Graduates of the Hidden Brook Farm program scored victories in a pair of Breeders’ Cup races on November 2 at Del Mar.
The incredible Moira, Queen’s Plate winner and Canadian Horse of the Year in 2022, capped off her incredible career with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Sold by Hidden Brook Farm at the 2020 Keeneland September sale for breeder Adena Springs, the daughter of Ghostzapper closes out her account with purse earnings of $2,996.017.
Fifth in the 2022 edition of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) at Keeneland and third last year at Santa Anita Park, the third time proved the charm for Moira as she broke through in the $1.84 million event.
“I always say she’s never got the respect she deserved,” said her trainer Kevin Attard. “Today I think she solidified how good a horse she is.”
Moira has pulled off a double that only two horses have done before: winning the Queen’s Plate (now known as the King’s Plate) and a Breeders’ Cup event. The other two were 1991 Canadian Triple Crown winner Dance Smartly, who won the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1), and Awesome Again, who won the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
“She’s just a great horse. She showed brilliance from the get-go,” Attard said. “Her win in the Queen’s Plate was so dominating against males, set a track record. Ironically enough, after that race she was kind of whispered or dubbed the next Dance Smartly.”
The 1 3/8-mile race could not have set up more perfectly for the Ontario-bred daughter of Ghostzapper as she raced in midpack down the stretch the first time. Her Attard-trained stablemate Full Count Felicia , who had defeated Moira Sept. 14 in the E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T), set the pace and posted fractions of :25.38, :49.84, and 1:15.08. Attard liked what he saw early from the eventual winner.
“Today, there was just something different about her,” Attard said. “She was a lot more relaxed, a lot more settled. It was kind of eerie because I wasn’t sure what direction it was going to go.
Winning a Breeders’ Cup race was one decision away from never happening. Entered in Fasig-Tipton’s 2023 The November Sale, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni had second thoughts of selling her as there was unfinished business on the course.
“If I sell this horse, I won’t be happy,” Lanni said. “Keep the horse, we’ll be happy.”
Still believing the Canadian Horse of the Year could add a grade 1 victory to her tally, Lanni paid $3 million to buy her back for owners Madaket Stables, SF Racing, and X-Men Racing.
“Everything came together at the right time,” said Tom Ryan of SF Racing. “Kevin peaked her at the right time. Donato wanted to keep this filly in training, bought her. … I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this ownership team.”
Cheers to Straight No Chaser in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint
With the large Breeders’ Cup crowd still buzzing after Moira’s victory, the Hidden Brook Farm Foaled & Raised Straight No Chaser stepped into the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. And it was a quick 1:08.62 until there was another ecstatic winner’s circle celebration.
Trainer Dan Blacker’s crop of dark hair bobbed along atop a sea of admirers as he made his way through a mosh pit of MyRacehorse partners threatening to storm the Del Mar winner’s circle. Straight No Chaser, the object of their hysteria, had just fulfilled the promise he had shown since coming under Blacker’s care as a 2-year-old. And now, after more than three years and 10 agonizingly spaced starts, the 5-year-old son of Speightster stood atop the racing world as the winner of the $1.84 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) on a cool Nov. 2 afternoon, right where his journey began.
Finally, Blacker emerged from the throng to greet Straight No Chaser and John Velazquez as they returned to the stands, victorious by half a length over the longshot Bentornato. They were 2 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Mullikin , the lukewarm favorite in an evenly matched field of 11 going six furlongs, while Gun Pilot edged Federal Judge for fourth.
After a career plagued by false starts, Straight No Chaser came to his most important race in top form. In late September, he romped in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G2) in only his second start of a year interrupted twice, including a physical glitch that prevented him from running in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar.
“He was at his best going into that race,” Blacker said. “But we had to stop briefly. The challenge was getting him back to that point for the Breeders’ Cup.”
Mission accomplished, with the help of the veteran Velazquez, who entered the weekend with 220 Breeders’ Cup mounts and 20 wins. Blacker, on the other hand, was saddling his just his second Breeders’ Cup starter.
Still, it had been 20 years since Velazquez had won the Sprint, in 2004 with Speightstown, the sire of Speightster. Straight No Chaser gave the Hall of Famer the kind of ride a jockey loves, without fuss or bother and just enough drama to get the blood boiling.
“I wanted to break well and get a good position,” Velazquez said. “Dan told me not to worry about getting the lead, so I just let him get into a good rhythm and let him do his own thing.”
Down the backstretch and around the turn, Straight No Chaser sat a cozy third outside Federal Judge and Bentornato through a half-mile in :44.12.
“I knew we were going fast, so I didn’t want to move too soon,” the rider said. “I squeezed him a little at the three-eighths, but then by the three-sixteenths I knew I was gonna get it.”
The final time was 1:08.62. Blacker, 41, praised the MyRacehorse ownership for their patience and his jockey for getting along with the horse.
“He’s got his own agenda,” Blacker said. “John makes it look easy, but it’s not. You have to go along for the ride.”
-portions edited from www.bloodhorse.com
