Breeders’ Cup: A bang-up Distaff win for Stopchargingmaria
Javier Castellano rides Stopchargingmaria down the front strecth enroute to winning the Breeder’s Cup Distaff at Keeneland Racecourse on Friday.
Reporting from LEXINGTON, Ky. — Four-year-old filly Stopchargingmaria joined the Breeders’ Cup ranks of the likes of Zenyatta and Beholder with a bumpy run to the wire of the $2-million Distaff here Friday.
The day attracted a record Breeders’ Cup Friday crowd of 44,947 at Keeneland.
The prestigious race for females, approaching the stature of the 3-year-old Kentucky Oaks race at Churchill Downs the day before the Derby, was hotly contested and somewhat controversial.
Stopchargingmaria, with eight victories in 15 tries coming into Friday’s feature, swung wide in the home turn, as did Stellar Wind. Stopchargingmaria was well wide of the rail, but inside of Stellar Wind.
Javier Castellano was aboard Stopchargingmaria and Victor Espinoza aboard Stellar Wind. Espinoza was whipping with his right hand, Castellano with his left.
Twice, Stopchargingmaria seemed to drift out and bump, although only slightly, Stellar Wind. At the finish line, Stopchargingmaria was a neck in front, and the inquiry sign went up.
That allowed her trainer, Todd Pletcher, a chance to take a shot at Santa Anita’s stewards, who ruled in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic that winner Bayern’s number would not be taken down, despite lots of bumping and lane-changing out of the gate.
“In light of what Bayern did last year,†Pletcher said, “this was nothing.â€
The Keeneland stewards left Stopchargingmaria’s number up and she paid $16.20, $8.40 and $6.
Castellano, who won two of the four Breeders’ Cup races Friday, dismissed the bumping as incidental. Espinoza said, “It cost me the race. I wish he [Castellano] could have stayed straight.â€
Pletcher and Castellano also had the winner in the $1-million Dirt Mile. That was Liam’s Map, a horse so highly favored that he paid $3, $2.40 and $2.10. There was even speculation that the 4-year-old, with six wins in eight starts, might have missed his true calling by not taking on the big boys in Saturday’s Classic.
Pletcher described his horse with understated praise.
“He’s so fast that if you try to go with him, it’s suicidal,†he said, “and if you let him go, you’ve got no chance to catch him.â€
Liam’s Map is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Teresa and Vincent Viola. The Violas, who said they were eyewitnesses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, have endowed the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, and Liam Collins was its executive director.
At one point, Collins presented them with a map that he had used when he parachuted into Afghanistan. It was a map with a special serial number on it.
“You could use it if you needed to escape or evade,†Collins said.
A short time later, the Violas named a horse Liam’s Map.
“It scared me half to death,†Collins said.
The other two Breeders’ Cup races were won by foreign trainers and horses.
Catch A Glimpse, trained by Canadian Mark Casse and ridden by Frenchman Florent Geroux, won the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Hit It A Bomb, trained by Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien and ridden by England’s Ryan Moore, won the Juvenile Turf.
Casse, one of Canada’s top trainers, won for the first time in 26 Breeders’ Cup tries.
Moore guided Hit It A Bomb from dead last to first.
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