Idiomatic holds off her rivals under Florent Geroux and wins the Distaff (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
ARCADIA, Calif.— Juddmonte’s homebred Idiomatic ($5.60) outdueled Randomized in a stretch-long battle to prevail by a half-length and win the 40th running of the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) for fillies and mares Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita.
Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, the winner completed the 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:50.57. It is the 10th Breeders’ Cup victory for Cox and the eighth for Geroux with the two combining to win the Distaff in 2018 and 2020 with Monomoy Girl.
Randomized set the pace, but was hounded by Idiomatic who raced just off her flank. On the far turn, Geroux sent Idiomatic after the Randomized and the two fillies hit the top of the stretch together.
The two exchanged the lead through the lane as Clairiere attempted to slip between the two and Desert Dawn closed in four-wide. But the top two kept going to claim the win and place spots as Le Da Vida (CHI) rallied to get third by a nose over Clairiere with Desert Dawn fifth.
Idiomatic is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Curlin out of the First Defence mare Lockdown. The victory was worth $1,040,000 and increased Idiomatic’s earnings to $2,456,840 with a record of 12-9-1-2 and three consecutive Grade 1 victories.
Stakes Quotes:
Winning trainer Brad Cox, Idiomatic – “I felt like she needed to get a good, clean trip. She did. She broke well. Randomized was the speed of the speed. She needed to lay close, not let her get away. They both fought on very well. That big stride came in during the last sixteenth of a mile. She was set up close to that hot pace. I’m very proud of the effort.”
On Wet Paint. “I did see Clairiere accelerating and she kind of left Wet Paint a bit. That obviously made us a little concerned that she wouldn’t be finishing up quite as well as we were going to need.”
Winning jockey Florent Geroux, Idiomatic – “It worked out great. She broke super sharp. It was a question if I was going to give up the lead or not. I decided it was the smart thing to do. I just followed Jose (Ortiz) on Randomized around there. It didn’t feel like we were going that fast, but when I came back and looked at the time, it was a little bit scary seeing 22 for the opening quarter. But they slowed it down a little bit the second quarter. I’m glad the wire came. My filly was getting a little tired at the end to be honest.”
Third-place trainer Ignacio Correas, La Da Vida (CHI) – “I’m pleased. I still don’t know what she’s going to do the day she switches leads, but I’m thrilled to run against this bunch of fillies that way. She ran a great race and got a great ride from Vince (Cheminaud), so we are happy. One day she’ll get it.”
Third-place jockey Vincent Cheminaud, La Da Vida (CHI) – “She has a big heart. Last time (in the Spinster) she ran really well even though she was too close to the lead. It was not an easy race today but she gave me a good effort today. I am very happy.”
Fourth-place trainer Steve Asmussen, Clairiere – “Honestly it’s very frustrating to get as close as she has the last three years in a row and knowing she’s going home. Beyond frustrating, but she’s a tremendous mare and I’m blessed to have a chance to train her. For her to show up in this and run that competitively three years in a row, you want so much for her to be the champion and I came up short.”
Fourth-place jockey Joel Rosario, Clairiere – (Did she flatten out a little bit late?) “Yeah, a little bit. I had to ride her the whole time. With the track today, you had to engage them a little bit. It was a good pace for her. I just had to ride her the whole time. She ran her race. It’s a little hard sometimes when you have to come from behind. (The stretch drive) was fine. I got bottled up a little bit. She lost a little momentum.”
Fifth-place trainer Phil D’Amato, Desert Dawn – “She ran a great race. She ran a really good race. I thought for a second in mid-stretch that we could get there, but she’s a filly who likes to get more in the clear and she was kind of bunched up in there. She was probably beat a length and a half for it all. She definitely proved she belongs.”
Fifth-place jockey Hector Berrios, Desert Dawn – “She put in a good effort. We could not beat the winner but happy that she ran well down the stretch.”
