
Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
Morning activity: Jogged once around the track
Planned activity: Will gallop Wednesday with trainer Dan Ward expected to be on the grounds to oversee.
Nitrogen
Trainer:?Mark Casse
Jockey:?Jose Ortiz
Morning activity:?Galloped once around the track
Closer look: Nitrogen: A Filly Who Breathes Different Air
There are moments in racing that seem almost scripted, the underdog story, the perfect pairing of horse and trainer, the glint of destiny that turns into dominance. For trainer Mark Casse and Nitrogen, the story began humbly, with a hunch, and now has arrived at the Breeders’ Cup, where the filly stands among the leading contenders for the Distaff.
“This seldom happens,” Casse said. “It’s nice, you know. I look back, it’s crazy how things happen. She was on the AE (last year); she wasn’t even in. We weren’t sure, but we shipped her out here, and she ended up getting in.”
Last year, Nitrogen was a late addition to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, drawing into the field after another horse scratched. “(Jockey) Jose Ortiz’s horse was the one, I believe, that scratched that let us draw in,” Casse said. “And then he rode her. She had a really tough trip. We kind of got shut off and she dropped back, but she came running. I felt after that, if she had had a little better trip, she could have given the winner a run for her money.”
That race hinted at what was to come. The filly who nearly missed her Breeders’ Cup debut has since become one of the sport’s most versatile and intriguing stars, a turf talent who made a seamless and stunning transition to dirt.
“She’s done well and then, of course, the transfer to dirt — it’s just been amazing,” Casse said. “It was a race that was supposed to be on the turf that came off, but she won so impressively. When you looked at her numbers … she ran her best on the grass as a seven, then a one on the dirt. Her dirt is so much better than her grass. And her grass is pretty good.”
For Jon Green, who manages D.J. Stable with his father Leonard, Nitrogen has continually exceeded expectations.
“With a filly like Nitrogen, I shouldn't be surprised anymore with what she's accomplished,” Green said. “Really, from the beginning of her training, we've always felt very highly of her. We ran her against the boys first time out. We ran her as a maiden in two Grade 1 races, and we just always had a good feeling about her.”
The decision to put her on dirt, Green admitted, was a tough call.
“That was one of the most difficult decisions that we've had to make in all the years we've been in the business,” he said. “We were taking basically the top 3-year-old turf filly in the country and running the risk of damaging her by running her on a surface that she'd never run on before. So it was a little daunting. But just like everything else that she's done in her career, she not only won, but in a very impressive fashion. The rest has been history.”
History that began, fittingly, with instinct. After Wonder Wheel earned her Eclipse Award, the Greens invited Casse to choose one homebred yearling to keep, and the rest would be sold.
“We’re really excited about Nitrogen,” Green said. “Mark looked them all over and chose her. He said, ‘Don’t sell her. She’s the one. I want to use my ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card on her. This filly breathes different air.’ That’s how she got her name and why we named her Nitrogen.”
Casse smiled at the memory. “They had like 20 or so,” he said. “Wonder Wheel had done very well, and they said, ‘You get to pick one.’ And that’s who I picked. She was beautiful. You’d have a tough time finding a prettier horse. When we were breaking her, I kept saying, ‘I hope this one’s good, because I picked this one.’ ”
That faith and partnership has carried both trainer and owners to new heights. D.J. Stable is in the midst of a career year, ranking fourth nationally through Oct. 27 with 48 wins and nearly $4.4 million in earnings.
“I think partnering up with Mark Casse and his team has brought us to a new level as a racing operation,” Green said. “We’ve had success in the past. We won Grade 1 races and the Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile Fillies) with Jaywalk before winning it with Mark and Wonder Wheel. But overall, our racing operation had kind of not gotten through the glass ceiling we anticipated. From the first moment we started talking to Mark, we realized that he was more than a trainer. He’s a great communicator and he’s an entrepreneur. I can’t say enough about our relationship with Mark, personally and professionally.”
Regaled
Trainer: Whit Beckman
Jockey: Joe Ramos
Morning activity: Galloped 1 3/8m under Josue Rodriguez
Planned activity: Same as Tuesday
The quote: On drawing post 13: “With her running style, post isn’t all that important. If we had some kind of speed edge, I’d be a bit worried about the outside. But with a pace-dependent closer I’m fine to take over some ground and pray for super-quick fractions. She will run her race from any gate position.” – Whit Beckman
Sarawak Rim
Trainer: Ignacio Correas IV
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Morning activity: Walked shedrow morning after working 4 furlongs in 48 4/5 seconds
Planned activity: Return to track Wednesday morning at 7:45
The quote: “Sunday I fly back to Lexington, and I have nine days to get all my stuff together. Monday morning I am not getting up at 4 o’clock … maybe 5:30.” – Ignacio Correas, who is retiring after Sarawak Rim’s Distaff run.
Scottish Lassie
Trainer: Jorge Abreu
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Morning activity: Jogged once around
Planned activity: Gallop 1 1/4 miles
The quote: Abreu said Scottish Lassie was a bit tired Monday after shipping from New York but that the dual Grade 1-winner was back to her usual energy level on Tuesday when visiting the track for the first time.
“She went and jogged this morning and was alert and good. Today, she was herself and ate up everything. I am thrilled with her post position. I wanted 5 or 6, and when the number 5 came up with her name, we all screamed at our table. A lot of good horses got a bad post, but I’m happy for my horse. Joel (Rosario) has the same confidence this week when he breezed her as he did before the Coaching Club (American Oaks).” – trainer Jorge Abreu
Scylla
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Morning activity: Walked the shedrow after working on Monday
Planned activity: Will go the track
The quote: “She really ran good in the Spinster (third). She was stretching out after sprinting in the summer and spring. Having the (1 1/8-mile Spinster) under our belt, I like her chances. She has always been hard knocking, always right there. It would be amazing to get a Grade 1 with her. She deserves to get one because she always tries so hard. She never misses a beat. My job in the Breeders’ Cup is to see if I can get it done for her.” – Junior Alvarado
Seismic Beauty
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Juan Hernandez
Morning activity: Galloped 1 3/8 miles
Planned activity: Will gallop time
The quote: You have had plenty of good fillies in your career. Is this one getting close to them?
“She is good, but it’s hard to compare them. Silverbulletday was crazy good … she’s a Hall of Famer and accomplished a lot. Gamine was really fast. (Seismic Beauty) is a big mare, and we have taken our time with her. She is very talented and has really looked good here.” – Bob Baffert
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