Breeders' Cup 2015 Results: Tracking Winners and Prize Money Payouts on Saturday
The 2015 Breeders' Cup officially kicked off Friday, but the fun didn't really begin until Saturday, with nine races scheduled throughout the day. The action concludes with the Breeders' Cup Classic, one of the richest events in horse racing.
While the Breeders' Cup is a proving ground for some of the best horses in the sport, it is also a springboard for some of the younger horses who have yet to compete on the biggest stage.
Both the present and future of horse racing will be on show Saturday at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky.
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Here's a look at how the day unfolded.
14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies Results
| 1 | Songbird | 10 | Mike Smith | $3.20 | $2.40 | $2.10 |
| 2 | Rachel's Valentina | 9 | John Velazquez | --- | $3.80 | $3.40 |
| 3 | Dothraki Queen | 8 | Corey Lanerie | --- | --- | $5.80 |
Songbird had no equal as she crossed the finish line to win the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies on Saturday in the Breeders' Cup, finishing five-and-a-half lengths ahead of Rachel's Valentina.
Jockey Mike Smith and Songbird put together a great race, as they jumped out to an early lead over Forever Darling right out of the gate, and the gap between Songbird and the rest of the field only grew as the race went on.
Now, many fans are wondering just how great she can be.
Before Saturday's race, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was careful not to get too ahead of himself when discussing Songbird's future.
"I'm for the business at hand, and those other things... playing it for the Oaks or something like that, you know, you might think about those things in the back of your mind," he said Friday, per Gregory A. Hall of BloodHorse.com. "But, I mean, it's important to stay sound and be good on race day here."
Winning the Juvenile Fillies was a big step forward for Songbird, and her future is undoubtedly very bright. Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde isn't sure Songbird is a sure bet for the Kentucky Derby down the line, but Forde is confident she has the talent to compete at Churchill Downs:
Where Songbird goes from here is up to Hollendorfer and owner Rick Porter.
At the very least, any fears the two-year-old filly might not live up to the hype were quickly put to bed following Saturday.
TwinSpires Turf Sprint
| 1 | Mongolian Saturday | 14 | Florent Geroux | $33.80 | $13.60 | $7.80 |
| 2 | Lady Shipman | 5 | Irad Ortiz | --- | $5.40 | $4.60 |
| 3 | Green Mask | 7 | Joel Rosario | --- | --- | $5.40 |
The TwinSpires Turf Sprint provided Saturday’s first upset as Mongolian Saturday faded down the stretch but had just enough to seal a close victory ahead of Lady Shipman and Green Mask.
Lady Shipman nearly managed to pull off an impressive comeback after mounting a late surge. She closed a lot of ground between herself and Mongolian Saturday in the final furlong, but she and jockey Irad Ortiz simply ran out of track.
They wound up a quarter-length short of the win. Longines showed just how little separated Mongolian Saturday and Lady Shipman at the finish line:
Take nothing away from Mongolian Saturday. He started well out of the gate and eased into a comfortable position behind Ready for Rye on the outside heading into the first turn. Jockey Florent Geroux devised a strong strategy, ensuring the five-year-old gelding would have the stamina to make a final kick.
Coming around the final turn, Geroux made his move, and Mongolian Saturday passed Ready for Rye for first.
"With the 14-hole, my horse had good speed," said Geroux after the race, per Paul Rolfes of the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky. "When I asked him, he showed some good kick."
TwinSpires Filly & Mare Sprint
| 1 | Wavell Avenue | 7 | Joel Rosario | $22.00 | $10.20 | $6.60 |
| 2 | La Verdad | 4 | Jose Ortiz | --- | $8.00 | $5.40 |
| 3 | Taris | 3 | Gary Stevens | --- | --- | $4.80 |
Wavell Avenue hit the turbo button and stormed to the finish line to win the TwinSpires Filly & Mare Sprint.
Coming around the final turn, the four-year-old filly was a handful of lengths behind leader La Verdad. While La Verdad was on the inside trying to hold off Taris and Stonetastic, Wavell Avenue and jockey Joel Rosario carefully waited for their opportunity.
Jose Ortiz attempted to coax as much as he could out of La Verdad in order to maintain their lead, but nothing was stopping Rosario and Wavell Avenue. Down the final stretch, Wavell Avenue looked to be running downhill—she was that much faster than the horses ahead of her.
Perhaps even more impressive than Wavell Avenue was Cavorting's final push. Listed as the favorite on BreedersCup.com, the three-year-old filly got off to a rough start and found herself in 13th place—next-to-last place in the 14-horse race.
Cavorting closed excellently, working her way into fourth place as she crossed the finish. Ultimately, the result was disappointing given her level of expectation, but Ortiz didn't give up and helped Cavorting salvage something from the race.
Filly & Mare Turf Results
| 1 | Stephanie's Kitten | 11 | Irad Ortiz | $17.60 | $5.40 | $3.60 |
| 2 | Legatissimo | 3 | Ryan Moore | --- | $3.00 | $2.60 |
| 3 | Queen's Jewel | 6 | Maxime Guyon | --- | --- | $6.80 |
In a little less than a half-mile, Stephanie's Kitten went from worst to first as she captured Saturday's Filly & Mare Turf.
Stephanie's Kitten was a complete non-factor for the first half of the race as Ortiz waited patiently and saved the six-year-old's energy for the final stretch.
Coming around the final turn, Stephanie's Kitten remained in fifth place, a few lengths back of the leader, Secret Gesture. But Ortiz made a great move as he split in between Secret Gesture and Photo Call in the last furlong in order to move into the top spot.
Once free from the pack, Stephanie's Kitten opened up a wide lead, with only Legatissimo mounting a serious challenge.
"I broke from the outside so I was trying to save some ground," said Ortiz, per Frank Angst of BloodHorse.com. "I found a hole to go through around the quarter pole and then when I asked her, she just took off."
TwinSpires Sprint Results
| 1 | Runhappy | 5 | Edgar Prado | $5.20 | $3.40 | $2.80 |
| 2 | Private Zone | 13 | Martin Pedroza | --- | $4.20 | $3.80 |
| 3 | Favorite Tale | 14 | Javier Castellano | --- | --- | $10.80 |
Runhappy looks like a more than suitable name after the three-year-old colt won the TwinSpires Sprint on Saturday, doing so in record-breaking fashion. According to BloodHorse.com's Claire Novak, Runhappy's time of one minute and 8.58 seconds broke the previous mark over six furlongs at Keeneland.
Jockey Edgar Prado offered high praise for the horse following the race, per Mike Welsch of Daily Racing Form:
Despite the relatively short nature of the track, Prado was careful not to let Runhappy overexert himself early on. Around the last turn, he and the colt were in third place but in a great position on the outside.
Over the final furlong, Martin Pedroza did his best to help Private Zone stay in the lead, but they were powerless to halt Runhappy's momentum.
This is the fifth straight win for Runhappy and sixth victory in seven races. When it comes to sprints, few are more explosive than the talented colt.
Mile Results
| 1 | Tepin | 7 | Julien Leparoux | $11.80 | $5.20 | $4.00 |
| 2 | Mondialiste | 4 | Daniel Tudhope | --- | $13.60 | $8.20 |
| 3 | Grand Arch | 1 | Luis Saez | --- | --- | $6.20 |
Tepin didn't enter Saturday as one of the top favorites in the Breeders' Cup Mile race, but she exited cruising past a tough field for an easy victory.
Many expected one of the top European horses—Make Believe, Impassable, Esoterique or Time Test—to reign supreme in the mile. They're all highly decorated and immensely skilled on the track.
Instead, Tepin stole the show with one of the more dominant performances Saturday. She didn't go wire to wire, but at the most important stage of the race, jockey Julien Leparoux asked her to kick things into a higher gear and she duly obliged.
According to Daily Racing Form's Nicole Russo, owner Robert Masterson was at the very least keeping open the chance he'd sell Tepin at the November breeding stock stale immediately after the Breeders' Cup. Trainer Mark Casse thought it was a case of Masterson keeping his options open rather than demonstrating a desire to sell the filly.
Saturday's win provided Masterson with all of the evidence he needed to have Tepin run in 2016. He confirmed she'll compete next year, per Novak, which is welcome news after her performance in the mile race.
Sentient Jet Juvenile Results
| 1 | Nyquist | 13 | Mario Gutierrez | $11.40 | $6.20 | $4.00 |
| 2 | Swipe | 12 | Victor Espinoza | --- | $25.00 | $13.00 |
| 3 | Brody's Cause | 7 | Corey Lanerie | --- | --- | $5.00 |
Nyquist demonstrated the value in waiting for your opportunity as he sat on the outside for much of the Sentient Jet Juvenile before making his move around the final turn en route to victory.
Almost immediately out of the gate, Mario Gutierrez carved out a nice place for himself and the colt well outside the rail; starting from the 13th position certainly helped in that regard.
As race leader Riker began to slow down a bit, Nyquist capitalized and jumped out to the lead in the final furlong. Riker fell back, along with Cocked and Loaded, who had flirted with the lead heading into the final stretch.
Swipe made a late charge on the outside but couldn't overtake Nyquist before reaching the finish.
Naturally, the discussion is now what the future holds for Nyquist. He now has five wins in five races, picking up big victories at the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes in the last few months.
According to ESPN's Lane Gold, trainer Doug O'Neil hasn't committed Nyquist to the Kentucky Derby just yet, but a place at Churchill Downs may beckon off the back of Saturday's race.
Longines Turf Results
| 1 | Found | 9 | Ryan Moore | $14.80 | $7.80 | $4.60 |
| 2 | Golden Horn | 1 | Frankie Dettori | --- | $2.60 | $2.20 |
| 3 | Big Blue Kitten | 7 | Joe Bravo | --- | --- | $3.00 |
Everything was in place for Golden Horn to capture the Longines Turf. The three-year-old colt caught up with pace-setter Shining Copper and took the lead. Instead, Found ruined Golden Horn's dream by stealing the win in the final furlong.
The filly made a great kick on the outside to narrowly edge out the heavy favorite, sending Golden Horn into retirement on a sour note. Katie Margarson added a more positive spin to the result:
Ryan Moore only bolstered his reputation as one of the best jockeys in the world by leading the somewhat overlooked Found to victory.
In such a long race, ensuring the horse doesn't slow down toward the end can be difficult. Moore executed the perfect game plan, keeping Found in the middle of the pack for the early to middle stages of the race before finally letting lose in the last few furlongs.
Classic Results
| 1 | American Pharoah | 4 | Victor Espinoza | $3.40 | $3.00 | $2.40 |
| 2 | Effinex | 6 | Mike Smith | --- | $14.20 | $6.60 |
| 3 | Honor Code | 9 | Javier Castellano | --- | --- | $3.40 |
Unlike Golden Horn, American Pharoah went out on top after winning the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. The Triple Crown winner hardly needed to break a sweat, dominating the competition and finishing comfortably ahead of Effinex and Honor Code.
The win was never really in doubt. American Pharoah jumped into the lead right out of the gate and never opened up the chance for another horse to supplant him for first place. His blend of speed and stamina was on show Saturday at Keeneland.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, he is the first Triple Crown winner to also win the Breeders' Cup Classic in the same season.
Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch couldn't have envisioned a better way for American Pharoah to walk away from horse racing:
Dan Wolken of USA Today wonders if another horse as good will grace the sport ever again:
By winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, American Pharoah already stamped his place in the sport's history. He'll be remembered with the greatest ever to step on the track.
Saturday's victory only added to American Pharoah's legacy and further cemented just how dominant he is.
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