Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf Notes

Dar Re Mi – see Turf

Dynaforce – The daughter of Dynaformer will be making her second consecutive start in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, having finished a troubled seventh last year over the Santa Anita grass course.

The 6yo mare, owned by Dr. John Chandler and trained by Bill Mott, had an unpublished work last Tuesday at Belmont Park, going 1:05 4/5 on a sloppy training track under exercise rider and assistant trainer Leanna Willford.

“It was a real messy day,” Willford said. “She walked the next day and was fine.”

Dynaforce was a distant sixth in the Flower Bowl on soft turf at Belmont in her last start on Oct. 3, nearly two months after upsetting the field in the Beverly D. at Arlington Park in August.

Regular rider Kent Desormeaux will be aboard.

Forever Together – The defending Filly & Mare Turf champion Forever Together arrived at Santa Anita Monday morning following a four-hour flight from Louisville.

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard reported that Forever Together had worked in company with stablemate and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint contender Informed Decision at Keeneland on Sunday.

The workouts, clocked in 1:00 for five furlongs by their trainer, were unpublished due to the absence of track clockers.

Sheppard is one trainer who is ecstatic about the back-to-back runnings of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita and is confident that Forever Together will return in the same top form she brought to the Filly & Mare Turf last year.

“I’m looking forward to it, but it’s going to be a very tough race with a lot of tough horses in it,” the Hall of Fame trainer said from Louisville before boarding a plane for Southern California.

Forever Together has won two of five races this year, including the Diana at Saratoga.

“I feel she was compromised by the trips in a couple of her races and she didn’t run her best race on the soft ground in her last race at Keeneland (First Lady on Oct. 10),” Sheppard said.

Julien Leparoux will be aboard the 5yo daughter of Belong to Me once again for her Filly & Mare title defense.

Magical Fantasy – The stretch-running daughter of Diesis is on a major roll with four straight graded stakes wins and walked the Paddy Gallagher shedrow for a second day Monday following a 5f work Saturday on the Santa Anita turf course accomplished in 1:00 4/5.

“She’ll go back to the track tomorrow and gallop up to the race,” the affable Irish conditioner noted. “She seems happy in herself. She’s doing very well.”

The millionaire ($1,039,231) 4yo filly began her career in England, running five times overseas as a 2yo. She was subsequently shipped to Gallagher in Southern California and has run a dozen times in the U.S., being handled by Alex Solis on each of those occasions.

Solis will be aboard again on Friday in the 10-furlong race.

Maram – Trainer Chad Brown recalled the highlight of his young career before sending Maram to the track for her morning gallop Monday at Santa Anita, the location of her upset victory in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“It meant a lot. I worked here for Bobby (Frankel) in the past and to come back here and win a race like that, at a place where I was just learning years ago, it was special,” the 32-year-old native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., said. “I always liked Santa Anita.”

Maram, who was undefeated in three starts as a juvenile, didn’t make her first start this year until Aug. 8 at Saratoga, where she won an overnight stakes at Saratoga.

“She had some setbacks earlier in the year. It just took some patience to get her through all of that,” Brown said. “They were just minor setbacks that added up to needing some time.”

Maram returned at Belmont on Oct. 12 and suffered her first defeat, finishing third in the Pebbles Stakes after a slow start and wide trip.

“She had a lot of trouble trip-wise. It wasn’t what I was looking for, but that’s racing. I’ve been on the other end of some good trips, so that’s what happens,” Brown said. “Hopefully she got something good out of the race, more importantly, that we can build off of.”

Jose Lezcano will have the return mount aboard Maram.

Midday – The Juddmonte Farms homebred 3yo filly visited the turf course at Santa Anita Monday morning shortly after clearing quarantine.

Midday, winner of the Nassau Stakes on August 1 at Goodwood, arrived at Santa Anita on Saturday afternoon after a flight from Europe. She is trained by Henry Cecil.

Pure Clan – The Flower Bowl Invitational winner arrived at Santa Anita on Monday morning following a flight from Kentucky.

Trainer Bob Holthus reports that she will go to the track on Tuesday and gallop up to the race after completing her final major preparations at her home track on Sunday morning, breezing an easy 3f in 37 3/5 at Churchill Downs.

“It was a nice easy work,” Holthus said. “She was just galloping. She’s been doing great since the Flower Bowl.”

With regular rider Julien Leparoux opting to stay aboard defending champion Forever Together, jockey Garrett Gomez has picked up the mount on Pure Clan.

Rainbow View – see Ladies Classic

Rutherienne – The Christophe Clement-trained Rutherienne, somewhat of a longshot in the Filly & Mare Turf, arrived in Southern California last Friday.

“It’s ambitious, it’s the Breeders’ Cup, but she hasn’t run too many bad races in her life and I think she’ll stay a mile and a quarter over that turf course because it’s downhill,” Clement said.

Rutherienne, who has won 11 of 22 career races, will team up with jockey Alan Garcia in the Filly & Mare Turf.

Visit – The 4yo filly Visit galloped about 1 1/4m on Cushion Track under exercise rider Marco Briones at Hollywood Park Monday and will be shipped to Santa Anita Tuesday, according to Humberto Ascanio, chief assistant to trainer Bobby Frankel.

The Juddmonte Farms homebred finished fourth in the Filly & Mare Turf last year, beaten by 1 1/2 lengths in her United States debut. She is winless in seven starts this season, but has finished a close second twice to Magical Fantasy, most recently in the Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 10.

“Visit has been real unlucky, and the filly that beat her in the last race is a real good filly,” Ascanio said of Magical Fantasy, who has won four straight turf stakes on the Southern California circuit.

Visit worked 4f Friday at Hollywood Park in 48. John Velazquez will ride the filly for the first time in Fridays Filly & Mare Turf.