Moira won the first Grade 1 race of her remarkable career at the most advantageous time – in front of a world audience in the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar on the first Saturday of November.
The Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf was familiar territory for Moira. She was fifth in the race in 2022 at Keeneland and third in 2023 at Santa Anita.
The win at Del Mar has led to being named a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the outstanding turf female of 2024.
Moira had her sixth start in a Grade 1 in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She showed that day what trainer Kevin Attard had long expected. Attard had watched Moira beat males in the Queen’s Plate Stakes at Woodbine in 2022 and run well at Woodbine and in the United States in recent years without a top-level win.
“She’s a very special horse to me, winning my first Queen’s Plate,” Attard said in October. “We’ve always held her in high regard, and she’s always been a bit of an underdog or maybe not respected enough.”
Moira “is just a true champion,” Attard said after the Breeders’ Cup.
“Just to see her get a Grade 1 win is really very special. She’s been really deserving of it.”
:: Full list of 2024 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories
Moira was recognized as Canada’s Horse of the Year and outstanding 3-year-old filly in 2022. In the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, at Keeneland, Moira was beaten six lengths by the Irish shipper Tuesday.
Moira’s 2023 season was highlighted by a win in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes at Woodbine and a close third by slightly more than a length behind the European star Inspiral in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
In 2024, Moira had a milestone win in the summer, her first victory away from Woodbine, in the Grade 2 Beverly D. Stakes at Colonial Downs in Virginia. She was second in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in mid-September prior to the Breeders’ Cup.
A few days after the win in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar, Moira was sold for $4.3 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale. The buyer was an international breeding group, according to sale company officials.
Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, Moira won 7 of 17 starts and earned $2,996,017 in her career. All seven wins were in stakes. She won at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 3/8 miles.
By Ghostzapper, Moira raced for Madaket Stable, SF Racing, and X-Men Racing.
Through her career, Attard found Moira highly focused as race time approached.
“Day to day, she goes out there, does her job, and knows what she needs to do,” Attard said last fall. “When the tack gets on her, she’s a horse that’s all business. On race day, she’s a handful. She turns into a completely different horse.”
In the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Moira closed from seventh of 12 to be third on the turn. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Moira took the lead in early stretch and won by a half-length over Cinderella’s Dream.
“It was nice to see her put it all together today and show everybody that she is a true champion,” Attard said moments after the win.
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