Forever young: Oaklawn winner takes BC Distaff

Dallas Stewart knew what he had in the barn and Charles Fipke knew whom he wanted in the saddle.

Forever Unbridled, with John Velazquez aboard, did the rest. Capping an abbreviated but perfect three-race campaign at age 5, the homebred daughter of Unbridled’s Song pulled a mild upset in Friday’s Grade 1 $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar in Southern California.

Forever Unbridled held off Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman by a half-length with 3-year-old fillies Paradise Woods third and Elate fourth. Stellar Wind, Oaklawn Park’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap winner in April, finished last after not starting for 96 days.

Forever Unbridled was the source of controversy this week as Fipke, the racemare’s owner-breeder, unexpectedly changed jockeys, replacing Joel Rosario with Hall of Famer Velazquez. Track stewards ruled that Fipke would have to pay both jockeys the standard 10-percent fee.

However expensive the victory, Fipke considered himself “a lucky person and lucky to have a great team.”

Forever Unbridled, Oaklawn’s 2016 Apple Blossom winner with

nothing yet about Gun Runner, whose three straight Grade 1 victories make him the probable Classic favorite. Logic says he will stalk a hot pace and come on strongly when jockey Florent Geroux urges. Easiest of winners in February’s Grade 3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn, Gun Runner took Saratoga by storm, winning the Whitney and Woodward by open lengths.

But anyone who saw Arrogate blow past Gun Runner in March’s Dubai World Cup like the latter was tied to a post might hesitate about betting the whole bundle. Moreover, Gun Runner’s 0-for-3 record at a mile and a quarter, the race distance, causes come concern.

Arrogate would be the pick here if the race were anywhere but Del Mar. Though getting strong vibes about West Coast, the choice is Collected. Ideally for their white-haired trainer, Baffert will need a photo to separate his horses.