Lake Victoria, already the winner of Group 1 races over seven and six furlongs, justified odds-on favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf on Friday under a patient and resourceful ride from Ryan Moore.
Moore had few options from his tie in stall one against the rail and stoked Lake Victoria into the lead heading into the first turn. The favorite was significantly hampered in the corner, however, as Totally Justified moved from Moore’s right to the other side and she left the back stretch in seventh place.
Moore took his time working his way back into the race, confident that Lake Victoria’s foot action would still prove decisive. He still scraped the rail on the final corner, but then chose his moment at the top of the stretch to blast into the open into Lake Victoria and past the leading Thought Process on his way to a comfortable success.
“She was in very strong form when she entered the race, and really all she needed was normal racing luck and a clear shot,” Moore said. “We almost succeeded and she turned out to be the best.
“She got pressure from outside [on the first turn] and we were pushed against the fence, and that was that, we had to come back. If that happens it is a significant hindrance and you are at a disadvantage, but they had gone very quickly and once we were halfway down the straight most of the horses [in front] were done.”
Lake Victoria is still unbeaten after five starts and remains around 3-1 favorite for next year’s 1,000 Guineas.
Earlier on the card, Magnum Force was the first Breeders’ Cup winner for Ger Lyons in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, the first of 14 Breeders’ Cup races this weekend.
Magnum Force had seven rivals ahead of them with just over a furlong to run, around a grass track that is tight even by American standards and favors horses ridden prominently.
However, Colin Keane managed to get Magnum Force over the inside rail before moving outside the leader Governor Sam, while another Irish-trained runner, Arizona Blaze, remained in second place. Governor Sam came third on the fast-finishing Big Mojo, trying to give Mick Appleby a second successive win in the race, within a nose of fourth place.
Lyons is a Classic-winning trainer in Ireland, but his successes in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Irish Oaks in 2020 were recorded with crowd restrictions in place during the Covid epidemic.
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“We won the Oaks and the Guineas while we were alone in the stands,” Lyons said. “Now I accept it, don’t get me wrong, but then you come here and that’s what athletes want. We work hard and we have more losing days than winning days, and just to get that buzz, money can’t buy that.
“Next year the sky is the limit because it’s all about next year. We came here to teach him how to sprint, and you have to learn how to sprint and he’s getting better and better.
“I knew he was the right horse for the job, and when you get Colin Keane riding for you… He’s probably the most underrated champion jockey in the world, just because he looks a bit like his trainer he likes to keep up home and walk his dogs.”
Europe completed a series of the three races on Friday on artificial turf and Moore completed a double on the evening as Henri Matisse took the Juvenile Turf from a wide draw in stable 13.
The win was Aidan O’Brien’s 20e success at the Breeders’ Cup, earning him a share of the all-time record in meeting American legend D Wayne Lukas.