BREEDERS’ CUP RECAP

VENUE: Oak Tree at Santa Anita on Oct. 24 and 25.

Main track: Pro-Ride. Turf Course: firm.

$5 MILLION CLASSIC (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Raven’s Pass, (2) Henrythenavigator, (3) Tiago.

Winner: Owned by Princess Haya of Jordan and Darley Stable; trained by John Gosden; ridden by Frankie Dettori.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 110. Curlin won the 2007 Classic with a 119 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Classic: 124 (Sunday Silence in 1989, Ghostzapper in 2004).

Recap: As part of an outstanding day by European-based Thoroughbreds, Raven’s Pass rallied from 10th in a field of 12 to win the first Classic ever decided on a synthetic surface.

Sent off at 13-1, Raven’s Pass won the 1 1/4-mile Classic by 1 3/4 lengths for his intelligent, classy and articulate trainer. Gosden had saddled Bates Motel, a huge son of Sir Ivor, to take the 1983 Santa Anita Handicap by 2 1/2 lengths en route to an Eclipse Award as champion older male of that year.

In fact, one morning early in 1984, I had the pleasure of breaking the news to Gosden that Bates Motel had been voted an Eclipse Award. Back then, I had a source who tipped me off as to the Eclipse Award winners before they were announced or even before the trainers were notified.

When I showed up at the Gosden barn, he was busy standing just outside his stable office door, making notations on a clipboard that he was holding.

“I know something you don’t know,” I said.

At first, Gosden did not react. But then he took his eyes off the clipboard, looked over at me and smiled.

“Is it what I think it might be?” he asked.

“It sure is,” I said. “Bates Motel got the Eclipse Award.”

“That’s marvelous,” an elated Gosden said.

Raven’s Pass, bred in Kentucky, is a son of Elusive Quality and the Lord at War mare Ascutney. Elusive Quality also is the sire of Smarty Jones, who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby on his way to an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male. Lord at War won the Santa Anita Handicap in 1985.

There probably will be no Eclipse Award this year for Raven’s Pass. The Eclipse Award for 2008 champion older male no doubt will go to Curlin. Nevertheless, the Classic win by Raven’s Pass capped a day that Gosden will never forget, as he also sent out Donativum to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Such a successful Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita last Saturday was especially meaningful for Gosden because he had been a member of the Southern California training fraternity from 1979 to 1988.

The Classic marked the fifth time this year that Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator ran against each other. Henrythenavigator won their first three encounters. Raven’s Pass then finally beat Henry in the Group I Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot on Sept. 27, followed by their one-two finish in the Classic.

It turned out that a pair of European milers finished first and second in this year’s Classic. Gosden said that if this year’s Breeders’ Cup had been run on the dirt instead of a synthetic surface, he would have run Raven’s Pass in the Mile on the grass instead of the Classic.

Tiago, who was 11th early, came on to finish third in the Classic. He finished a neck in front of Curlin, who wound up fourth as the 9-10 favorite.

As expected, owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen blamed Curlin’s loss on the synthetic surface. Asmussen called it “a turf race.” Curlin’s only other loss this year came when he finished second in the Grade I Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park, the only time he has ever raced on the grass.

In the Classic, Curlin made an electrifying move while wide on the far turn to get the lead coming into the stretch. When he did that, it looked like he was on his way to victory. You can tell by Trevor Denman’s call that he felt that Curlin was making a winning move.

But at the top of the stretch, it became clear that Curlin might not be able to stay in front. Raven’s Pass, Henrythenavigator and Tiago passed Curlin in the final furlong, a disappointing development for those who had come to this year’s Breeders’ Cup with the hope of seeing a Curlin victory.

I think Curlin probably is more effective on dirt than on a synthetic surface. But did the surface get him beat because he didn’t handle it? If he didn’t handle the track, how was it that he could close so rapidly on the far turn? He sure seemed to handle the track just fine while doing that. He had the lead with a furlong to go. So he handled the track well enough to “win” at 1 1/8 miles. To me, when a horse has a legitimate excuse for losing because of not handling a surface, the horse struggles or spins his or her wheels during the entire race.

I have a theory regarding Curlin’s 2008 campaign. He shipped halfway around the world and ran a huge race when he won the Dubai World Cup by 7 3/4 lengths on March 29. He then shipped all the way back to the U.S. and won the Grade I Stephen Foster Handicap by 4 1/4 lengths on June 14 while carrying 128 pounds, a lot of weight by today’s standards.

I think the trip to Dubai, his big performance in the World Cup and the Stephen Foster so soon after the World Cup combined to take a toll on Curlin to the extent that the Curlin we saw for the rest of the year was not as good.

After the Stephen Foster, he got beat in the Man o’ War before winning the Grade I Woodward Stakes and Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup. He seemed to struggle to win the Woodward by 1 1/4 lengths over Pass the Point. Curlin won the Jockey Club Gold Cup by three-quarters of a length on a sloppy track over Wanderin Boy. While Curlin’s Gold Cup was better than his Woodward, there were those who still were far from impressed and took a stand against him in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and still picked him to win the Classic. The skeptics were proven right when Curlin and jockey Robby Albarado, for whatever reason, did not win.

Asmussen has stated that Curlin runs better the second time he races over a surface. That’s one of the reasons he sent him to Dubai and ran him in a race there prior to the Dubai World Cup. Maybe Curlin should have run in the Grade Goodwood I Stakes on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface Sept. 27 to give him a race over the track rather than run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Tiago, who edged Curlin for third in the Classic, had finished a fast-closing second in the Goodwood.

Meanwhile, Bill Dwyre, in his story on the Classic in the Los Angeles Times, was far off the mark, in my opinion, when he wrote: “It appeared as if Albarado could have coaxed and whipped a third-place spot out of Curlin. But common sense probably dictated that anything less than the history-making top rung wasn’t worth the effort.”

What? Does Dwyre really believe that Albarado, in a $5 million race, didn’t care if he finished third? The difference between third and fourth is $500,000 and $255,000. I’m sure that Albarado knows this. The difference between finishing third and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic also means a lot in terms of a horse’s stud resume. I’m sure that Albarado knows this, too.

It’s absurd to think that Robby Albarado did not care whether he finished third or fourth with Curlin. If I were Albarado, I would be furious that Dwyre wrote what he did.

Just to be sure, I went back and looked at the video replay. It certainly looks to me like Curlin was persevered with to the finish.

$3 MILLION TURF (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Conduit, (2) Eagle Mountain, (3) Dancing Forever.

Winner: Owned by Ballymacoll Farm; trained by Sir Michael Stoute; ridden by Ryan Moore.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 116. English Channel won the 2007 Classic with a 111 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Classic: 118 (Daylami in 1999).

Recap: After Conduit won the Group I St. Leger in England on Sept. 13, the original plan was for the 3-year-old Irish-bred colt to be retired or rested until 2009. But the colt was doing so well after the St. Leger that Stoute felt a trip to the Breeders’ Cup was warranted.

Conduit won the Turf by 1 1/2 lengths at 5-1. He earned a 116 Beyer to earn the award (if one existed) for the highest figure for the 2008 Breeders’ Cup.

This was Stoute’s fourth Breeders’ Cup win. The trainer also won the 1996 Turf with Pilsudski, 2000 Turf with Kalanisi and 2003 Filly & Mare Turf with Islington.

Eagle Mountain, trainer Michael de Kock’s first Breeders’ Cup starter, ran well to finish second, while Dancing Forever fared the best of the Americans in the Turf by ending up third. Soldier of Fortune, the 8-5 favorite, finished fourth. I thought John Murtagh moved Soldier of Fortune way too early.

At his website, de Kock said how much he enjoyed his first Breeders’ Cup experience.

“In all my travels around the world, this was the greatest racing spectacle I’ve ever seen,” de Kock said. “I went dizzy as they swung for home. I thought we had it in the bag and shouted like a man possessed. This was a great run and we’re elated. [Jockey] Kevin [Shea] rode an excellent race, but the Eagle was outstayed by the recent St. Leger winner, who had just a bit more in the tank. I have a feeling Eagle Mountain is better over 2,000 meters and we will take him to Hong Kong next.”

I was extremely critical of Shea’s ride when he finished second to Spirit One aboard the de Kock-trained Archipenko in this year’s Grade I Arlington Million. That was Shea’s first ride in the U.S. But I agree with de Kock that Shea rode an excellent race on Eagle Mountain in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Conduit’s sire, Dalakhani, won the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 2003. Zarkava, who has been retired from racing with an unblemished record in seven starts following her win in this year’s Arc, is scheduled to be bred to Dalakhani.

$2 MILLION SPRINT (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Midnight Lute, (2) Fatal Bullet, (3) Street Boss.

Winner: Owned by Watson and Weitman Performances and Mike Pegram; trained by Bob Baffert; ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 112. Midnight Lute won the 2007 Classic with a 108 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Sprint and the top Beyer in Breeders’ Cup history: 125 (Precisionist in 1985).

Recap: Curlin won the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic, but failed in his bid to repeat in 2008. Midnight Lute, though, did follow his 2007 Breeders’ Cup Sprint triumph on a sloppy track at Monmouth Park with a win in the 2008 Sprint by 1 3/4 lengths at 5-2 on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface.

After this year’s Sprint, an ectastic Baffert said, “Midnight Lute is the best horse I’ve ever trained.” Personally, I still think Point Given is the best horse Baffert has trained. But there is no denying that Midnight Lute is an extremely talented racehorse.

I believe that the 2008 Sprint victory by Midnight Lute off only one 2008 race was without question one of Baffert’s finest training accomplishments. To me, it ranks as one of the best jobs by a trainer in the history of the Breeders’ Cup, in the same league as Michael Dickenson’s second Breeders’ Cup Mile win with Da Hoss. Da Hoss won the 1998 Mile without racing at all in 1997 and having made only one start in 1998 prior to the Breeders’ Cup.

This was Baffert’s sixth Breeders’ Cup victory. It also was the second straight year he won two Breeders’ Cup races. Baffert won both the Sprint and Juvenile Fillies (Indian Blessing) in 2007. His other Breeders’ Cup winners were Thirty Slews (1992 Sprint), Silverbulletday (1998 Juvenile Fillies) and Vindication (2002 Juvenile).

Midnight Lute became the first two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint winer. Considering Baffert holds the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred son of the Pegram-owned and Baffert-trained Real Quiet in such high regard, I wish we could have seen the horse race again in 2009. But when I asked Pegram if he wasn’t tempted to go for a Breeders’ Cup Sprint three-peat in 2009, he said “absolutely not.” When I asked him why not, Pegram responded, “I was too much of a nervous wreck for the repeat.”

Three days after Midnight Lute’s second Breeders’ Cup Sprint triumph, it was announced that he has been retired from racing and will stand stud duty in 2009 at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky.

Midnight Lute was one of three Breeders’ Cup victories for Gomez, who also won one of Friday’s Breeders’ Cup races. Gomez was voted the Bill Shoemaker Award as the outstanding jockey for the 2008 Breeders’ Cup.

$1 MILLION JUVENILE TURF (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Donativum, (2) Westphalia, (3) Coronet of a Baron.

Winner: Owned by Princess Haya of Jordan and Darley Stable; trained by John Gosden; ridden by Frankie Dettori.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 93. Nownownow won the inaugural Juvenile Turf in 2007 with a 85 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Juvenile Turf: 93 (Donativum in 2008).

Recap: This is yet another example of how a horse’s form can dramatically improve after he becomes a gelding. Donativum lost his first three races as a colt. He’s three for three since being gelded. Westphalia made it a European exacta.

Donativum won by a half-length at 5-1.

$2 MILLION JUVENILE (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Midshipman, (2) Square Eddie, (3) Street Hero.

Winner: Owned by Darley Stable; trained by Bob Baffert; ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 93. War Pass won the 2007 Juvenile Turf with a 113 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Juvenile: 113 (War Pass in 2008).

Recap: Midshipman, a Kentucky-bred son of Unbridled’s Song, won the Grade I Del Mar Futurity by a nose, then finished second to Street Hero in the Grade I Norfolk Stakes before taking the Juvenile by 1 1/4 lengths at 7-2.

Midshipman certainly has Breeders’ Cup blood coursing through his veins. His sire won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 1995. Unbridled’s Song is a son of Unbridled, who captured the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1990.

$2 MILLION MILE (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Goldikova, (2) Kip Deville, (3) Whatsthescript.

Winner: Owned by Wertheimer and Frere; trained by Freddie Head; ridden by Olivier Peslier.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 107. Kip Deville won the 2007 Mile with a 108 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Mile: 119 (Miesque in 1985).

Recap: Head became the first person to ride and train a Breeders’ Cup winner. Head won the Mile as a jockey in 1987 at Hollywood Park and 1988 at Churchill Downs aboard the brilliant Miesque. Twenty years later, Head won the Mile as a trainer with Goldikova, who carried the same silks as 1993 Turf winner Kotashaan and 2003 Juvenile Fillies winner Halfbridled.

When a hole opened for Goldikova in the stretch, her burst of speed was breathtaking. The acceleration by the Irish-bred daughter of Anabaa was such that her rival jockeys did not have any chance to close the hole on her because she was through it and gone in an instant. Sent away as the 9-5 favorite, Goldikova won by 1 1/4 lengths.

Kip Deville, the 2007 Mile winner, ran well to finish second in the 2008 Mile while rebounding off a disappointing effort when fifth in the Grade I Woodbine Mile.

By the way, the victory by Goldikova serves as further evidence that Zarkava is an incredible filly. Goldikova was no match for Zarkava in two races in France this year, yet had no problem taking the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

$1 MILLION DIRT MILE (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Albertus Maximus, (2) Rebellion, (3) Two Step Salsa.

Winner: Owned by Marianne and Brandon Chase; trained by Vladimir Cerin; ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 102. Corinthinan won the inaugural Dirt Mile in 2007 with a 119 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Mile: 119 (Corinthian in 2007).

Recap: After finishing third in the Goodwood, Albertus Maximus scored the biggest win of his career by taking the Dirt Mile (which this year was really the Synthetic Mile). The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt is by Albert the Great, who finished third behind Tiznow and Sakhee in the 2001 Classic.

Albertus Maximus, who was 6-1, provided his trainer with his first Breeders’ Cup victory.

$1 MILLION TURF SPRINT (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Desert Code, (2) Diabolical, (3) Storm Treasure.

Winner: Owned by Tarabilla Farms; trained by David Hofmans; ridden by Richard Migliore.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 102.

Recap: The inaugural running of the Turf Sprint was contested on Santa Anita’s unique hillside course, which features the only right-hand turn in American racing.

Desert Code registered the biggest upset at this year’s Breeders’ Cup, paying $75 to win. But there were a number of reasons a person could have played Desert Code, especially at such a huge price.

Through the years, I have noticed that prior success on that particular course often is a key to forecasting a winner. Desert Code ran a disappointing race down the hill in the Grade III Morvich Handicap on Sept. 24, finishing seventh. Prior to that, however, the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred E Dubai colt had done quite well down the hill, recording three wins and a second from five starts.

In hindsight, it could have been significant that Desert Code was reunited with jockey Richard Migliore in the Turf Sprint. Migliore had been the pilot for all three of Desert Code’s victories down the hill.

Additionally, Desert Code’s trainer is terrific in terms of saddling Breeders’ Cup longshot winners. This was Hofmans’ third Breeders’ Cup victory. In addition to winning with Desert Code at 36-1 this year, Hofmans won the 1996 Classic with Alphabet Soup at 19-1 and 2003 Distaff with Adoration at 40-1.

$500,00O MARATHON (OCT. 25)

Results: (1) Muhannak, (2) Church Service, (3) Big Booster.

Winner: Owned by Richard Pegum; trained by Ralph Beckett; ridden by Patrick Smullen.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 100.

Recap: In the first running of the Breeders’ Cup Marathon, Europe’s Muhannak prevailed by a head at 12-1. Church Service, 10-1, and Big Booster, also 10-1, finished second and third, respectively, for Southern California trainer Mike Mitchell.

$2 MILLION LADIES’ CLASSIC (OCT. 24)

Results: (1) Zenyatta, (2) Cocoa Beach, (3) Music Note.

Winner: Owned by Ann and Jerry Moss; trained by John Shirreffs; ridden by Mike Smith.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 103. Ginger Punch won the 2007 Distaff with 104 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Distaff: 120 (Princess Rooney in 1984).

Recap: Zenyatta put the exclamation point on a perfect 2008 campaign by winning the Ladies’ Classic despite racing extremely wide into the stretch. She prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths at 1-2 as this year’s shortest-priced Breeders’ Cup winner.

With this victory, Zenyatta is now nine for nine. In 2008, she was seven for seven.

The last time the Breeders’ Cup was held in Southern California, Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella made history. He became the first trainer to win four Breeders’ Cup races in a single day, saddling Halfbridled (Juvenile Fillies), Action This Day (Juvenile), Johar (dead heat with High Chaparral in the Turf) and Pleasantly Perfect (Classic).

After Zenyatta’s win in the Ladies’ Classic, I asked Mandella what came to mind as he watched the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Street Cry remain undefeated.

Mandella thought for a moment, then said simply, “Personal Ensign.”

In the final start of her career, Personal Ensign won the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in come-from-behind fashion by a dramatic nose over Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors. That kept Personal Ensign’s unblemished record intact and extended her winning streak to 13. She became the first major American Thoroughbred since Colin 80 years earlier to retire undefeated.

So now the debate is on in terms of who should be the 2008 Horse of the Year, Curlin or Zenyatta?

I’m voting for Zenyatta. I can’t argue with anyone who votes for Curlin. I don’t even think it’s outrageous if someone casts a vote for Big Brown. But my vote is going to Zenyatta.

I had been voting for Zenyatta at No. 1 in the weekly NTRA poll ever since her win in the Grade I Lady’s Secret Stakes on Sept. 27.

Going into the Breeders’ Cup, I planned to vote for Curlin as Horse of the Year if he won the Classic. But he lost. I also would have voted for Curlin if Zenyatta had lost the Ladies’ Classic. But Zenyatta won.

I have tremendous respect for Gary West of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. To him, Curlin should be Horse of the Year, case closed. He wrote that anyone who votes for Zenyatta as Horse of the Year is “foolish, uninformed, uneducated and downright stupid.”

Well, you can count me among the foolish, uninformed, uneducated and downright stupid. Here are some of the reasons why:

Some say Zenyatta needed to run in the Classic to be Horse of the Year. But precedence shows this is not a requirement. When Lady’s Secret was Horse of the Year in 1986, she won the Distaff instead of running in the Classic. When Azeri was Horse of the Year in 2002, she won the Distaff instead of running in the Classic.

Zenyatta was undefeated in 2008. Lady’s Secret was not undefeated in 1986. She lost five races that year. Azeri was not undefeated in 2002. She lost once.

Zenyatta never defeated males in 2008. Lady’s Secret won one race against males in 1986. Azeri, like Zenyatta, never defeated males in 2002.

So, as far as I’m concerned, Zenyatta has Horse of the Year credentials comparable, or in some respects even superior, to both Lady’s Secret and Azeri.

As West points out, except for the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, Zenyatta raced exclusively in California. If this means Zenyatta should not be Horse of the Year, we had better retroactively disqualify the first Eclipse Award-winning Horse of the Year. In 1971, Ack Ack raced exclusively in California, but still was voted Horse of the Year.

A compelling case certainly can be made for Curlin, too. Some feel that owner Jess Jackson may have cost Curlin the 2008 Horse of the Year title by running him in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. This implies that if Curlin had not run in the Classic, he would have been a cinch to be Horse of the Year. But, speaking for myself, if Curlin had not competed in the Classic, I still would have voted for Zenyatta, as evidenced by the fact I already was voting for her as No. 1 in the weekly poll.

West wrote: “If Curlin isn’t Horse of the Year, if this confederacy of the foolish, the uninformed, the uneducated and the downright stupid is successful, then what kind of message will that send? Well, the next time a 3-year-old is named Horse of the Year, his owner will certainly hesitate to race him at 4. Why bother?”

There is merit in that argument. The thing is, when it comes to voting, I’m not big on sending messages. Ever since I filled out my first Eclipse Award ballot in 1976, my approach is to carefully consider who I think has earned each of the various titles, with emphasis on the word “earned.”

In 1976, I voted for Seattle Slew as champion 2-year-old male. Many chastised me for that particular vote (though I was not called foolish, uninformed, uneducated and downright stupid -- well, come to think of it, I was called stupid for that vote, too) because Seattle Slew made only three starts that year. I was told that Run Dusty Run or Royal Ski should have won that Eclipse Award because they had made more starts than Seattle Slew. But I was comfortable with my vote at the time. As the years have gone by, I think my vote has looked better and better.

And, by the way, for those who subscribe to “sending messages” with their Eclipse Award votes, I have a bit of a problem with the message sent in voting for Curlin as 2008 Horse of the Year.

In making the case for Curlin, West wrote: “Curlin traveled halfway around the globe to win the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup.”

Aren’t we talking about the 2008 “American” Horse of the Year? Technically, Curlin’s two wins in Dubai really should not count. And that would mean not counting what was clearly Curlin’s best race in 2008, his 7 3/4-length Dubai World Cup victory.

Dubai’s lucrative races have taken a toll on the quality of American racing. For instance, the huge Dubai World Cup purse has had a negative impact on the quality of the Santa Anita Handicap. It also has hurt the Oaklawn Handicap.

What kind of a message is sent when Curlin leaves the U.S. to race elsewhere, yet still is rewarded with an American Horse of the Year title? It doesn’t exactly help the sport in our country, does it?

$2 MILLION FILLY & MARE TURF (OCT. 24)

Results: (1) Forever Together, (2) Sealy Hill, (3) Wait a While.

Winner: Owned by Augustin Stable; trained by Jonathan Sheppard; ridden by Julian Leparoux.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 105. Lahudood won the 2007 Distaff with a 105 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Distaff: 112 (Banks Hill in 2001).

Recap: Forever Together closed strongly from far back to win by three-quarters of a length at 9-2 for her Hall of Fame trainer. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Belong to Me probably sewed up a 2008 Eclipse Award as champion female turf performer. This was her third Grade I victory of the year. She also took the Grade I First Lady Stakes at Keeneland and Grade I Diana Stakes at Saratoga.

Forever Together is scheduled to race again in 2009.

$2 MILLION JUVENILE FILLIES (OCT. 24)

Results: (1) Stardom Bound, (2) Dream Empress, (3) Sky Diva.

Winner: Owned by Charles Cono; trained by Christopher Paasch; ridden by Mike Smith.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 94. Indian Blessing won the 2007 Distaff with a 95 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Juvenile Fillies: 107 (Tempera in 2001).

Recap: She is not Stardom Bound. She is a bona fide star.

Confirming that she is a special filly, Stardom Bound, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Tapit, uncorked another eye-catching rally from far back to take the Juvenile Fillies by 1 1/2 lengths as the 8-5 favorite to provide her trainer with his first Breeders’ Cup win. This followed similar Grade I victories in the Oak Leaf Stakes and Del Mar Debutante.

Stardom Bound is odds-on to earn a 2008 Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly.

$1 MILLION JUVENILE FILLIES TURF (OCT. 24)

Results: (1) Maram, (2) Heart Shaped, (3) Laragh.

Winner: Owned by Karen Woods and Saud bin Khaled; trained by Chad Brown; ridden by Jose Lezcano.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 87.

Recap: Evidently, it was Maram’s destiny to win the first running of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The filly’s name means “destiny” in Arabic.

Maram, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Sahm, prevailed by a scant nose at 11-1. It was her third victory from as many starts. She previously had won a pair of grass races in New York, including the Grade III Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 1.

This was the first Breeders’ Cup win for Maram’s trainer, a former assistant to Hall of Famers Bobby Frankel and Shug McGaughey. Brown had handled the saddling duties for Ginger Punch in Frankel’s absence when the filly won the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Monmouth Park.

$1 MILLION FILLY & MARE SPRINT (OCT. 24)

Results: (1) Ventura, (2) Indian Blessing, (3) Zaftig.

Winner: Owned by Juddmonte Farms; trained by Bobby Frankel; ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 105. Maryfield won the inaugural Filly & Mare Sprint in 2007 with a 101 Beyer. Top Beyer in the Filly & Mare Sprint: 105 (Maryfield in 2007).

Recap: In one of the most impressive performances at this year’s Breeders’ Cup, Ventura generated a furious rally from 10th to win decisively by six lengths at 5-2. Indian Blessing, the 9-5 favorite, finished second.

Ventura, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Chester House, completed seven furlongs in 1:19.90. She missed the track record by just .01 seconds. Indian Blessing had set the track mark last Jan. 13.

This was Frankel’s sixth Breeders’ Cup victory. He previously had won Breeders’ Cup races with Squirtle Squirt (2001 Sprint), Starine (2002 Filly & Mare Turf), Ghostzapper (2004 Classic), Intercontinental (2005 Filly & Mare Turf) and Ginger Punch (2007 Distaff).

According to Frankel, Ventura is to continue racing in 2009.