Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Bellafina a filly with few faults
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Simon Callaghan came down this road last year. The youthful trainer had the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar, but Moonshine Memories could do no better than seventh.
Once again, Callaghan is back at the Breeders’ Cup with the likely favorite for the Grade 1, $2 million Juvenile Fillies in Bellafina, whose sensational triumphs in three straight graded races in California make her strictly the filly to beat Friday at Churchill Downs. Nine other 2-year-old fillies, including a few in similarly impressive form, will be looking to keep Bellafina from a divisional championship in the 1 1/16-mile race.
“I think this is a different type of filly,” said Callaghan, who at 35 has become one of the most sought-after trainers on the Southern California circuit. “I really believe she’s a filly who’s going to be featured next year as one of the top fillies in her class. This year, we have a stronger filly coming into this.”
With Flavien Prat aboard, Bellafina will break from post 10 and faces the likes of Serengeti Empress (post 2, Corey Lanerie), winner of the Grade 2 Pocahontas at Churchill by an eye-popping 19 1/2 lengths in September; Restless Rider (post 4, Brian Hernandez Jr.), an easy winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades last month at Keeneland; and Jaywalk (post 7, Joel Rosario), winner of the Grade 1 Frizette last month at Belmont Park.
Serengeti Empress led throughout from post 1 in the Pocahontas, and trainer Tom Amoss said he will have Lanerie use her speed again in the Juvenile Fillies.
“After talking it through, we want to use her speed to her advantage,” he said. “That’ll be the strategy again, to have her go to the front and take it from there.”
Speed also is an obvious strength for Bellafina and Jaywalk, so sooner or later something will have to give. Restless Rider, who leapt into the divisional chase with an 11 1/4-length score in the Debutante Stakes here in late June, rated kindly before putting a flashy turn of foot on full display in the Alcibiades, and trainer Kenny McPeek is hoping a similar scenario will unfold Friday.
“She’s shown it in her breezes and her races, that she’ll go when you ask her,” McPeek said. “She’s just such a classy professional. Hopefully, we’ll get the right trip.”
Jaywalk, trained by John Servis of Smarty Jones fame, will be making her first start around two turns. In the onemile Frizette, the gray filly settled on the lead while Rosario anticipated a challenge from heavily favored Covfefe – but when that failed to materialize, Jaywalk raced home a 5 3/4-length winner.
Among the live longshots are Sippican Harbor (post 8, Irad Ortiz Jr.), a 16-1 winner of the Grade 1 Spinaway on closing weekend of the Saratoga meet for trainer Gary Contessa; Reflect (post 1, Jose Ortiz),
the Alcibiades runner-up for trainer Keith Desormeaux; and Vibrance (post 3, John Velazquez), runner-up behind Bellafina after setting the early pace in the Grade 1 Chandelier in late September at Santa Anita.
“We’d like to see our filly settle a little better this time,” said Michael McCarthy, trainer of Vibrance. “Maybe that’ll help us turn the tables on Bellafina.”
That could take some doing. Bellafina, owned by Kaleem Shah, has been a world-beater since somehow failing to win her July debut at Los Alamitos, sweeping three subsequent stakes by convincing margins: the Grade 2 Sorrento and Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at Del Mar – both when equipped with blinkers – followed by the Sept. 29 Chandelier, when she raced without blinkers. Since then, the daughter of Quality Road has trained powerfully toward her most important engagement thus far, completing her major morning work with a half-mile blowout in 47.40 seconds on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita.
“Our filly is doing really, really well coming into this, so we’re hopeful,” Callaghan said. “She rated well last time, and now we’ve taken the blinkers off. She’s a relaxed filly, so tactical, she can pretty much sit wherever. She’s not a onedimensional filly by any means. We’ll leave it to Flavien, and he’ll ride her according to how the race sets up.”
Rounding out the Juvenile Fillies cast are Cassies Dreamer (post 5, Manny Franco), third in the Frizette; and Splashy Kisses (post 9, Drayden Van Dyke), second in the Pocahontas; as well as the rank outsider Baby Nina (post 6, Tyler Gaffalione).
The Juvenile Fillies, one of the original seven Breeders’ Cup races dating to 1984 at Hollywood Park, is the third of five BC Friday events and the seventh of 10 races on the card. Post time is 4:40 p.m. Eastern. The Juvenile Fillies starts the final pick four (races 7-10) of the card.