Juddmonte’s homebred champion mare Idiomatic returned to her winning ways at Keeneland Oct. 6, submitting an eye-catching 6 ½-length romp in the $600,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes as her final act before her title defense in the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar Nov. 2.

“She’s such an admirable mare,” said Juddmonte general manager Garrett O’Rourke of the victory that capped a banner day for the international operation as another homebred, Bluestocking, won the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.

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Hustled from her rail position by regular rider Florent Geroux, the front-running 5-year-old Curlin mare asserted herself through honest fractions of :23.53, :47.01, and 1:11.10. Geroux kept his mare relaxed on the far turn despite the advances of Candied and Loved at the 5/16^th pole.

“I was a little concerned, they were running at her,” trainer Brad Cox admitted after the race. “She kept her big stride going and once again was able to finish up. (Geroux has) rode her plenty of times and knows when to ask her.”

That moment came at the quarter pole when Geroux unleashed her power. Idiomatic drew away inside the final furlong to best her win margin in last year’s Spinster by 2 ¼ lengths. She also bested her final time by 0.78 seconds, completing 1 1/8 miles this year in 1:49.04.

Occult improved on her mid-pack position to finish second while Candied, the field’s lone 3-year-old, settled for third.

The impressive victory was a good sign for the champion mare after a trio of hard-fought battles in her past three starts, coming up a head short in Grade 1 company twice in that span.

“I think if those head losses were wins, she’d be in contention for Horse of the Year,” Cox said. “Overall, it’s been a good year. She’s still a multiple Grade 1 winner at the age of 5.”

The pair of head losses in the Ogden Phipps Stakes and Personal Ensign Stakes also kept her from earning an automatic berth to the Distaff, a problem now rectified by winning a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race in the Spinster.

Cox said Idiomatic will return to his Churchill Downs base and have a few maintenance works ahead of the Distaff, and will ship to Del Mar race week.

The Distaff will hold a highly anticipated matchup against expected champion 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna. Cox said he felt like Idiomatic has been lost in the shuffle by some due to Thorpedo Anna’s headline-catching season and that he looks forward to the matchup.

“(Thorpedo Anna) is very good, it should be an exciting race,” Cox said. “We’re in a good position going to the Breeders’ Cup off a win. Looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge.”

Idiomatic and Geroux repeat in the Spinster. (Eclipse Sportswire)

O’Rourke echoed Cox’s excitement about the matchup.

“I think (racing against Thorpedo Anna) will create a great amount of interest,” he said. “It’s more fun to the day, the fans, and it proves something of the work the horses are doing. It’s going to be exciting.”

The Distaff also gives Idiomatic a chance to avenge her Personal Ensign defeat to Raging Sea, who won the Beldame Stakes at Belmont at the Big A Sunday. Their results will likely determine the Eclipse Award for champion older dirt female.

Now a 12-time winner from 17 starts, never missing the board, Idiomatic has earned $3,944,190. After earning her fifth Grade 1 victory, O’Rourke took a moment to reflect on the naysayers she accumulated early on in her life when she was a “big, gangly backward-looking yearling.”

“She does have a championship-caliber pedigree, but she didn’t have the looks when she was young,” O’Rourke said. “Every time a rider got on her back they said, ‘Wow, this filly moves like a dream.’ She just kept doing it. It’s a tremendous satisfaction for a horse like that to prove all the experts who think they know where all the good horses come from. They can come from anywhere.”–Sean Collins

Minaret Station Rallies to Score Upset Win in Bourbon

Minaret Station closes with a rush. (Coady Media)

Minaret Station wrapped up the first weekend of the Keeneland fall meet by delivering a victory at a mouth-watering price in the $347,719 Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes Oct. 6. Rallying from the back of the pack, the colt weaved through the field in the stretch and kept on running to win by 1 ½ lengths at 38.44-1 odds.

The win in the Bourbon, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In event,” earns the improving son of Instilled Regard a fees-paid starting slot in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 1 at Del Mar. As he was only a maiden winner at Horseshoe Indianapolis prior to the Bourbon, Minaret Station gave his connections something to consider with his stirring stretch run.

“(Jockey) Cristian (Torres) navigated it beautifully and the horse exploded. He got it done,” said Will Walden, who netted his first Keeneland stakes win as a trainer.

Minaret Station runs for the colors of his breeder, OXO Equine. The operation raced the colt’s sire, Instilled Regard, to victories in the Manhattan Stakes, Fort Marcy Stakes, and Lecomte Stakes. Minaret Station is the first graded stakes winner for the freshman stallion who stands at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky.

OXO Equine had acquired Minaret Station’s dam, the Grade 2-winning turf mare Beau Recall, for $350,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Minaret Station and Torres raced well off the pace set by recent Kentucky Downs maiden winner Clock Tower, who held a one-length advantage through early splits of :22.29, :47.02, and 1:11.79. As the field turned for home, Golden Afternoon, second behind Clock Tower for most of the 1 1/16-mile journey, launched a bold bid at the pacesetter as Minaret Station began weaving his way past rivals with a quarter-mile to run. Angled out in deep stretch, Minaret Station kicked clear with an eye-catching turn of foot, hitting the wire in a final time of 1:42.28 on the firm turf course.

The colt’s backers were rewarded with a $78.88 payout for a $2 win wager.

“At the quarter pole when I tapped him on the shoulder to pick it up, he picked it up very nice,” said Torres. “I give a lot of credit to the horse. He was very professional today compared to his first two races, (when he was third at Ellis Park Aug. 5 and first at Horseshoe Indianapolis Sept. 6 in maiden special weight races). (Trainer) Will Walden did an unbelievable job with him.”

Golden Afternoon and Clock Tower completed the trifecta.–Molly Rollins