BC Juvenile Fillies (Grade 1)- $2,000.000 Purse
DMR- For Fillies Two Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
November 5, 2021

Part of all of the excitement on Friday will be the opportunity to see the best two year old fillies go at it in the BC Juvenile Fillies. It will provide some early bragging rights for the KYO, plenty of prestige, and a big $2,000.000 purse. Only once in the history of the game has the winner of this race gone on to win the KYO six months later. That would be The Reaper, winning this race in 2014 and only making three additional starts before appearing at CD for the KYO, taking that as well in a photo finish. Also a winner of this race is one of the most successful females that the game has seen, in La Terrifiant. The 2017 winner had a close call in the KYO in 2018, placing third, and has continued to have great success, mainly on the turf as of late. Other recent winners, Snow Peak and Relax, went on to win Horse Of The Year thanks to their incredible juvenile campaigns. Neither of them went on to have a long career of success, however. Both were trained by Mb Stables, and his three wins in the race are more than any other trainer. In fact, no other trainer has won the race more than once. We’ll have a full starting gate, so let’s take a look through the field!

#1- Lassitude (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by S Ryan)- Our first horse is a filly by Platoon that has one win in her five career starts. She broke her maiden at CD in May, and after one disappointing race, she stepped up and placed second in the Seeking The Ante before being one of several in here to run in the Grade 1 Frizette at BEL last month. For Lassitude, that resulted in a third place finish. S Ryan will be back in the saddle to try and take what he learned there and improve on it here.

#2- Lemrun (Fractious, ridden by D Davis)- She has been the subject to two private sales transactions already in her career, and would arrive with Fractious near the end of July, for $240.000. That was a month after she ran in the Debutante, and her record in Fractious silks might not see a win, but it sees two near misses. In the Grade 1 DMR Debutante, she lost the headbob at the wire to her stablemate Moment To Dream, and in the Grade 2 Chandelier, she was again second in a photo, this time to Kicks, who is at the opposite end of the starting gate. Maybe it’s time for her to return the favor on both of them.

#3- Demanding Commander (Hippyheart, ridden by R J Albarado)- This Twin Towers filly has won two of her first five starts. She broke her maiden at GG in May, and after a dud in the My Dear, she would start running a little longer and responded well by winning the Grade 1 Spinaway at beautiful SAR. Unfortunately, she did not carry any momentum off of that, and her no show in the Frizette, finishing 11th, has to be concerning here. Maybe she is just going to be one of those inconsistent types for her career. Her work at BEL before coming here does not make me feel any better.

#4- Moment To Dream (Fractious, ridden by G Saez)- Fractious spent quite a bit to bring this filly to his stable, giving $500.000 to La Canada Racehorses in July. At the time, it was about a week after she finished third in the Grade 3 Schuylerville, and was within a length of the win. Two starts later, on this very racetrack, she would edge out her stablemate, Lemrun, to win the DMR Debutante. Following that, she ran decently, but missed a pay day in finishing fifth in the Alcibiades. There are several here off of that race, as one would expect.

#5- Keno Queen (Mb Stables, ridden by Ru Gonzalez)- In his quest to win the BC Juvenile Fillies for the fourth time, Mb Stables will have three entries going to post. Keno Queen has won twice over her six career starts, taking her first two, which included the $150.000 Astoria. With one exception, she has remained consistent, and ran quite well in the Alcibiades last month, placing second in what was a 1-2-3 sweep for the trainer.

#6- Lailoni (Arindel, ridden by R M Hernandez)- This Soviet Warrior filly will make her sixth career start, and hope for her third career win. After running fifth in the Grade 1 Debutante, passing a few in the stretch, she was sent north of the border for the Shady Well Stakes, which she would win. Here, she will run a mile for the first time in her career, but since she handled seven pretty well here in September, that is not something that I would be concerned with. Wish she would have run in one of the graded races last month, though.

#7- Folded Wings (Jive Inc., ridden by L Saez)- Won on debut at PRX in April, and then got four months off. When we saw her again, it was right here for the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes, and she was good again, placing second. However, her finishing position has continued to double with each race, and that’s not exactly something you want. Ran eighth in the Grade 1 Frizette last month, but at the same time, that was also the only time she was not within a length of the winner at the end. Not the first choice in here, but not one to forget about, either.

#8- Grandest Lady (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by E Jaramillo)- The trainer still has himself a strong entry here for the BC Juvenile as Grandest Lady has won three of her first five starts, finding a lot of success while running in NY-bred stakes. In July, she won the $100.000 Stillwater at SAR, and for her last race, she won the $100.000 Lady Finger at FL. Now, those are not the same type of races that others here have come out of, but you have to like a horse that can win. First time running a mile, and her one start at seven furlongs was not her best. Works say that should not be an issue, however.

#9- Directors Chair (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- So far in her career, there has been very little that Directors Chair has done wrong, finishing either first or second in all four of her starts. Her biggest win came in September, taking the $200.000 Sorority Stakes at MTH. Off of that, she was sent to the Grade 1 Frizette, and she nearly came away with the win there as well. Instead, she would have to settle for second, only a quarter length behind Sensation. I like her effort there, and feel she is one of the top choices for the race.

#10- The Magic Box (Smokey Stover, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The breeding on this one is fantastic, being by Good Authority, but also out of Hopewell Tradition, who was just a few bucks shy of $1,000.000 in career earnings. The Magic Box has shown plenty of ability in her three starts, breaking her maiden here in August and then going on to win the Grade 3 Pocahontas at CD in her last start. Has a good chance here, but she is still an interesting one to watch going into her three year old season regardless of her finish here.

#11- Sensation (Mb Stables, ridden by A Cedillo)- Not only did Mb Stables complete the 1-2-3 sweep in the Alcibiades, he also won the Grade 1 Frizette with Sensation. This is another horse in the race with tremendous breeding, with the sire being Apples To Oranges, and out of a former BC Champion herself in Good Line. Sensation was a little slow to get going, needing four starts to break her maiden. After that, she placed in the Frizette six weeks later, which she won. If she beat several of these before, she can do it again. Seems to have taken a liking to a more midpack tactic in running her races, so that will be something to look for as well with her.

#12- In Amongst The Wreck (Jive Inc., ridden by D Moran)- The second of two runners for Jive Inc in this race, this is a filly that has managed one win in her five career starts. After needing to get the first race out of her system, she broke her maiden at CD, and would then be sent to SAR for two of the graded races that ran there. She cashed a check in each, placing fourth in the Schuylerville and then third in the Spinaway. Last month, her first time running at least a mile saw her only place sixth in the Alcibiades. Tough spot to break from, and will have to be at her best.

#13- Present Tense (Mb Stables, ridden by A Beschizza)- She was the big winner of the 1-2-3 sweep for the trainer in the Alcibiades, getting her fourth career win in six starts. She has also already been racking up the earnings, already over $500.000 thanks to winning two of the FL Sire Stakes races before the Alcibiades. Put forth a great work at SA before coming here, and you have to like her chances in this race, even with this starting spot.

#14- Kicks (Aer Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- The post draw may have had the trainer kicking in frustration, but he will still have a pretty good entry for this race. Kicks is one of two horses in this race to come out of the Grade 1 Chandelier at SA, and she would get the win by holding off Lemrun at the wire. In a way, those two are reversing post positions here, though this one is kicked out a few extra. That was the only time she had run more than four and a half furlongs, but the story with her is all about how she deals with this post.

Prediction: 9-10-13-11

— NS

Categories: BC 2021-2023, Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP