Straight No Chaser, More Than Looks, Moira BC winners
Full Serrano capped off a Breeders’ Cup full of surprises with a victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Saturday at Del Mar.
Full Serrano Upsets Grade 1 Favorites for a Memorable Victory
The Argentina-bred swept to the front turning for home over the likes of a slew of Grade 1 winners, and jockey Joel Rosario guided him t winner finished seventh; Skippylongstocking was sixth.
In six of the other eight
Breeders’ Cup races on Saturday, upsets came fast and furious: Soul of Angel ($41.60) in the Filly & Mare Sprint; Starlust ($69.20) in the Turf Sprint; Sierra Leone ($15.80) in the Classic, Straight No Chaser ($14.20) in the Sprint; and More Than Looks ($15.80) in the Mile.
For Rosario, it was his 16th BC victory, while Sadler earned his third BC win. Full Serrano improved to 17-6-5-2 and earnings of $797,223. The horse was purchased this year by Hronis Racing.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) More Than Looks
More Than Looks had more than enough in rocketing past Johannes and Notable Speech to give trainer Cherie DeVaux her first Breeders’ Cup victory.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz, the 4-year-old More Than Ready closed with a rush in deep stretch to end a five-race BC Mile winning streak for the Euros, the past three all trained by Charlie Appleby, who sent out Notable Speech as the 2-1 favorite.
More Than Looks won by three-quarters of a length over Johannes, with Notable Speech third, and Japan-bred Ten Happy Rose fourth in the field of 10. Carl Spackler, the 3-1 second, finished sixth.
More Than Looks ($15.80) ran second to Carl Spackler in the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 11 and in the Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 5.
“I knew I had enough speed leaving the gate, so as soon as I broke, I saw (William) Buick inside of me, so right away, that’s the horse (Notable Speech) I wanted to follow, and it worked out perfect.”
It was the sixth BC win for Ortiz. Winning time was 1:32.65.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (Straight No Chaser)
Straight No Chaser ($14.20) enjoyed a Hall of Fame ride from jockey John Velazquez, closing briskly down the middle of the track and outdueling Bentornato through the final furlong for a half-length victory.
It was the 21st Breeders’ Cup victory for the 52-year-old Velazquez and second in the Sprint, having taken the 2004 edition with Speightstown.
Racing close to pressured fractions of 21.74 and 44.12 seconds set by Federal Judge, who had Bentornato hounding him to his outside, Straight No Chaser moved up three-wide on the turn and ranged up to challenge for the lead. As Federal Judge began weakening, that left Straight No Chaser and Bentornato alone to battle to the wire, with Straight No Chaser digging in for the win.
His time for 6 furlongs was 1:08.62.
“I didn’t want him to be too far back,” said Velazquez, who has ridden Straight No Chaser to four victories in his past five starts dating back to April 2023. “I let him do his thing.”
Owned by a cast of hundreds who are partners in MyRacehorse, the 5-year-old son of Speightster has had a fitful racing career, making just 10 starts since July 2022. The Sprint marked only his third start of 2024, having finished fourth as the favorite in the Runhappy (G3) at in May at Aqueduct and coming back on Sept. 29 to win the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) by 6 ¼ lengths.
“He’s really fast,” said trainer Dan Blacker, who notched his first Breeders’ Cup win and first Grade 1 win on the dirt. “Being patient and letting him come around on his own good time [is the key]. He’s a really talented horse and I’m just lucky enough to have the best one today.”
Favorite Mullikin was third, followed by Gun Pilot, Federal Judge, Nakatomi, Raging Torrent, Meta Max, Don Frankie, Skelly and Remake.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1): Moira
Moira became the seventh Canada-bred horse and first since 2015 to win a Breeders’ Cup race, gaining the lead in the stretch to take the Filly & Mare Turf by a half-length over favorite Cinderella’s Dream.
The 5-year-old mare, ridden by Flavien Prat for the first time since last year’s Filly & Mare Turf, settled in mid-pack through the early going, and, once clear in the stretch, powered on to take the lead a furlong out and had enough left to hold off the closing top betting choice.
Her winning time for the 11 furlongs was 2:14.95 and she returned $13.60.
It was Moira’s third start in the 1 3/8-mile race, having finished fifth in 2022 and third in last year’s edition, beaten a little more than a length. Overall, she has been no worse than third in 14 of her 16 career starts, and with Saturday’s victory extended her record to 6-6-2 and her earnings to $2,996,0122 for owners Madaket Racing, SF Racing and X-Men Racing.
“Flavien rode her really well,” said trainer Kevin Attard. “[And] she was good enough to get the job done.”
Cinderella’s Dream, a Godolphin homebred who won four of her five starts in 2024, was a nose ahead of Didia, with Beautiful Love Another half-length back in fourth. Following her under the wire were War Like Goddess, Content, Full Count Felicia, Beach Bomb, Anisette, Soprano, Sunset Glory and Hang the Moon.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
