The Road to the 39th annual Breeders’ Cup World Championships rolls on as August kicks into high gear, with a new twist to the Challenge Series schedule resulting from the closure of one of North America’s iconic racetracks.
Arlington International Racecourse held its last meet during summer 2021 in the north Chicago suburbs, winding its historical run down in front of sorrowful spectators after its sale by parent company Churchill Downs Inc. to the Chicago Bears as the site of a planned NFL stadium and entertainment complex. The track’s signature raceday, usually held in mid-August, was showcased for one final time last Aug. 14, highlighted by the Arlington Million Stakes (renamed in 2021 as the Mr. D Stakes in honor of Arlington’s owner Richard Duchossois, who died in January 2022) and the Beverly D. Stakes.
In a somewhat surprising development, Churchill Downs Inc. announced earlier this year that both the Arlington Million and Beverly D. would be transferred to the parent track in Louisville, Ky., to be held under the Twin Spires Aug. 13. So, this Saturday two of the most prestigious turf races in the sport will once again be front and center on the calendar, albeit with some adjustments (two other turf graded stakes formerly held at Arlington and originally scheduled to transfer will not be run this year as Churchill Downs continues to nourish and groom its new grass course).
The $500,000, Grade 1 Beverly D. is a “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series qualifier for the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf Nov. 5 at Keeneland. The $1 million, Grade 1 Arlington Million is not a Challenge Series race this year but has a long and rich history of sending its top runners on to succeed at the World Championships, mainly in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Another major turf race and Challenge Series qualifier is also set for Saturday, and it has proven to be a very influential prep in its own right. The $500,000, Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga Race Course offers an expenses-paid berth to the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Nov. 5.
The Fourstardave will be televised on the NYRA show “Saratoga Live,” shown on FS2 and FS1. The Arlington Million and Beverly D. also will air on “Saratoga Live” as bonus coverage for Aug. 13.
There is one other Breeders’ Cup qualifier is on tap for the weekend, held on Sunday, Aug. 14 overseas at Deauville Racecourse in France. The Group 1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois is also a “Win and You’re In” race for the FanDuel Mile.
Here’s some background on the Fourstardave, Beverly D., Arlington Million, and other important races this weekend:
Fourstardave Handicap
The one-mile Fourstardave was added to the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series Presented by America’s Best Racing in 2019. First run in 1985 as the Daryl’s Joy Stakes, it was renamed in 1996 after its two-time winner (1990-’91), known as “The Sultan of Saratoga.” The Fourstardave is one of the highlights of Saratoga’s summer race meet, and it’s also been a very influential race on the Breeders’ Cup starting back in 1985, the second year of the World Championships. Mourjane finished third in the Turf at Aqueduct and went on to win the Daryl’s Joy in ’86.
In 1989, Steinlen won the Daryl’s Joy Stakes two starts prior to a victory in the Arlington Million (see below); he tallied a win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile that fall and won the Eclipse Award as champion turf male. And in 1993, the sensational Lure romped by three lengths in the Daryl’s Joy two starts before scoring a repeat win in the Mile. Posting two Breeders’ Cup wins and more than $2.5 million in earnings, the Shug McGaughey-trained Lure was voted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2013.
Three years later, another horse scored the Fourstardave-Breeders’ Cup Mile double – the hard-knocking Da Hoss. That Michael Dickinson-trained gelding defined courage after his ’96 Mile win as he was sidelined for nearly two years before coming back and improbably winning another Breeders’ Cup Mile in 1998.
Jump ahead to the mid-2000s and champion and eventual Kentucky Derby-winning sire Leroidesanimaux won the Fourstardave in 2005 and finished second to Artie Schiller in that year’s Mile. And 9-10 years ago, the Fourstardave was an integral part of two Horse of the Year campaigns for the ever-popular Wise Dan. Mort Fink’s gelding scored back-to-back wins in the Fourstardave and in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in both 2012 and 2013. During a span from October 2011 until his retirement in 2015, Wise Dan won 17 of 19 starts and was second twice by margins of a head and 1 ¼ lengths, and he was undefeated on turf – truly one of the most impressive peak-form runs by a racehorse this century.
The Fourstardave-Mile linkage remained strong during the second half of the 2010s. In 2016 and 2017, a pair of top-class turf milers won both races: Tourist and World Approval, respectively. Live Oak Plantation’s World Approval was honored at the Eclipse Awards as 2017 champion turf male for his campaign.
In 2019, the Mark Casse-trained filly Got Stormy provided one of the summer’s highlights when she won the Fourstardave one week after winning a listed stakes for fillies and mares at Saratoga. Got Stormy would go on to finish second in the Mile that fall at Santa Anita Park and come back to finish second in the 2020 Fourstardave. Got Stormy then, incredibly, came back to win the Fourstardave again in 2021, scoring a 12.50-1 upset. The popular racemare finished up her career with a solid fifth-place run in the 2021 FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF.
Beverly D. Stakes
The Beverly D. was first run in 1987 and was held at 1 3/16 miles from 1988 until its finale at Arlington; it will be held at 1 1/8 miles at Churchill this year. Like the Arlington Million (see below), the Beverly D. was not run in 1998 and 1999, and 1999 at Gulfstream Park marked the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Several accomplished fillies and mares won the Beverly D. during the 1990s, but only one made a big impression on the Breeders’ Cup: world traveler Hatoof. That English One Thousand Guineas winner won the 1994 Beverly D., defeating Hall of Famer Flawlessly, and ran a good second to Tikkanen in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs, the final race in a career that saw her win graded/group stakes on four continents.
Through the 2000s, many Beverly D. starters went on to run in the Filly and Mare Turf, with the best showing coming from Film Maker, who was second in both races in 2006. Marketing Mix repeated that runner-up double in 2012. And in 2013, a European invader broke through to take both events. Dank made her first domestic start in the Beverly D. and was sent off at 3.20-1 odds, which seemed like manna from the heavens to her backers after she romped home by 4 ¼ lengths. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained filly did not start again until the Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita, where she scored by a half-length as the 3-2 favorite. Dank only made two starts in the U.S. in 2013, but those two were good enough to earn her the Eclipse Award as champion turf female. She finished fourth in the 2014 Filly and Mare Turf.
In 2015, Watsdachances and Stephanie’s Kitten were elevated to first and second, respectively, in the Beverly D. after Secret Gesture was disqualified to third after drifting out late. Watsdachances went on to finish sixth in the Filly and Mare Turf, but Stephanie’s Kitten won the race at Keeneland to cap off a $4.2 million-earning career that may place her in the Hall of Fame in the years to come.
The 2017 Beverly D. winner, Dacita, ran a solid fourth in the Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar and then sold for $1.85 million days later at the Fasig-Tipton auction in Kentucky as a broodmare prospect. And in 2018, the Beverly D. was part of a 4-year-old filly’s championship season that also gave fans much to enjoy in 2019.
Sistercharlie, already a dual Grade 1 winner in the U.S. by August 2018, unleashed her patented late kick to win by a half-length at Arlington, and then was rested for 2 1/2 months by trainer Chad Brown before returning in the Maker’s Mark Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs. The Irish-bred thrilled fans under the Twin Spires with another closing rally, this time nipping European invader Wild Illusion by a neck. Sistercharlie was an easy pick by Eclipse Award voters for 2018 champion turf female, and owner Peter Brant brought his mare back for her 5-year season in 2019.
After winning the Diana Stakes at Saratoga for the second straight year, Sistercharlie shipped to greater Chicago and easily repeated in the Beverly D., besting British invader Awesometank by three lengths. She then won the Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont Park in September and was heavily favored at 4-5 odds to repeat in the Maker’s Mark Filly and Mare Turf held at Santa Anita. Sistercharlie rallied late in the Filly and Mare Turf but had to settle for third; she would race three more times without winning in 2020 (including a sixth-place effort in the Filly and Mare Turf) but still further embellished what are arguably Racing Hall of Fame credentials. Both the Beverly D. and the Arlington Million were not held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and last year’s Beverly D. winner, Coolmore-owned Santa Barbara, tragically died in September before she had a chance to shine at the Breeders’ Cup.
Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois
The Jacques Le Marois, held at 1,600 meters (about one mile) on turf, was added to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2010. The race has a rich history however, and has been intertwined with the World Championships from the very beginning, as 1984 Jacques Le Marois winner Lear Fan – later an influential sire – shipped to California and finished seventh in the inaugural Breeder’s Cup Mile at Hollywood Park.
In 1987 and 1988, the Hall of Famer Miesque, one of the best turf horses of any era, won the Jacques Le Marois and the Breeders’ Cup Mile for jockey Freddie Head and owners the Niarchos Family. Her Breeders’ Cup wins came at Hollywood Park (1987) and Churchill Downs (1988) by a combined 7 ¼ lengths, and she received the Eclipse Award as champion turf female both years.
Spinning World also scored the Jacques Le Marois-Breeders’ Cup Mile double in 1997 (winning the French race in 1996 as well), and Six Perfections did the same in 2003. The regally bred Banks Hill is another notable past winner; she captured the Jacques Le Marois in her 4-year-old season of 2002, a year after winning the third edition of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf the year before.
Another Hall of Famer, Goldikova, won the 2009 Jacques Le Marois during the second season of her amazing three-year run of Breeders’ Cup Mile wins. She was trained by the aforementioned Breeders’ Cup Mile-winning jockey Freddie Head. Goldikova came up just short in her bid for a fourth straight Mile win in 2011, finishing third at Churchill Downs in an all-time thriller won by 64.80-1 longshot Court Vision.
Since Goldikova’s final Breeders’ Cup appearance, the best finish by a Jacques Le Marois winner in the Mile came in 2012, when Excelebration finished fourth. Circus Maximus, third in the 2020 Jacques Le Marois, finished second in a thrilling Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland, losing to longshot stablemate Order of Australia by a neck.
Other weekend races:
The Arlington Million Stakes has been a cornerstone of American racing since its inaugural running due to its record-breaking seven-figure purse and its first winner, future Hall of Famer John Henry (who also won the 1984 Million). John Henry did not race in the debut Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1984, and the first Million winner to make an impact in the Breeders’ Cup was 1986 winner Estrapade, who finished third in that fall’s Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park. Manila, winner of the 1986 Turf and that year’s Eclipse Award winner as champion turf male, scored in the 1987 Arlington Million, which would prove to be his final race as he was retired days after the race after suffering an injury. The son of Lyphard won 10 out of his final 11 races, and Theatrical, the horse who ran second to him in the 1986 Turf and third in the ’87 Million, would go on to win the ’87 Turf and the Eclipse Award. Manila was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.
As noted above, Steinlen won the 1989 Arlington Million as part of a sensational campaign that netted him the Eclipse Award as champion turf male at year’s end. He was actually shortened up two starts later for his Breeders’ Cup appearance, and took the Mile by three-quarters of a length at Gulfstream Park.
With Approval, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1989, finished second in both the 1990 Arlington Million and the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Two years later, a similar event occurred, as three-time Canadian champion Sky Classic took runner-up honors in the Million and Breeders’ Cup Turf, losing by a head and a nose, respectively. Nonetheless, Sam-Son Farm’s Sky Classic received the Eclipse Award as champion turf male in 1992. Champion Paradise Creek, winner of the 1994 Million, took third in that year’s Turf (and finished second in the 1992 Breeders’ Cup Mile).
There was little crossover between the Million and Breeders’ Cup Turf for the next several years, and the Arlington Million was not held in 1998 and 1999. In 2003, two horses from the Arlington Million – first-place finisher Storming Home and winner Sulamani – were sent off as the two post-time favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at 2-1 and 3.10-1, respectively. They exited the Million having escaped disaster, when Storming Home ducked out sharply at the finish line and unseated rider Gary Stevens in a horrific finish that resulted in Storming Home’s disqualification. Both Sulamani and Storming Home won their next races after the Million in Grade 1 stakes, but finished fifth and seventh at Santa Anita in arguably the most exciting race in Breeders’ Cup history: the dead-heat finish between High Chaparral and Johar.
In 2004, eventual champion turf male Kitten’s Joy finished runner-up to Better Talk Now in the Breeders’ Cup Turf as the 7-10 favorite, and the next summer Kitten’s Joy ran second to Powerscourt at 9-10 odds in the 2005 Million, which was his final race before going on to a successful stud career that ended with his death this summer (Powerscourt had finished first in the 2004 Million but was disqualified).
Gio Ponti, a cinch future Hall of Famer, was a regular presence both at Arlington Park and the World Championships during the the 21st Century’s first decade. The three-time champion made his first start in the Million a winning one in 2009, scoring by 1 ¼ lengths. He would go on to finish second to superstar Zenyatta in the ’09 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. In 2010, Gio Ponti returned to Arlington but could not withstand European invader Debussy’s late push and finished second in the Million by a half-length. That autumn, he would again settle for second behind a superstar, this time to Goldikova in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. In 2011, Gio Ponti returned to contest the same two races again. He finished second to Cape Blanco in the Arlington Million over a rain-saturated turf course, and then fourth in the Mile behind Court Vision, Turallure, and Goldikova in the thriller at Churchill Downs mentioned above.
Finally, in 2012 a horse achieved the Arlington Million-Breeders’ Cup Turf double. Little Mike was a hard-knocking gelding who only knew one way to win – take the lead early and see how far he could go. He entered the Arlington Million in career-best form, having won the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and finishing a good third in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile. He made his first start at 1 ¼ miles in the Million and, under a skillful ride from Ramon Dominguez, managed to carry his speed farther than ever before to win by 1 ½ lengths. Little Mike then faded badly in his next start, the 1 ½-mile Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational, defeated by 28 ½ lengths. That made his subsequent presence in the 1 ½-mile Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita a curiosity to many bettors, but Little Mike, again with Dominguez aboard and coming from slightly off the pace for a change, rewarded his faithful fans at odds of 17.30-1 with a half-length win over Point of Entry.
Magician, winner of the 2013 Turf, finished second in an upset to Hardest Core in the 2014 Million, while The Pizza Man and Big Blue Kitten, first and second in the 2015 Million, finished fifth and third, respectively, in a tough Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf that fall at Keeneland. In 2017, Beach Patrol won the Arlington Million with an eye-catching rush through the stretch after tracking just off the early pace. The Chad Brown trainee then took the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont before contesting the Longines Turf, where he fashioned another pace-stalking trip and took the lead briefly in the lane, only to finish a half-length short of European invader Talismanic in a valiant effort.
Three years ago, a second horse achieved the Arlington Million-Breeders’ Cup Turf double, both races serving as key achievements in a Horse of the Year campaign. Always highly regarded, the Chad Brown-trained Bricks and Mortar had returned after more than a year away from racing due to injuries in December of 2018 and reeled off five consecutive wins during the next nine months prior to the Million, including three Grade 1 stakes. He made it six in a row with a late-running half-length score at Arlington. By the time Breeders’ Cup weekend arrived at Santa Anita, several horse racing scribes were touting Bricks and Mortar as a Horse of the Year candidate in a year that lacked a standout 3-year-old and older male dirt horse. Bricks and Mortar concluded his career with a seventh consecutive win in the Longines Turf, edging longshot United by a head after another furious rally, and indeed was voted Horse of the Year for 2019 (along with champion turf male) at the Eclipse ceremony two months later.
As noted above, the Arlington Million was not held in 2020, and last year’s upset winner Two Emmys did not run in the Breeders’ Cup. The race will be shortened from its traditional 1 ¼ miles to 1 1/8 miles for its first running at Churchill this Saturday.
Among other graded stakes this weekend, back at Saratoga, several winners of Saturday’s Saratoga Special Stakes for 2-year-olds have gone on to run well in recent editions of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, including Union Rags, who was second to Hansen in 2011. (Favorite Trick won both races in 1997 and was voted Horse of the Year as a juvenile.)
Another race this weekend with some Breeders’ Cup crossover is the Yellow Ribbon Handicap at Del Mar, a turf race for fillies and mares. The superbly-bred Intercontinental won the Yellow Ribbon in 2005 (then known as the Palomar Handicap) for Bobby Frankel before defeating Ouija Board and several other top-class females in that fall’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Belmont Park. And the 2017 Yellow Ribbon winner, Cambodia, finished a good third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar before coming back to win the Yellow Ribbon again in 2018.
Also at Del Mar, the six-furlong Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies served as the coming-out party for Champagne Room in 2016, as the Peter Eurton-trained filly broke her maiden in the Grade 2 stakes, making her second career start. Three races later, Champagne Room scored a 33.60-1 upset win in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. She received the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly of 2016. The Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-old males, the companion race to the Sorrento, served as the coming-out party for eventual 2009 champion juvenile male Lookin At Lucky, second in that fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and in 2015 another future juvenile champion took the Best Pal road to the Breeders’ Cup, when Nyquist took the Grade 2 stakes as the second of eight consecutive wins to begin his career, including the Juvenile and the 2016 Kentucky Derby. Last year’s Best Pal winner, Pappacap, ran second behind Corniche in the TVG Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
Lastly, the 6 ½-furlong Bold Venture Stakes at Woodbine has been won by several Canadian-based Sovereign Award-winning sprinters through the years, often multiple times by the best of the best. One of those champions, Fatal Bullet, won his first of back-to-back Bold Ventures in 2008, prior to running second behind Midnight Lute in the ’08 Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
