The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships actually start to come back into focus in summer time and fall. This common function will provide a snapshot profile of one of many earlier weekend’s standout stars, normally a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Problem Collection winner, and whether or not I’m shopping for or promoting their probabilities to win Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar.
This week we take a more in-depth have a look at Scottish Lassie, winner of the $400,000 Frizette Stakes Oct. 5 held in the course of the Belmont on the Huge A meet at Aqueduct, which earned the McKinzie filly a assured spot within the $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies by way of the “Win and You’re In” Problem Collection.
Accomplishments: It took a leap of religion for the house owners of Scottish Lassie to enter the 2-year-old filly within the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes after she completed a well-beaten third in her profession debut Sept. 1 at Saratoga Race Course. However they got here away from that race inspired by her first begin and, when requested concerning the resolution to enter her in one of the vital essential stakes within the nation for 2-year-old fillies, Steve Weston of co-owner Parkland Thoroughbreds stated they felt prefer it was the most suitable choice.
“All of us agreed that if we had gained that [first] race, what would we’ve got performed? Go to the Frizette. OK, so, let’s faux we gained and go to the Frizette,” Weston stated. “If we don’t win, then we will return and win a maiden at any time. We have now nothing to lose and all the things to achieve.”
Scottish Lassie rewarded their resolution to roll the cube with a runaway nine-length romp in her second begin, punching her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
“The way in which she ran immediately, she may compete with some other 2-year-old within the nation,” Weston stated of Scottish Lassie, who the possession group bought for $85,000 earlier this yr on the OBS March 2-year-olds in coaching sale.
Racing a one-turn mile, Scottish Lassie stalked the tempo by means of a half-mile in :46.20 and turned a half-length deficit right into a nine-length margin of victory with a remaining quarter-mile in :24.93. She coated the ultimate eighth of a mile in :12.59 to finish the race in 1:36.73, roughly a fifth of a second slower than males ran the identical distance a race later when Chancer McPatrick gained the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes in 1:36.51.
The Frizette victory gave coach Jorge Abreu, a former assistant to prime coach Chad Brown, his first profession graded stakes win. Abreu completed second in final yr’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with Jody’s Satisfaction and third along with his solely different Breeders’ Cup starter, Stellar Agent within the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“It means lots, particularly with this filly,” Abreu informed Day by day Racing Kind. “I purchased her, I educated her, I picked the races. Steve Weston [head of Parkland Thoroughbreds] is considered one of my essential shoppers. And it’s not a Grade 2 or Grade 3, it’s a Grade 1.”
Pace Figures: Scottish Lassie improved 21 factors from a 74 Equibase Pace Determine for her debut to a 95 for the Frizette Stakes win. Her 90 Beyer Pace Determine for the Frizette was a 24-point improve from her debut.
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner over the past 10 years earned between an 86 and a 112 for the win, though Songbird’s 112 in 2015 was 11 factors higher than the subsequent greatest successful determine. The common successful Equibase Pace Determine for the Juvenile Fillies from 2014 to 2023 has been 96.7. The successful Beyer Pace Determine for the Juvenile Fillies over the past 10 years has ranged from a 78 to a 99, with a median of 86.4.
Scottish Lassie’s 95 Equibase Pace Determine and 90 Beyer Pace Determine imply if she repeats her Frizette effort Nov. 1 at Del Mar or improves barely, she is a significant win candidate.
Trying Forward: Scottish Lassie is from the primary crop of McKinzie, a a number of Grade 1 winner with tactical pace and the flexibility to hold it a distance of floor. Trying again on McKinzie’s victories within the Pennsylvania Derby and Whitney Stakes, I see plenty of him in Scottish Lassie.
It’s honest to be skeptical of the standard of the Frizette subject after 3-5 morning-line favourite Senza Parole and two others had been scratched, however there isn’t a denying Scottish Lassie ran a quick race that in a few years can be ok to win the Juvenile Fillies. The Breeders’ Cup will probably be her first attempt navigating two turns within the 1 1/16-mile race, however I count on she’ll deal with that check and be a legit win contender Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
