Brad Cox bolsters Breeders’ Cup hopes with big victory on Keeneland’s opening day
It looks like Brad Cox has another star filly in the making.
Juju’s Map took over in the final turn of the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland on Friday and decisively won the $400,000 race, earning a spot in next month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.
It was the second consecutive victory for the 2-year-old daughter of Liam’s Map after a win in a maiden race at Ellis Park last month. In a race that looked like it would be heavy with early speed, Juju’s Map broke from the rail as the 2-1 favorite and settled into second a few lengths off of Runup, then made her move midway through the final turn under jockey Florent Geroux to take over the lead, which she never relinquished. She won the 1 1/16-mile race by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:43.52.
Distinctlypossible finished second, and Sequist was third.
“She’s very talented to start with, but today it was tricky because there were a couple other speed horses,” Geroux said. “From the one hole, you have to use speed to your advantage, to make sure they don’t cross over and slow it down too fast. So I just wanted to break ahead so if they wanted the lead they would have to work for it, and that’s what they did.
“I was able to ease her back in the first turn. From there she took a nice breather with me down the backside and from there I knew she was going to be pretty tough. Turning for home I saw (Matareya) coming up and she’s pretty talented too, but when I asked her down the lane she gave me another gear, the kind of effort you want to see, and hopefully she’s going into the Breeders’ Cup in the right way.”
Matareya, the 5-2 second choice and Cox’s other entry in the race, was second in the stretch run but faded to a dead heat for fifth place.
Cox won this race two years ago with British Idiom, who went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, a double he will hope to repeat Nov. 5.
“She broke running, Florent put her in a good position, and she finished up well,” he said of Juju’s Map. “Very proud of the performance. As long as she comes out of it in good order, I think we’ll march toward California.”
Juju’s Map was a $300,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2020 for Albaugh Family Stables LLC.
Cox, a Louisville native, won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 2018 and 2020 with the recently retired Monomoy Girl. He also won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year with Essential Quality, who has been a dominant 3-year-old this summer and projects as a possible favorite in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic along with Knicks Go, another Cox trainee.
In all, Cox won four Breeders’ Cup races at Keeneland last year and has seven Breeders’ Cup victories since Monomoy Girl’s first win in 2018.
The official attendance for the opening day of the Fall Meet on Friday was 19,509.
Special Reserve holds strong
Special Reserve outbroke the rest of the field, settled just off long-shot pace-setter Quick Tempo and took over coming out of the turn to win the Grade 2, $250,000 Stoll Keenan Ogden Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland on Friday afternoon.
The victory for the son of Midshipman clinched a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6, and trainer Mike Maker said immediately after the race that Special Reserve would indeed be pointed to that race for his next start.
Claimed for $40,000 at Oaklawn Park in February, Special Reserve finished second in the Grade 2 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland on April 3, then came back to win a Grade 3 race on Preakness day at Pimlico six weeks later.
The 5-year-old gelding was coming off a runner-up finish to long-shot Lexitonian in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga on July 31. He now has five wins and two runner-up finishes in seven starts this year.
Joel Rosario was aboard Special Reserve, a 6-5 favorite who held on to beat a late-charging Aloha West by a quarter-length, running the 6-furlong race in 1:08.54. Mucho was another 2 ½ lengths back in third place.
Saturday at Keeneland
If Friday was the appetizer for this loaded opening weekend of the Fall Meet, it’s Saturday that will deliver the main course.
The 11-race card is set for a first post at 1 p.m. and will feature five graded stakes races, including four “Win and you’re in” races for next month’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.
The Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile will be the featured race of the day, with a 5:46 p.m. post time. Order of Australia, who won the Breeders’ Cup Mile at odds of 73-1 last fall at Keeneland, is the 7-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s race. Ivar (9-2) won the Keeneland Turf Mile last year and will return to defend that victory.
Kentucky Derby watchers will have an eye on the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, which features a field of 13 2-year-olds led by 4-1 morning-line favorite Double Thunder out of trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn.
The First Lady Stakes also features 13 contenders, with Althiqa looking to win her third American Grade 1 race in a row after running in Dubai and Europe earlier in her career. The striking gray filly is 7-2 in a loaded field with a starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on the line.
The card also includes the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes and the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America, the latter a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race for the Filly and Mare Sprint.
Meet the jockeys
The Saturday festivities also include a jockey autograph signing — scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon near the Keeneland paddock — that will feature active and former jockeys. Among those announced as participating are Kentucky Derby winners Pat Day, Jean Cruguet, Chris McCarron, Don Brumfield and Mike Manganello.
Items available for purchase include hats ($30), Keeneland posters ($20), jockey goggles ($15) and autograph books ($10), with all proceeds benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. Fans may also bring their own items to be signed at $5 per item (maximum of two items).
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 6:22 PM.
