Soul of an Angel shocks in the Filly & Mare Sprint (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
DEL MAR, Calif.— C2 Racing Stable, Agave Racing Stable and Ken Reimer’s Soul of an Angel ($41.60) rallied from dead last to spring a 19-1 shocker by a half-length over Society to win the 18th running of the $1 million PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) to kick off the Saturday portion of the World Championships at Del Mar.
Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, Soul of an Angel completed the 7 furlongs over the fast main track in 1:21.59. The victory is the first in the World Championships for Joseph and the second for Van Dyke who won the 2018 Turf Sprint on Stormy Liberal.
Society and Pleasant dueled through early fractions of :21.94 and :44.22 as Soul of an Angel lagged far back. On the far turn with a wall of horses vying for the lead, Van Dyke took Soul of an Angel to the outside and hit the top of the stretch six wide.
With clear running, Soul of an Angel wore down the leaders to prevail by a half-length over Society, who finished a nose in front of Pleasant.
Soul of an Angel is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Atreides out of the The Factor mare Factor One. Sprinting for only the third time in 41 career starts, Soul of an Angel earned $520,000 for the victory and increased her earnings to $1,192,675.
Quotes:
Winning trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Soul of an Angel – “It’s a special moment to get our first Breeders’ Cup win, and for connections that have been so loyal to me, C2 Racing, Agavo racing. Just special. And for Drayden himself. Overall, the horse is the hero, and we’re just part of the process and enjoy the ride. All glory to God. I’m thankful and I’m blessed in that way, just to experience this.
“It’s something that I dgrew up as a kid, wanting to win a Breeders’ Cup race and to get it done it means a lot.
“Most definitely, it was a surreal moment, because it’s one of those races where you could enjoy it. She was coming. She was coming. It worked out that she was coming. It was like, ‘go with it, go with it’ and she did. She got there. It’s just a special moment.
“The first quarter, I knew that’s how she runs, but I thought she might be a little closer this time. Then I was a little concerned. Once they put up the first split I saw, she was into the bridle. It’s a surreal moment. I hope everybody can get to enjoy, every trainer in the world, because it is special. I’m thankful for it.”
Winning jockey Drayden Van Dyke, Soul of an Angel – “I feel amazing. I’m truly blessed and everything worked out. What Saffie did for me bringing me out there [to Gulfstream], it’s just fitting for me to get this win for him and all the connections. They were able to give me a big shot coming out [here].
“I just tried to keep her as close as I could. Keep in as close contact as I could. I knew when I tipped her out with the way she was traveling, I had a good chance to win it. She kicked on for me.
“It’s amazing. I’ve won two titles here, I’ve won seven [races] in one day here. This is my favorite place to be anywhere in the world. It’s amazing to do what I did here and get another Breeders’ Cup win.”
Trainer Steve Asmussen, second with Society – “She ran hard. Credit to the winner.”
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, second with Society – “I’m so proud of her. She put up a huge effort today. She battled the whole way, took the pressure and never gave it up. It’s a shame we weren’t able to get it done for her, but we didn’t lose anything in defeat today.
(On if he saw Soul of Angel) “I had the two on the inside I was worried about and then I had the one on the outside of me. I’ll just trying to get to wire first when I looked up, I seen the one on the outside.”
Trainer Bob Baffert, third with Pleasant — “She ran very well, I am proud of her. I knew the post would hurt her. From that post, we had to go, go go. I am fortunate that the owner (Juddmonte) let me take a shot at this and we almost pulled it off. We will keep her training for another year, so that is good.”
Jockey Juan Hernandez, third with Pleasant – “She broke really good and I know it was a faster time and faster pace, but it’s a sprint. She ran really good and showed up like a really nice filly. She was on the lead all the stretch and just got beat the last couple jumps. She ran huge, is a nice filly and she proved that she can be something good for hopefully the next race.”
