Rodeo Drive off brand for Filly and Mare Turf

Everything that happens over the next two weekends will be viewed through the prism of the Breeders’ Cup, to be run Nov. 2 and 3 at Churchill Downs. Performances will be sliced, diced, and projected to the scene down the road in Kentucky, where track condition, weather, and the looming mid-term elections will undoubtedly play a role in how the horses run.

On Saturday alone, between Belmont Park and Santa Anita, there are seven races in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series whose winning owners will be given a pass on entry and starting fees for Breeders’ Cup races, which can range in value from $30,000 to $150,000, depending on the targeted race. This, for the rest of us, is like finding a free frozen yogurt coupon buried in the glove compartment, so you know the feeling.

Of those seven, main-track events like the Awesome Again, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Vosburgh are always solid indicators of Breeders’ Cup contention, while the American Pharoah and Chandelier out West will at least narrow the conversation for the BC Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies. The Joe Hirsch at Belmont usually reveals a serious contender for the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and the Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita … well, that’s another story.

Don’t get me wrong. Winning the Rodeo Drive comes with the first-place cut of $300,000 and a Grade 1 doodad, not to mention one of those allexpense paid trips to the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. There is a baggage fee, however, at least in historical terms, because in the 19 years the BCF&MT has been run, the winner of the Rodeo Drive (formerly the Yellow Ribbon) has been mostly missing in action on the big day.

Rodeo Drive winner Avenge finished third in the 2016 Filly and Mare Turf, likewise Wait a While in 2008, although she was later disqualified for an overage of a therapeutic medication. Of the others on the list – including such good ones as Tranquility Lake, Megahertz, Nashoba’s Key, Golden Apples, and Tates Creek – a few picked up minor purse awards, while the rest came home in mid-pack, or worse.

In one sense, it is convenient to shrug off an 0-for-19 record in light of the understandable perception that European fillies and mares have treated the Filly and Mare Turf like their personal playground. Banks Hill, Islington, Ouija Board, Midday, Dank, Queen’s Trust, and Wuheida got off the plane to beat the domestic team over courses of great variety, from Belmont to Lone Star to Santa Anita and Del Mar. Among the others, several were European imports, acclimatized just enough for their new American trainers to be considered part of the home team.

And yet, six of the last 10 Filly and Mare Turf winners have been North American productions, and only three of those six were trained by Chad Brown. Clearly, the domestics hold their own.

Unfortunately, the West Coast no longer has a vigorous program attracting quality fillies and mares on the grass. In the nine months leading up to the Rodeo Drive, there have been only five Grade 2 events and a single Grade 1 opportunity. In fairness, New York-based stables have a similar number preceding the definitive Flower Bowl, to be run next week. But Eastern stables are also handy to Grade 1 and 2 events for the division at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Arlington Park.

The field lining up for the Rodeo Drive at a mile and one-quarter is typical of the consistently entertaining West Coast division. The half-dozen Grade 1 and 2 races this year have been won by six different mares, and most of them will be showing up on Saturday.

Cambodia, a 6-year-old daughter of War Front who finished third in the 2017 Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, appears to be in ripe form. She enters the race off a victory in Del Mar’s version of the Yellow Ribbon and a rocky second to Vasilika in the subsequent John C. Mabee.

“Going into the first turn I crossed it off and figured it just wasn’t our day,” said Don Robinson, Cambodia’s owner. “She had all kinds of stuff go wrong and even sprung a shoe, which I guess might have happened at the start when she broke sideways. Getting beat just a length and a half was a phenomenal race. Thank goodness she wasn’t hurt, and she’s been training great since.”

Cambodia is Robinson’s pearl of great price, born and raised at Winter Quarter (the birthplace of Zenyatta), and raced with discretion over four campaigns under the care of Tom Proctor. For some strange reason, the usual temptations of the racing flesh have not troubled Robinson, which is why you will not find her consigned to the fall breeding stock catalog at Keeneland, nor is she a shoo-in to run in the Breeders’ Cup, even if she wins the Rodeo Drive. Does he not know they will pay for her to play?

“That’s what they say,” Robinson said with a laugh. “But I’m a real one-step-at-a-time guy. When Tom and I looked at this season, the Breeders’ Cup wasn’t really in our plans because of both the distance – a mile and three-eighths this year compared to a mile and an eighth at Del Mar – and the chance of a soft course at Churchill Downs.

“Then again,” he added, “I know enough to never say never.”