Imaginationthelady scoring the Jessamine to punch her BC ticket. (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
Juvenile Fillies Turf
Breeders’ Cup Closer Look
Trainer Brendan Walsh starts his 11th horse at the Breeders’ Cup and second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf when he leads over Jessamine (G2) winner Imaginationthelady for Mark Dobbin on Friday.
Already a winner of such races as the Kentucky Oaks, Arlington Million and Al Quoz Sprint, Irish native Walsh has won three Grade 1 wins in 2025, taking his Grade 1/Group 1 career total to 13—12 of those in North America and one in Dubai.
A winner on debut at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 4, Imaginationthelady is a daughter of red-hot sire Not This Time who sold for $300,000 at the 2024 Keeneland’s September Sale. She backed up that performance 29 days later at Keeneland, as mentioned, and goes into the World Championships undefeated. Frankie Dettori has the return call.
“She’s done nothing wrong, and I believe she will keep improving,” Walsh said. “I think she’s going to be a nicer filly next year than she is now, actually. She has speed and can be forward, which can help at Del Mar, for sure.
“Last time, Frankie did a great job on her in the Jessamine,” he continued. “He took her back where she was in between horses, and it seemed there was plenty of pace in there. He did a hell of a job educating her, because I don’t know how much she learned the first day when she broke her maiden at Kentucky Downs. He waited a while and I was like ‘are you going to move on her,’ but he just had so much confidence in her. He knew he had so much horse and was able to do that, which I thought was great.”
Imaginationthelady drew ideally in post 3 of 13 and was assigned morning-line odds of 10-1.
“I know there are some nice fillies in there and especially some good ones coming over from Europe, but to be fair to this filly, she’s got to be one of the more prominent Americans,” Walsh concluded. “We have only had her for four or five months, but she’s so straightforward and such a pro for a 2-year-old.”
Walsh was fifth in the 2023 Juvenile Fillies Turf with Austere.
