Owner John Stewart sounded hopeful about running Village Voice in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf following her victory in Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Waya Stakes, her first start in the U.S. and first anywhere in nearly a year.
Village Voice, trained by Chad Brown, rallied down the center of Aqueduct’s inner turf course to beat Beach Bomb by a head in the Waya, a performance for which she earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.
Stewart said he bought Village Voice out of the Tattersalls sale last year and that after he sent both her and Excellent Truth to Brown, it was Village Voice who Brown talked about more. Excellent Truth made it to the races earlier than Village Voice, winning the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga following second-place finishes in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April and the Just a Game at Saratoga in June.
Stewart said Village Voice needed about three months off earlier in the year due to minor issues.
“We knew she was a special horse because we sent her and Excellent Truth to Chad and, at first, all he could do is talk about Village Voice,” Stewart said. “He thought she out-trained Excellent Truth. Coming off a [12]-month layoff to run that well in that race made us feel really good. We’re pretty excited. We’ll be pointing to the Breeders’ Cup.”