LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the first Breeders’ Cup race run during prime time, trainer Bill Mott’s 4-year-old filly Unrivaled Belle — who upset Rachel Alexandra over this track in the La Troienne last April — circled the field with a bold move on the far turn under Kent Desormeaux, drew clear in mid-stretch and held off the late run of 3-2 choice Blind Luck to win the 1-mile Ladies’ Classic under the lights by two lengths.
Blind Luck, the nation’s top 3-year-old filly, was the fifth losing favorite of the six races on day one of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, run before a bone-chilled crowd of 41,614.
Life At Ten, the second betting choice in the field of 11, trailed all the way. Before the race, jockey John Velazquez warned that something was amiss.
“At the last minute, something went wrong,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “She was abnormally quiet in the paddock. Either it was an allergic reaction or she cramped up. Clearly, she should not have run.”
MARATHON
: Eldaafer, trained by Diane Alvarado, rallied to win the 1¾-mile Marathon by 1¾ lengths under Velazquez, but most of the action came after the race when a wild-eyed Calvin Borel went after fellow jockey Javier Castellano for causing interference on the far turn.
Castellano, riding Prince Will I Am, swung off the rail and sideswiped Romp, forcing him out into Borel’s mount, A.U. Miner. Borel lunged at Castellano after they dismounted, screaming, “You [bleep], I’ll kill you!” It took several men several minutes to restrain him.
Prince Will I Am finished second, but was disqualified to 10th.
JUVENILE FILLIES TURF
: More Than Real, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, rallied turning for home under Garrett Gomez to win the mile turf race by two lengths over even-money favorite Winter Memories, who was squeezed in traffic at the top of the stretch. Her rider, Jose Lezcano, claimed foul, but the result stood.
FILLY & MARE SPRINT
: The 5-year-old mare Dubai Majesty, a horse-for-the-course at Churchill Downs, burst away from the pack at the top of the stretch to win the 1~-mile turf race by 2 1/4 lengths, giving both trainer Bret Calhoun and jockey Jamie Theriot their first Breeders’ Cup victories.
JUVENILE FILLIES
: Awesome Feather, the only winning favorite on the day at 4-1, wore down R Heat Lightning through the stretch to win the mile-and-sixteenth race by 2 1/4 lengths under Jeffrey Sanchez, who had never ridden in the Breeders’ Cup before. Undefeated in six starts, the Florida-bred clinched the 2-year-old filly championship.
FILLY & MARE TURF
: On a day marked by upsets, the biggest came in this international field going 1~ miles on turf when America’s Shared Account, a 46-1 shot ridden by Edgar Prado, held off England’s Midday, favored at 4-5 to win this race for the second straight year, by a neck in a long battle through the final furlong.
