Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
I mean, people talk about this horse as if females are finishing second on the dirt in the BC Classic all the time. They just aren't. Heck, we had another top female a year later (Havre de Grace), really good mare, and she was up the track in the BC Classic. This isn't easy to do.
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Getting a bit hyperbolic here. "Up the track"? Havre de Grace was beaten all of 3 lengths when finishing 4th in the 2011 BC Classic. Fillies and mares have acquitted themselves quite well in the rare instances they attempted the Classic.
Triptych, a stout 4yo filly which pummeled males on a regular basis in Europe, was the first to try in the 1986 BC Classic. She split the field in her first dirt start, finishing 6th with a mild rally from far back.
The lightly raced 3yo filly Jolypha, a 1/2 sister to the great Dancing Brave, came over for the 1992 BC Classic and closed stoutly for 3rd, only beaten by subsequent HOY A.P. Indy and champion older horse Pleasant Tap.
Azeri, like Zenyatta a late bloomer that was coddled for the better part of her career, returned from a tendon injury and brief retirement as a 6yo to tackle males in the 2004 BC Classic. In a tailored merry-go-round, Azeri was unable to deal with either with an unpressured Ghostzapper or Roses In May, but the only other males to get the better of her were 2003 BC Classic winner Pleasantly Perfect and $4 million earner Perfect Drift.
Beholder, who had won the 2015 Pacific Classic by a pole, was set to start in the BC Classic, but was withdrawn due to respiratory problems. Considering the way that merry-go-round affair was conducted, in which Effinex sat second, stayed there, and suddenly became a Grade 1 horse overnight as a result, its not hard to imagine Beholder getting at least 2nd in that race.
2015 BC Turf winner Found, fresh off a victory in the 2016 Arc de Triumphe was pre-entered in the BC Classic, but opted for a repeat try in the Turf.
Given the recent spate of potential female starters this century as compared to the '80s and '90s, I would say it is only a matter of time before another top mare gets it done on a dirt surface.
