MOIRA and LAST CALL, the Kevin Attard-trained fillies who competed in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland this past weekend, arrived at Margaux Farm in Midway, Kentucky for a break on Sunday, November 6.
Moira, the Woodbine Oaks and Queen’s Plate winner who was a belated fifth in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1) after getting too far behind early, is a certainty to be named Canada’s Champion 3-year-old filly and is favoured to be crowned Horse of the Year. She paired up her top Beyer Figure of 95 in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Last Call, who was also far back early in her race, the Juvenile Filly Turf, finished sixth, beaten about five lengths and she was coming off a win in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine.
Both fillies are owned by X-Men racing and SF Bloodstock with Madaket Stables also a co-owner of Moira.
Woodbine was well-represented through the two-day championships. In addition to the Attard gals, Charles Fipke and trainer Roger Attfield had Lady Speightspeare run hard to be third in the Filly & Mare Turf and Shirl’s Speight grab second in the Mile despite a tough trip.
Lady Speightspeare was only 1 1/2 lengths back of the European filly Tuesday in the Filly & Mare Turf after a super trip stalking the pace. She earned a career best 103 Beyer Figure. With three graded stakes wins in 2022, all at Woodbine and at three different distances on two different surfaces, Lady Speightspeare put herself in the conversation for Horse of the Year in Canada.
The WOODBINE MILE (G1) was once again a key race for the Breeders’ Cup Mile as MODERN GAMES (Ire) parlayed his Woodbine Mile win into the Mile victory for trainer Charlie Appleby.
Two days after longtime Ontario trainer Nathan Squires sent out CAIRO CONSORT to finish a strong third in the Juvenile Filly Turf, the grey Kentucky-bred was sold at the November Sale at Fasig-Tipton for a whopping $875,000 to Mike Repole and Town & Country Racing. Cairo Consort raced for William Thompson, Jr of North Carolina.
Cairo Consort is favoured to be named Canada’s Champion 2-year-old filly.
Shirl’s Speight, who only raced twice at Woodbine in 2022, is not eligible for a Sovereign Award but he also earned a 103 Beyer from his second-place finish in the Mile.
Record wagering
Total all-sources, global common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course was $189,060,373, a record for the two-day event.
The total represents a 3.4% increase over the prior record of $182,908,409 set when the event was held at Del Mar in 2021 and an 18% increase from the total handle of $160,472,893 at the 2020 event held at Keeneland.
Total common-pool handle on Saturday’s 12-race Breeders’ Cup card was a record $122,918,607. All sources common-pool handle on Breeders’ Cup’s 10-race Future Stars Friday card was $66,141,766, also a new record for a Breeders’ Cup Friday. This is the fifth consecutive year that Breeders’ Cup grouped all its juvenile races together on Friday.
On-track handle for the two days was $20,822,213. Saturday’s attendance was 45,973 and the two-day on-track attendance was 85,824.
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships will return to Santa Anita Park in 2023 for its 40th running.
More notes below ↓
Watch Shirl’s Speight’s big effort in the Mile:
Moira and Lady Speightspeare’s runs in the Filly & Mare Turf:
Ryan Moore, who guided three horses to Breeders’ Cup victories Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland during the 39th world championships, won the 20th Bill Shoemaker Award for the outstanding jockey of the two-day event. The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who rides the most winners in the 14 championship races with the tiebreaker being 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes.
Moore, who won the Shoemaker Award in 2015, won Saturday’s Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) on Tuesday (IRE), and Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on Victoria Road (IRE) and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) on Meditate (IRE).
Moore picked up three seconds with Stone Age (IRE) in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), Emaraaty Ana (GB) in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) and Dramatised (IRE) in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1).
Irad Ortiz Jr., winner of the past four Shoemaker Awards, also rode three winners but only had one runner-up finish to Moore’s three.
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