The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1 is a popular race, attracting 18 pre-entries, the most since the same number were pre-entered in 2020.
The potential lineup is led by the American star She Feels Pretty; Cinderella’s Dream, who was second as the 5-2 favorite in the 2024 BC Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar; and possibly Minnie Hauk, who was second in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris on Oct. 5.
Minnie Hauk, trained by Aidan O’Brien, is also pre-entered in the $5 million BC Turf against males at 1 1/2 miles, which was designated as the 3-year-old filly’s preferred race. Alice Verite, a 5-year-old mare from Japan, is pre-entered in the $2 million BC Distaff at 1 1/8 miles on dirt, which is listed as her preferred race. Alice Verite was fourth of seven in the 2024 BC Distaff at Del Mar.
The BC Filly and Mare Turf will have a maximum of 14 starters. When pre-entries were published on Wednesday, Alice Verite, Atsila, Cathedral, and Way to Be Marie were placed on an also-eligible list in that order, meaning they would join the field if there are defections among the 14 fillies and mares selected to run by a committee of racing officials.
Of the 16 fillies and mares that have the Filly and Mare Turf as their first preference, nine are based in the United States, while seven are based in Britain, France, or Ireland. Among the 18 fillies and mares that were pre-entered, there are six Grade 1 or Group 1 winners this year. Minnie Hauk won three consecutive Group 1 races – the English Oaks at Epsom, Irish Oaks at the Curragh, and Yorkshire Oaks at York Racecourse – from early June to mid-August.
Among other European-based runners, Gezora won the Group 1 French Oaks, a race formally known as the Prix de Diane, for 3-year-old fillies in June, while Cinderella’s Dream won the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes, a tough one-mile race for fillies and mares at Newmarket Racecourse in July.
She Feels Pretty, based in New York with trainer Cherie DeVaux, won the Group 1 New York Stakes at Saratoga in June and the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes by a head over BC Filly and Mare Turf pre-entrant Diamond Rain at Woodbine on Aug. 16. Be Your Best won the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita in May.
The list of pre-entries includes a longshot from Peru in La Kika, who won the Group 1 Gran Premio Pamplona at about 1 1/4 miles on turf in Peru in May to secure a fees-paid berth to the BC Filly and Mare Turf. La Kika has started once in the United States, finishing last of five in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes on dirt at Santa Anita on Sept. 28.
Bellezza (who won the Flower Bowl Stakes), Minnie Hauk (Yorkshire Oaks), Mission of Joy (Rodeo Drive Stakes), and She Feels Pretty (E.P. Taylor) also earned fees-paid berths.
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