Splendora roars and rages. (Jenny Doyle/Beyond the Wire)
Classic Saturday: PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1)
Release of the Breeders Cup
DEL MAR, California – From Talla Racing Splendor ($7.80) roared past her favorite Hope Road stablemate at the top of the stretch and pulled away for a 4 ¾ length victory over Vahva to win the 19th running of the $1 million PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), kicking off nine World Championship races Saturday afternoon in Del Mar.
Splendora, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Flavien Prat, completed 7 furlongs on the fast main track in 1:21.79. It is the twentieth World Championship victory for Baffert and the second of this race and it is the eighth victory in the Breeders’ Cup for Prat.
Haulin Ice led a three-horse battle for the lead over an opening quarter mile of :22.12 before Hope Road took over exiting the backstretch. Hope Road had the advantage around the bend, but Prat launched a wide bid for Splendora, putting them on equal footing at the start of the track.
Hope Road offered no resistance as Splendora surged past to secure their first win in the rankings.
The win was worth $520,000 and increased her earnings to $860,800 with a record of 10-5-4-0. Splendora is a 4-year-old Maryland-bred daughter of Audible out of the Frost Giant mare Miss Freeze.
Quotes:
Winning and third place trainer Bob Baffert (Splendora and Hope Road) – “She’s been working really well and she loves this track. I said to (Flavien) Prat, when she ran here this summer, going six furlongs, she ran an incredible race and was just off the pace. When he shot out (today) and she took off, it was over. Hope Road, she ran great. I thought she was going to be a little bit off the pace. These races are so hard to win.”
Winning jockey Flavien Prat (Splendora) – “To be honest, I was a bit worried that we might lack speed because of all the scratches, but the pace was reasonable and I was able to travel well.
I really felt like I was getting around well the entire trip and once I was able to get around everyone, she just let me run well.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux (Vahva) – second place “She ran great. She chased the speed, let them run away from her and came up with a really nice run. Really proud. The winner had just put the jump on her, but she also ran a huge race.”
Are you sentimental because this is her last start: “Yes. She has been really good. When you win a lot of grass races, it is only natural to associate yourself with that. But she is really the first real dirt horse that has been a great asset for me as a trainer.”
Second place jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Vahva) – “Nice run. The winner got the jump on me, but she ran her race. I’ll give her a chance. Last year she didn’t look so good here. I think I tried to be too close to her, but today I sat on her and she made her run, so I’m happy with her.”
Third place jockey Jose Ortiz (Hope Road) – “It was great. I put her in a good spot early. The first quarter I was very happy, but in the second quarter I knew there was a little bit of outside pressure. If I could change that, I would, but you know, the winner looked pretty good today.”
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