The $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf featured 11 older fillies and mares going 1 1/4 miles on the turf. Nassau (G1) winner The Fugue was sent off as the 8-5 favorite off a close second in the Yorkshire Oaks (G1). In to challenge her included 5-1 second choice Ridasiyna, off her Prix de l'Opera (G1) win, and 11-2 third choice Marketing Mix, winner of the Rodeo Drive (G1) last out.
Zagora gets the lead in the stretch
Jockey Victor Espinoza sent 38-1 Star Billing to the lead down the hill through fractions of 24.70, 48.72, 1:13.70, and 1:36.74 while stalked by Marketing Mix and 12-1 In Lingerie. Entering the lane for the last time, Star Billing tired allowing Marketing Mix to inherit a short lead but 9-1 Zagora, who sat fourth early, closed late to win by 3/4 length in 1:59.70. It was another 1/2 length back to late-running The Fugue third.
Left: Zagora in the winner's circle. Trainer Chad Brown said, "She had everything go her way today. She got the turf she likes, she got a great trip, and she's been training great. I've never seen her look better health wise. Everything came together for her today and it couldn't happen to a horse that deserved it more."
Right: Zagora heads over to the turf before the race. Jockey Javier Castellano said, "I had a beautiful trip. I was just where I wanted to be behind the speed. Turning for home, I went to the outside and she gave me a good kick. It's a pleasure to a part of this. Chad (Brown) gave me a great opportunity to ride her."
Second place finisher Marketing Mix returns after the race. Trainer Tom Proctor said, " Our filly ran good; the other filly just ran better. This is an exceptional filly, and we're proud of her. She will be going to Florida in a day or two to spend some time on the farm and she will be back in training next year." Jockey Garrett Gomez added, "I thought I was in a good spot all the way around. At the 3/8 pole, the tempo quickened, and when (Star Billing) went and I went with him. But then (Zagora), she just ran right by us."
Right: Third place finisher and beaten favorite The Fugue returns after the race. Trainer John Gosden said, "She was a bit unlucky. She didn't have any room and William (Buick) was sitting there with nowhere to go. It was until the last 1/16 that she got out, and she finished well. That's racing."
The trophy presentation for the Filly and Mare Turf. Owner Martin Schwartz (far left raising trophy) said, "I said why don't we try the Flower Bowl at 1 1/4, so we feel confident she can get the distance and as you know it was a bog that day and she lost in the last few jumps and that gave us total confidence. In addition, we felt that she would have an extra week to prepare for the Breeders' Cup and she would have 5 weeks instead of 4 and that was so Chad could work his magic. He's absolutely remarkable. When he tells me the horse is ready to run, they never run poorly."
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where American Pharoah was an impressive winner in his final start before retiring to stud. Also on the card, Found won the Turf, Nyquist won the Juvenile, and Tepin won the Mile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here. Get more photos and comments for each race here.
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 4 races Friday highlighted by the Distaff where Stopchargingmaria won by a neck over Stellar Wind and the Dirt Mile won by Liam's Map. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Thursday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 38 horses out on Thursday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including American Pharoah. Beholder was also out, but was found to have bled when scoped and is scratched from the Classic.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 46 horses out on a very rainy Wednesday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including Keen Ice, Frosted, and Golden Horn. No American Pharoah yet, hopefully he comes out tomorrow.
2015 Breeders' Cup Entries - Check out the entries, post postitions, and morning line odds for the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races to be held at Keeneland on October 30 and 31.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 31 horses out on a rainy Tuesday morning at Keeneland including Stephanie's Kitten, Grand Arch, and Private Zone.
Monday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 28 horses out Monday morning at Keeneland including Rachel's Valentina and a timed work by Beholder.
Sunday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 10 horses out Sunday morning at Keeneland including Liam's Map and Lea
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland
Review: Crushing the Cup 2015 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland updated for 2015.
2014 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by Bayern. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2014 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Untapable. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Blazing Silks, Breeders' Cup Edition- an interactive social network game that allows horse racing fans and social gamers to train and care for Thoroughbred horses.
TV Schedule - for all the preps and other programming leading up to the big day
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track now.
Left: Zagora in the winner's circle. Trainer Chad Brown said, "She had everything go her way today. She got the turf she likes, she got a great trip, and she's been training great. I've never seen her look better health wise. Everything came together for her today and it couldn't happen to a horse that deserved it more."
Second place finisher Marketing Mix returns after the race. Trainer Tom Proctor said, " Our filly ran good; the other filly just ran better. This is an exceptional filly, and we're proud of her. She will be going to Florida in a day or two to spend some time on the farm and she will be back in training next year." Jockey Garrett Gomez added, "I thought I was in a good spot all the way around. At the 3/8 pole, the tempo quickened, and when (Star Billing) went and I went with him. But then (Zagora), she just ran right by us."
