BC Distaff (Grade 1)- $2,000.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
November 5, 2022
The BC Distaff is the biggest race of the year for female horses, and on Saturday we will see two past winners of the race go head to head in what will be the 20th running of the stake. 2019 winner Z Command is still going strong, and 2021 winner Naples is ready to defend her title against twelve other very deserving fillies and mares. The first winner of the race was Poisonessmonster for Jerry Garcia Racing, and others who have crossed the finish line first include Halfbaked, Mrs Bombastic, and Wicked Heat. None of the past winners were able to do so on two occasions. The purse for this race has never changed over the twenty years it has been run here and that is actually very unusual amongst these BC races. Here’s a look at those looking to pick up the winner’s share of the purse and the glory of being called a BC champion, perhaps for the second time.
#1- Fashionable (Mb Stables, ridden by A Cedillo)- It has been a fantastic season for this five year old mare, and it started early when she won the Pegasus World Cup, shocking the boys en route to the win. She continued to run well after that, placing second in the La Troienne before getting another win in the Grade 1 Phipps. This run of consistency has helped her be just a little bit shy of $2,500.000 in earnings for the year. Her last two races are not quite as exciting, though she was third in the Grade 1 Spinster last month. I just wish she was closer than two lengths back in it. It’s her first BC appearance, and a win here would be a great way to cap off her season.
#2- Paris Broadway (Arindel, ridden by C J Hernandez)- One of six three year olds in this race, and they will get a two pound weight allowance over the rest of the field. Paris Broadway was picked up by Arindel in private sales for $185.000 in January, and she went on to win the Davis Stakes and the FG Oaks in her first two starts with the trainer. This sent her to the KYO, and while she did only finish sixth, she only a length behind the winner. She would not return to the winners circle until September, when she brought home the trophy in the Grade 3 Pine Stakes with a wire to wire effort.
#3- Laffy Crack (Night Rider Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- This six year old mare has made 36 career starts, and one of them was in the BC Distaff previously. In last year’s race, Laffy Crack ran in the middle of the field, placing sixth. This year, she has won twice in her six starts, with back to back wins over the summer highlighted by the Grade 1 Hirsch. That’s what helped bring her here, but she has had concerning stretches where she does not get it done and her last two starts makes me wonder if she is beginning one of those stretches again. There’s plenty of reason to pick her, but I won’t be.
#4- Miss Steel Mazula (Nakamura Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- We also saw this one in the BC Distaff last year but Miss Steel Mazula was able to pick up a piece of the purse. It was the fourth place cut, where she was beaten by a length. That followed a three race winning streak that included the Personal Ensign, and after the BC she went on to win the HOU Ladies Classic. Her other win this year came in May (in a dead heat) in the Grade 3 Allaire Distaff. Concerns, however, happen when looking at her last two races which include a much different effort in the Personal Ensign this time, and a flat showing in the Grade 3 Locust Grove.
#5- Karloffs Monster (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Davis)- In February, the three year old filly won the $150.000 Suncoast at TAM before her trainer decided to try her out against the boys for a little bit. Karloffs Monster handled that well, placing second in the TAM Derby and third in the AR Derby, before struggling in the KYO. After that, it was back to take on males again in the BEL, and that did not go well, either. Fortunately, she was much better a month later in the CCA Oaks at SAR, which she won. She also comes off a fourth place effort in the Cotillion, and looks like one of the better options here.
#6- Naples (Arindel, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Naples really did have a special 2021 season. It started well in preps, and then she would end up winning the KYO. The wins continued in the Alabama and the Cotillion before she won the biggest race of them all, the BC Distaff. It was always going to be hard for her to follow up that kind of season, but if you told me that she was not going to win a stake in 2022, I would have been surprised. But that’s her story, only one win, which was a $130.000 allowance right here three weeks ago. She does have a couple good runner ups lately, but based on current form, you would not see her as the one to beat. Though Naples has done it before, and that commands respect.
#7- Derby Connection (Mb Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- After Derby Connection proved that there is more quality at free tracks than they get credit for, prior trainer Two Hearts One Love was able to qualify her for the KYO, and then she was second there. Less then two weeks later, she was in the hands of Mb Stables, who spent $600.000 to bring her to his army of monsters. She’d be third in the Acorn before getting a big win a couple of months later at the Grade 1 Alabama at SAR. For some reason, she never fired in the Cotillion, which is very unusual for her because she had been so consistent. If she needed to get the dud out of the way, she did so. Now, she must bounce back from it in a big way.
#8- Pink Attack (The Sidley Stud, ridden by M Franco)- The Sidley Stud picked this filly up at the beginning of 2021 and mainly ran her in optional claimers for quite a while. Around this time last year, she proved she could be more than that, running second in the Maple Leaf Stakes. As a five year old, she has built on that further, with four wins in six starts. That stretch is highlighted by her most recent race, the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at SA. I don’t think Pink Attack has the name recognition like most of the horses in here have, but everyone would know who she is with a win here, and I don’t think it’s a reach for it to happen.
#9- Drink Me Pretty (Mb Stables, ridden by R M Hernandez)- For the third year in a row, Drink Me Pretty returns to the BC Distaff. In 2019, she ended up running second to Z Command, so could get a level of revenge on her in this race. Last year, she was not as good, so will be looking for better and there is every reason to believe that she will do so. Drink Me Pretty has won twice in her six starts this year, while being third on two other occasions. In August, she won the Personal Ensign outright, a year she placed in a dead heat with Miss Steel Mazula. She is a consistent horse, and even when she doesn’t hit the board she is never more than two lengths behind the winner. Seems like a good option here.
#10- Exactly (Smokey Stover, ridden by J C Ferrer)- We know move to the Smokey Stover portion of the starting gate, as the trainer’s three entries are all together. Exactly made a name for herself this May, when she became the most recent winner of the KYO. She got there by winning the Honeybee and running third in Fantasy, each at OP, proving to be a good $550.000 private sales purchase . While Exactly has not won since the KYO, with a little more luck at the wire, she could have two more wins, once of them potentially being the Alabama. It’s not uncommon for KYO winners to run very well in the BC Distaff, so Smokey hopes that trend continues.
#11- Z Command (Smokey Stover, ridden by J R Velazquez)- When Z Command is in a race, all you really need to do is say her name. She’s closing out her six year old campaign now, and over her impressive career she has fifteen wins in 41 starts, and that includes the 2019 BC Distaff that she won. 2022 will mark the fifth time that she runs in the BC, with the other finishes being third in the Juvenile Fillies and fifth in each of the 2020 and 2021 BC Distaff. Her 2022 season has three wins in seven starts, and six finishes in the money. Most recently, we saw her right here in the Grade 1 Spinster against a handful of these, and she picked up the win. Nothing about her suggests that she is showing signs of age, and she is a good bet to bring home her second BC Distaff win.
#12- Third Gear (Smokey Stover, ridden by L Saez)- It might not be fair for Third Gear to come right after her two stablemates, because each of them would seem to have done more in their careers. So, to suggest that this might be Smokey’s strongest entry would seem to be a little silly. But Third Gear makes a fantastic argument for that by winning four of her last five races. Smokey picked her up in private sales in late February for $125.000 and was under the radar a little bit before she ended up winning the Grade 2 Black Eyed Susan at PIM. It didn’t stop there, as she would also win the Bison City and the prestigious Cotillion in late September. She’ll enter the BC Distaff hot, well rested, and lightly raced in comparison to the others here. So, what may have sounded silly at the start might actually be the case. Third Gear may just be Smokey’s best horse here.
#13- Shes A Super Freak (YME Stable, ridden by Ru Silvera)- This will be the second BC race for this filly, as we also saw her in the 2020 Juvenile Fillies Turf. She never would do much turf racing, though. Her four year old campaign as been her best season to date, with three wins in seven starts, highlighted by the Grade 1 Beholder Mile in March. In July, she would also win the Grade 2 Shuvee, but her last two races are not as good looking. There’s no reason to think that she cannot bounce back, but I simply feel better about others in the field. Interesting to note that three of her last four have been when she started on the rail (the other win in that stretch was from post 2). Far from that here, obviously.
#14- Curlina (Arindel, ridden by T Gaffalione)- A month after winning the $150.000 Untapable, Curlina was sold by Fractious, to Arindel, for $450.000. Two starts later, she earned a win in a KYO prep, the Grade 2 Davona Dale to clinch her spot in that big race. However, the KYO did not go well for her, and neither would the Acorn afterwards. While she did recover by running third in the IA Oaks, Curlina again found it difficult against top flight opposition in the Alabama. She won the RP Oaks after, but none of the horses she runs against here were in that race. Up to this point, this filly really hasn’t proven herself against the upper echelon of the division. This post won’t help her cause here.
Prediction: 12-9-11-5
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP
