Cy Fair is only the Second Filly to Win the Grade 1 race against the males. (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Future Stars Friday
DEL MAR, Calif. – Swinbank Stables, Medallion Racing and Joey Platts et al.’s Cy Fair ($12) roared past pacesetting Schwarzenegger in the upper stretch en route to a three-quarter-length victory over a fast-closing Brussels (GB) to win the eighth running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) for 2-year-olds to kick off the 42nd Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar Friday afternoon.
Trained by George Weaver and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Cy Fair covered the 5 furlongs on a firm turf course in :56.02. It is the first Breeders’ Cup victory for Weaver and 21st for Ortiz and his fourth in this race.
Cy Fair becomes the second filly to win the race, joining Twilight Gleaming (IRE) in 2021 at Del Mar.
Schwarzenegger opened a clear down the backstretch with Cy Fair tracking in second. Cy Fair began to close in on the turn before hitting the front in upper stretch and building enough cushion to turn back any challengers.
Cy Fair is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Not This Time out of the Arch mare Remarqued. The victory was worth $520,000 and increased Cy Fair’s earnings to $780,205 with a record of 4-3-1-0.
Quotes:
Winning trainer George Weaver (Cy Fair) – “I can’t describe it. It’s why we all get in the game. It’s hard to win these big races like this, and it’s my first Breeders’ Cup. We’ve had a great year, and I’m thankful to my staff, thankful to all the clients that supported me. We’ve got some nice horses, and she’s one of the top ones.
“She’s been a bullet all year long. Frankly, I don’t know how she got beat the second time we ran her in a stake. But she looked fantastic at Woodbine, like a super, special horse. She came over here and did it against the best in the world. We’re thrilled.”
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Cy Fair) – “Beautiful. She broke closer than I thought, and after that, I just tried to save some horse for the end, and she was there for me.”
Second-place trainer Aidan O’Brien (Brussels (GB)) – “Brussels ran a very good race. I think the start, when he missed it a tad and got back a little bit, lost the race for him. He still ran very well. True Love (8th) just found the turns strange and maybe just found everything a bit sharp for her, really. Mission Central (10th) ran well and Dylan was happy with him. He said maybe he wanted more distance. There will be more to come with him. He said he was three-wide and would have preferred to be tucked in a little bit more, but ultimately ran well.”
Third-place trainer James Owen (Aspect Island (GB)) – “A great run, I’m delighted. He’s improving with every run and today was another career best. Frankie gave him a great ride up the rail in the early part of the race. He had a good position to then make his challenge up the stretch.”
Third-place jockey Frankie Dettori (Aspect Island (GB)) – “I don’t know why I’m giving up after that! He ran a great race, everything went well and no real excuse. He’s improving all the time and I would have taken third this morning.”
Fourth-place jockey Jose Ortiz (Obliteration) – “He broke great, put me in a good position but had to wait. With a short stretch here, I would like to have had more running room at the three-eighths pole but it was a good run.”
Fifth-place jockey John Velazquez (Schwarzenegger) – “He just got really tired late. He didn’t have it.”
