Bravo entitled to take bow after Spinster ride

Sure, the studs get all the headlines, with their flashy records and their pricey early retirement packages. But the health of the breed relies on quality mares, tomorrow’s moms. And if there ever was a weekend to be confident that the future is in good hands, the events of last Saturday and Sunday provided a reason to believe.

Beginning on Saturday in Australia, where Winx won her 28th straight race in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, and ending in Southern California on Sunday afternoon, with the resurrection of Skye Diamonds as a mare to be feared in sprints, the global parade seemed endless.

At Belmont Park, Wow Cat delivered a knockout punch to what was left of New York’s main-track female division in the Beldame. Keeneland followed with a handsome piece of frontrunning art from A Raving Beauty in the First Lady. Then, just minutes later, Woodbine got into the act with a thriller in the Mazarine Stakes, in which the 2-year-old fillies Tiz Breathtaking, Carnival Colors, and Comic Kitten hit the line as a team at the end of a mile and onesixteenth.

On Sunday, North American early-birds were rewarded with the sight of Enable winning her second straight Arc de Triomphe. Back on this side of the pond, the Cross Traffic filly Jaywalk emerged as a 2-year-old of consequence with her lopsided victory in the Frizette, a race that set the Belmont stage for the Flower Bowl, in which Fourstar Crook, A Raving Beauty’s stablemate, inhaled the pack to win by two.

To wrap things up, at almost precisely the same moment Skye Diamonds was returning to her winning form in the L.A. Woman at Santa Anita, the 11 fillies and mares in the Spinster Stakes were making their way around Keeneland’s mile and one-sixteenth main course. And while favored Eskimo Kisses, the Alabama winner, was clearly not in the mood, it appeared as if the Argentine mare Blue Prize was having a very good day under her new rider Joe Bravo.

Then, somewhere between the soft chestnut ears of Blue Prize, all heck broke out. As she passed the wilting leaders to take clear command, she ducked to her left, which can happen sometimes when the opposition suddenly disappears. Bravo pulled his stick through and gave his mare a couple of left-handed whacks to correct her flight, but she overreacted, and then really overreacted. By the time Bravo got Blue Prize headed in the right direction again, she was barreling down the middle of the course, and Champagne Problems had steadily closed along the rail to seize the lead.

At this point, having a jockey on board with upward of 29,000 rides and 5,300 wins was just what the doctor ordered. Bravo kept his cool, let Blue Prize regain her rhythm, and simply waved the whip at her right eye through the final yards. They easily regained the advantage and won by the most deceptive three-quarters of a length possible. Bravo’s reaction was delivered with a laugh. “Welcome to the world of horse racing,” he said. It was Monday morning, and Bravo had just learned that it was officially a go for Blue Prize to be made eligible for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, and that he would be in the saddle. To say he likes his chances is an understatement, and not only because Blue Prize already has won three graded stakes over the Churchill main track.

“She’s a real beast,” Bravo said. “And I thought the most impressive thing about her was when she got straightened away and then saw that other horse inside her, she took off and said, ‘Okay, let’s go again.’

“She did make it exciting,” Bravo added. “I saw her for the first time yesterday, and I was told she had a few little quirks. But she’s never done anything quite that drastic before.”

If nothing else, Blue Prize adds spice to a Distaff that had been deflated by the defection of division leaders Elate and Unique Bella, and the more recent post-loss illness of Abel Tasman.

Blue Prize also gives Bravo his best shot at a first Breeders’ Cup victory since he won his third in the 2015 Turf aboard Big Blue Kitten, the Eclipse Award winner who made a sizeable contribution to the jockey’s best year. Bravo, the dominant New Jersey jockey of the past 20 years, turned 47 last month.

“I’m just thankful to be able to go to work in the jocks’ room every day, at any racetrack,” Bravo said. “And because I still want to be part of this great game, I’m willing to take care of my body as I get older. If you love your job as much as I do, you work hard and do everything you can to keep it.”

Bravo was honored with the Mike Venezia Memorial Award earlier this year, which means a Breeders’ Cup trophy would bookend a memorable season. But he’d prefer not to get ahead of the game. Pulling up after the Spinster, Bravo and Blue Prize were approached by NBC’s Donna Barton Brothers for a horseback interview. When Brothers asked the rider how he felt about his chances in the big dance on Nov. 3, Bravo put his finger to his lips and went, “Shhh.”

Too late, jock. The secret’s out.