Juvenile Winners of Breeders' Cup 2021 - And An Unusual Juvenile Turf

 The juvenile entries in the Breeders' Cup races put on quite a show today - exciting, and near the end, disturbing.   There was a "marine haze" hanging over the Del Mar Racetrack, with temperatures in the low 60s (F) and a light breeze.  The main track was fast, the turf was firm.

  There were five Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-olds today, with guaranteed purses of $7 million. The three turf races were guaranteed at $1 million each, while the two races on the main track were guaranteed at $2 million each.

   I'll be describing each race - name of the race, guaranteed purse, distance, the number of entries, the complete order of finish, with how much purse money that horse won - and then I'll list the betting payouts, each based on a $2 bet.  If you wish to know the sexes and weight carried by each entry, you'll have to look at pervious blogs that give that information - there's one for the juvenile races today, and one for the 9 races tomorrow.

   Today's first race was the Juvenile Turf Sprint, with a purse of $1 million, covering 5 furlongs (5/8 mile).  The field was full with 12 fillies and colts - the girls carried 119 and the boys 122 pounds.  At the beginning of the race, the betting favorite was Averly Jane, at odds of 8 to 5.  Twilight Gleaming (IRE) won the race in 56.24 seconds, and winning $520,000.  He was a half-length in front of Go Bears Go (IRE) [$170,000], who was a half-length ahead of Kaufymaker [$90,000].  Derrynane [$50,000] was only a head behind Kaufymaker, finishing in fourth place.  Next in order of finish was Avery Jane [$30,000], Hierarchy (IRE) [$20,000], Vertiginous (IRE) [$10,000], Armor (GB) [$10,000], One Timer [$10,000], Twilight Jet (IRE) [$10,000], Time to Party and Run Curtis Run.  For a $2 bet, Twilight Gleaming paid $12.40 to win; Go Bears Go paid $10.60 to place; and Kaufymaker paid $11.20 to show.  In the $2 "exotic" bets, the exacta paid $125; the trifecta paid $1,689.40; and the superfecta paid $14,807.40.

Twilight Gleaming (IRE) winning the Juvenile Turf Sprint

   The Juvenile Fillies had a purse of $2 million, for a 8.5 furlong (1 1/16 mile) race on the main track.  Only 6 fillies were entered and each filly carried 122 pounds. Echo Zulu was the even money betting favorite at the start of the race.  Echo Zulu did not disappoint her fans, easily winning by 5 1/4 lengths in 1:42.24, and taking home $1,040,000.  Juju's Map was in second [$340,000], a half-length in front of Tarabi [$180,000], who was 7 3/4 lengths ahead of Hidden Connection [$100,000] in fourth.  Finishing out the field was Desert Dawn [$60,000], the first Arizona-bred to run in the Breeders' Cup, and Sequist [$40,000].  For a $2 bet, Echo Zulu paid $3.60 to win; Juju's Map paid $3.20 to place; and Tarabi paid $3.40 to show.  A $2 exacta paid $9.80; the trifecta paid $30.80; and the superfecta paid $70.60.

Echo Zulu winning the Juvenile Fillies

   There was a full field of 14 fillies in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, with a purse of $1 million, with all fillies assigned the weight of 122 pounds for the 8.5 furlong (1 1/16 mile) course.  Koala Princess was the betting favorite at 7 to 2 odds as the girls entered the gate.  There was a blanket finish, with Pizza Bianca, a home-bred owned by chef Bobby Flay, hitting the finish line at the 1:36.08 mark.  This was her trainer's, Christophe Clement, forty-first entry in the Breeders' Cup without a win - but she "did him proud," and won $520,000.  A half-length behind Pizza Bianca was Malavath (IRE) [$170,000], who was a neck ahead of Haughty [$90,000], who finished a head in front of fourth-placed Cachet (IRE) [$50,000].  Hello You (IRE) [$30,000] was fifth, followed by Consumer Spending [$20,000], Koala Princess [$10,000], Helen's Well (IRE) [$10,000], Cairo Memories [$10,000], Mise En Scene (GB) [$10,000], California Angel, Bubble Rock, Sail By, and Turnerloose.  A $2 win ticket paid $21.00 on Pizza Bianca; a Malavath (IRE) place paid $19; and  a show on Haughty paid $5.  A $2 excata paid $396; a trifecta paid $3,512.40; and a superfecta paid $41,852.

Pizza Bianca winning the Juvenile Fillies Turf

  The early betting favorite, Jack Christopher, in the Juvenile was scratched yesterday, due to a skin infection.  That left 12 colts to contest the $2 million race, covering 8.5 furlongs (1 1/16 miles) on the main track.  Each colt carried 122 pounds.  As the colts entered the starting gate, Corniche was the betting favorite at odds of 8 to 5, with jockey Mike Smith in the irons.  And Corniche delivered, zipping out of the farthest stall and making his way to the rail - and staying in the lead throughout the race.  Finishing in 1:42.50, and leading by 1 3/4 lengths, Corniche brought home a paycheck of $1,040,000.  Pappacap [$340,000] was in second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Giant Game [$180,000], who was another 2 1/2 lengths before Commandperformance [$100,000].  Oviatt Clear [$50,000] was in fifth, followed by Pinehurst [$20,000], American Sanctuary [$20,000], Double Thunder [$20,000], Barossa [$20,000], Jasper Great [$20,000], and Tough to Tame.  A $2 win bet on Corniche paid $4.80; Pappacap paid $9 to place; and Giant Game paid $7.60 to show.  The $2 exacta paid $50.20; the trifecta paid $1.077.40, and the superfecta paid $5,244.20.

Corniche winning the Juvenile

   The Juvenile Turf was the last Breeders' Cup race of the day; the purse was $1 million for a 1 mile race on the turf.  A full field of 14 was scheduled start, all assigned 122 pounds.  The betting favorite before the race was Modern Games (IRE), a handsome chestnut colt trained by Charlie Appleby, and owned by Godolphin.  His stablemate, a handsome chestnut gelding named Albahr (GB) is trained by the same man and also owned by Godolphin.  They had drawn the 1 and 2 post positions, with Modern Games (IRE) in the number one starting gate stall.  Albahr (GB) wore a hood that protected his ears and deadened sound while in the paddock; it was removed while the colts were warming up after the post parade.  It was known that Albahr (GB) did not like the gate; he was blindfolded and a hood was placed over that to load him into the gate. After he was loaded, jockey Frankie Detorri got back into the saddle.  When half of the field was loaded, the hood and blindfold was removed from Albahr (GB) - he shifted, then reared, hooking both forelegs over the top of the front starting gate and then he started twisting.  It looked like the starting assistant, inside the gate, with the horse and jockey, grabbed Detorri's silks and threw him backwards out of the rear of the starting gate.  Then Albahr (GB) flipped over onto his back and squirmed around on the grass, trapping himself under the front and rear gate.  All stalls were immediately empties from the rear - except #1, Modern Games (IRE), the stablemate.  For some reason, the front of his starting gate stall was opened.  And as the starting assistant stepped down out of the gate, the holding strap slipped from Modern Games's bit, and he started to run down the track.  Luckily, his jockey stopped him after two or three strides - had him crow-hopping sideways to make him stop running...  

   Meanwhile, they opened the rear gate and allowed Albahr (GB) to clamber to his feet.  Aa extra starting gate halter quickly replaced the colt's bridle, and several veterinarian's checked the colt.  All that could be seen were "a few superficial cuts" on his legs.  He was immediately scratched because he had been on the ground.  He appeared to be walking without impediment when returning to the barn.

   With all the horses out of the starting gate, all jockeys dismounted.  One vet had already called the Breeders' Cup booth and said that since Modern Games (IRE) had gone out of the front of his starting gate, that he was scratched too.  A click of a computer button immediately scratched the 1 horse as an entry, and invalidated all bets placed on him before the race.  -  But several of the vets disagreed with the decision that Modern Games (IRE) needed to be scratched.  Stable hands and an assistant trainer for Charley Appleby went onto the track to assess the colt.  After deciding that the colt "looked good" the stewards at Del Mar and the Breeders' Cup people had to pull out the law books and decide what to do.

   It was decided to allow Modern Games (IRE) to run in the race, and be eligible for any amount of monies he earned, depending upon his finishing place in the field of 13 (now) - but  bets would NOT be allowed to be placed on him because the previous bets had been erased, and the race needed to be run as soon as possible because of the on-going delays already happening.  This was announced to the public, and the jockeys were re-mounted and loaded into the gate.  At the actual start of the race, the betting favorite was then Dakota Gold.

   Modern Games (IRE) won the race by 1 1/2 lengths, and earned $520,000 in 1:34.72; his jockey, William Buick, and trainer said they'd never seen anything like it - and hoped they wouldn't ever see it happen again.   (The win, place and show bets, plus the exotics, went to the colts who finished in the second through fifth places.)  Tiz the Bomb [$170,000] finished in second a neck in front of Mackinnon [$90,000], who was a head in front of Grafton Street [$50,000].  The fifth place finisher was Dakota Gold [$30,000], followed by Slipstream [$20,000], Stolen Base [$10,000], Portfolio Company [$10,000], Coinage [$10,000], Dubawi Legend (IRE) [$10,000], Great, Max (IRE), Glounthaune (IRE)  and Credibility.  With Modern Games (IRE) out of the betting pool, the payouts were as follows: for a $2 win ticket on Tiz the Bomb to win, you received $17.60; a place bet on Mackinnon paid $6.60; and a show bet on Grafton Street paid $9.40.  The exacta paid $93.60; the trifecta paid $1,917.40; and the superfecta paid $10,029.80.

Modern Games (IRE) wins the Juvenile Turf