Stephanie’s Kitten won the Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland in Kentucky on Saturday, holding off favored European raider Legatissimo to earn a second Breeders’ Cup win four years after her first.
The six-year-old mare, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Irad Ortiz, went from last in the early going, thundering through traffic to draw clear by 1 1/4 lengths.
“I found a hole to go through around the quarter pole and then when I asked her she just took off,” Ortiz said.
The win in the $2 million race over 1 3/16 miles on the turf course at Keeneland, which is hosting the Breeders’ Cup for the first time, brought Stephanie’s Kitten full circle in her last race — just a few miles from where she was foaled.
“She went out in a blaze of glory,” owner Ken Ramsey said. “We’re very proud of her.”
Legatissimo, trained in Ireland by David Wachman, arrived Stateside off Group One wins at Goodwood and the Curragh.
But Ryan Moore’s mount had too much ground to make up after stumbling badly out of the gate and settled for second ahead of French hope Queen’s Jewel, trained by Freddy Head and ridden by Maxime Guyon.
“She ran a good race, but she’s had a long season,” Wachman said. “I was pleased with her run. She met a good horse today. No excuses.”
The win for Stephanie’s Kitten comes four years after she won the 2011 Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
She’s the first Breeders’ Cup winner to earn a second victory more than two years later, having finished second in the Filly and Mare Turf last year at Santa Anita Park in California.