Many of the biggest American names showed up at the Breeders’ Cup. White Abarrio, Idiomatic, Cody’s Wish, Elite Power, Goodnight Olive and Fierceness all came through with their best in winning performances.
I’d be lying, however, if I said they impressed me as much as the Europeans. Auguste Rodin and Master of the Seas were scintillating, but it was Inspiral who was the star of the stars at the Breeders’ Cup.
If you want to see what we mean by the phrase “turn of foot,” just watch the daughter of Frankel inhale the field in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. In winning the $2 million race, she effectively redefined the racing term.
Horses simply don’t come from ninth at the stretch call to win 1 1/4-mile races, and if somehow they do, it’s because of a total pace collapse.
Inspiral didn’t have the benefit of any such pace collapse. In fact, it was fellow European star Warm Heart who had gotten the trip and the jump on the eventual winner.
The multiple Group 1 winning 3-year-old from the powerhouse yard of Aiden O’Brien never should have lost this race, but somehow, she was denied.
While legendary rider Frankie Dettori was busy doing his joyous leap in the winner’s circle for a 15th time at the Breeders’ Cup, I was left to try to find as many replays of the stretch run of the Filly & Mare Turf as I could. Inspiral was that good.
That she won this race was no surprise. She already was a champion in Europe and came into her first trip to America in tip-top form for trainer John Gosden. She looked a picture of health and athleticism in the post parade and went off a slight favorite over In Italian and Warm Heart.
Still, this is a filly who had never run farther than a mile. Moving up in distance a full quarter-mile in such an important race at this point in her career is no easy feat. The last horse I remember doing it this well was her superstar sire, Frankel.
Then you had the race situation. Covered up for much of the race, Dettori had to tip his mount off the rail in the stretch to let her accelerate down the Santa Anita lane. She did it beautifully, but knowing how fast the leaders were sprinting home after moderate middle fractions, her task seemed all but hopeless.
Instead, the response by Inspiral was immediate, explosive and ultimately decisive. Seemingly shot out of a cannon after 9 1/2 furlongs already had been run, the champion filly flew home and into Breeders’ Cup lore.
The winning margin was a neck, and the final time was 1:59.06, but the real story of this race was watching the winner burst to the finish line.
Bred and owned by Cheveley Park Stud, Inspiral was bred in England and is out of the Selkirk mare Starscope. Saturday’s victory was her ninth in 13 career starts. Now a winner of better than $3.6 million, the Filly & Mare Turf was her sixth overall win in Group/Grade 1 competition and her third in a row.
She is trained by John Gosden. For the 72-year-old Englishman, Inspiral was his sixth Breeders’ Cup winner. He already was well known on this side of the pond for training the superstar mare Enable in recent years and Royal Heroine decades before that. This current champion female now can be compared to his very best.
The best news of all is that her connections announced that they will keep her in training next year. Gosden said the 2024 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar would be in the plans if she is doing well this time next year.
Having marveled at European mares such as Miesque and Goldikova and what they did in U.S visits in multiple years during the Breeders’ Cup era, I am already eagerly looking forward to seeing Inspiral come back next year at 5.
Use whatever adjective you like, Inspiral was all of it in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The daughter of the great Frankel was utterly breathtaking.