War Like Goddess repeats in Joe Hirsch Turf Classic

New York

War Like Goddess had to rally from sixth-place and make up 22 1/2 lengths to win Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for the second year in row. The 6-year-old daughter of English Channel had to catch the 90-1 long shot So High, who bounced out of the gate and opened a 19-length lead with only a half-mile of 1 1/2 mile turf race left.

War Like Goddess raced along the hedge on the outer turf course at Aqueduct that was rated as yielding but was probably closer to soft since torrential rain pelted the New York area once again. Junior Alvarado, who rides most of trainer Bill Mott’s horses, got the mount after her regular jockey Joel Rosario opted to ride at Keeneland today.

In her prior race War Like Goddess was second in the Glens Falls (G2) at Saratoga by a neck after being hard to handle. The official race chart described her as “very rank” causing her to have to steady twice.

“I wasn't worried about the horse in front,” Alvarado explained. “I had to try and make sure my filly relaxed. On occasion, she can get very keen and I think that's the time when she gets beat because she is fighting herself. So, I just tried to relax and she did relax for me the whole way around. I was sitting chill where I wanted to be, and by the time I started to pick it up I had a ton of horse. Even when I turned for home and saw that horse was 10-to-12 lengths in front of me, I knew I was going to catch him when I asked my filly and she gives me that turn of foot that she has.”

War Like Goddess, who was the second choice at 7-2, sat in a pack of horses that included the 1-2 favorite Rebel’s Romance and 7-1 third choice Stone Age. They were facing off again after finishing in the top three in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.

“She wasn’t that far back from the second, third and fourth horse,” said Mott. “She wasn’t really that far back at all. Ordinarily, 90 percent of the time when a horse opens up that much, they usually come back. Obviously, you’ll have times when they don’t, but she was close enough to the other horses.”

War Like Goddess not only overcame the massive deficit but she drew off to win by 4 ½-lengths and paid $9.20. Soldier Rising who was 8-1 rallied from last to complete a $46.20 exacta. To his credit So High hung on for third which triggered a $1 trifecta that paid $712. The best that the favorite Rebel’s Romance could do was fourth.

The Joe Hirsch was delayed a week this year because of rain, which means the Breeders’ Cup is only 26 days away.

“If she runs, she’ll run against the boys,” Mott said about the Breeders’ Cup. “I won’t run her a mile and a quarter. She’s a mile and a half filly. It rushes us a little bit. It puts us a little closer, but we still have four weeks.”