Emily Upjohn has been declared for both the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar. Trainer John Gosden is considering both races for the talented, 5-year-old daughter of Sea The Stars (IRE).
Gosden, who trains with his son Thady, scratched David Howden’s Running Lion from the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) on Wednesday.
Emily Upjohn, a dual Group 1 winner including last year’s Dahlbury Coronation Cup (G1), finished third in the Qatar Prix Vermeille (G1) on her latest start and has run some of her best races in defeat, including when finishing third in the Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks to Content, who has also been declared for both races at Del Mar, and also when finishing second in the Cairn Community Games Pretty Polly Stakes to Bluestocking , the subsequent Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, over 1m2f in June.
Gosden commented: “She ran very well, third in the Prix Vermeille the other day and obviously the winner won the Arc, so that’s rock-solid form and again, she was second to the same filly in Ireland in the Group 1, so she’s run very solidly.”
Gosden is considering both races at Del Mar on November 2nd: “We might look at the Turf on Monday – you’re allowed to double enter and when you double enter, you look at the races and see what you think so there’s a possibility. She’s run against the colts before, the starting stalls are at the beginning of the back stretch rather than the furlong, you’ve got more of a run down the back so that’s an advantage as well.”
“The draw is very important at Del Mar – if you start getting high draws, and double numbers, things start getting quite complicated.”
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.