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A Look Back at the 2011 Breeders’ Cup
11/11/11

The 2011 Breeders’ Cup is in the books and so are its heroes, which turned out to be mostly human rather than equine. Trainer Aidan O’Brien stood out among these heroes having logged two victories to put an end to his Breeders’ Cup curse.

St Nicholas Abbey won the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf for trainer Aidan O'Brien
© Racehorse Photos

St Nicholas Abbey

Trainer Bill Mott was right up there with the best of them too, after all he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic as well as the Ladies’ Classic.

Mike Smith has definitely earned a more than honorable mention a well: he proved all his critics wrong in the Classic, gaining revenge not only over these apparent haters but over his ex-girlfriend as well.

Friday’s first race was a treat for favorite-backers. Secret Circle came through in the Juvenile Sprint, locking up the 4th win for Trainer Bob Baffert. The race was run over 6 furlongs and Secret Circle won by a length ahead of Shumoos and Holdin Bullets.

Stephanie’s Kitten, the daughter of Kitten’s Joy was the winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She was a 6-1 shot and enjoyed solid backing from owner Kenneth Ramsey. The favorite of the race was the 5-2 Elusive Kate, who came in second. Stopshoppingmaria and Sweet Cat also placed.

The Filly and Mare Sprit went to surprise winner Musical Romance, who came in ahead of Switch and Her Smile. Musical Romance’s (20-1) win was quite a surprise indeed. The win was trainer William Kaplan and jockey Juan Leyva’s first too. Turbulent Descent was the favorite in this one but she bombed completely due to a 90 day layoff and a troubled trip.

The favorite did come through in the Juvenile Fillies race, keeping within tradition. Miss Aurelia was the one who came home in 1st, well ahead of Grace Hall and Weemissfrankie.

The Filly and Mare Turf recorded yet another surprise winner. The 27-1 Perfect Shirl took down this one after favorite Stacelita gave up and came home second to last.

The day’s highlight was the $2 million Ladies Classic though, in which Royal Delta put in a memorable performance. Bill Mott’s filly won in a convincing manner by more than two lengths over It’s Tricky.

Saturday would begin with yet another surprise winner: Afleet Again at 41-1 blew away the punters by charging to the top.

The Dirt Mile went to Caleb’s Posse, who put the rest of the field to shame, together with lukewarm favorite Wilburn. Caleb’s posse finished a mighty three and a half lengths ahead of Shackleford. Tres Borrachos finished in 3rd place.

The Breeders’ Cup classic was quite an open affair featuring an extremely solid field. Flat Out was the favorite at 3-1, but the win went to the 15-1 Drosselmeyer who came from behind to rob Game On Dude of the victory by a neck. The win gave sweet vindication to jockey Mike Smith who caught a lot of flak after his ride on Zenyatta last year. Chantal Sutherland, Smith’s ex girlfriend rode Game On Dude, so the win carried additional significance for Smith.

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