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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Spain moved swiftly up the rail to catch tiring pacesetter Surfside and deny 2-5 favorite
Riboletta her seventh straight triumph in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, which kicked off today's eight Championship races at Churchill
Downs.
|  | | Espinoza, a leading rider at Hollwood Park and Del Mar, helped Spain become the fifth
3-year-old filly to take the Distaff. |
In was only the second Breeders' Cup mount for jockey Victor Espinoza -- he was eighth aboard Kirkwall in the Breeders' Cup
Mile last year -- but he posted the biggest upset in Distaff history returning $113.80 for a two-dollar bet.
Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, who extended his record to 16 Breeders' Cup wins, including four in the Distaff, Spain came from
off the pace to catch Surfside, also trained by Lukas, and hit the wire in 1:47 3/5. Surfside was jockeyed by Pat Day, who is the
leading Breeders' Cup jockey with 11 wins. Heritage of Gold, under Shane Sellers, was up for third.
Last year's Distaff champ Beautiful Pleasure finished sixth while Riboletta was a non-factor in seventh. The previous biggest
payoff in Distaff history was $96.20 by One Dreamer in 1994.
Espinoza, a leading rider at Hollwood Park and Del Mar, helped Spain become the fifth 3-year-old filly to take the Distaff.
The Thunder Gulch colt has won just 3-of-10 races coming in, including the Turfway Park Breeders' Cup in September.
Riboletta saw her six-race winning streak snapped. The 5-year-old Brazilian-bred mare has enjoyed such a dominating campaign
that an upset in the Breeders' Cup Classic might have opened the door for Riboletta to pick up Horse of the Year honors.
Last year, 1-2 favorite Silverbulletday faded to a sixth-place finish. Riboletta has not been out of the winnner's circle since a show
effort in the Miss America Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on April 9.
This year's Breeders Cup Championship drew a record 135 entrants and every race was over-subscribed with the exception of the
Distaff, which is another testament to Riboletta's strong 2000 performance. With only nine starters, the Distaff had at least four
fewer horses than the other seven events.
Beautiful Pleasure was one of the favorites for the 1997 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Hollywood Park, but finished a
non-threatening 10th behind winner Countess Diana before stunning Silverbulletday last year.
The Distaff normally sports the smallest field of the Breeders Cup events. The only time the Distaff field maxed out was in 1992.
In the previous 16 Cups, the Distaff has averaged only 8.8 starters. | |
ALSO SEE
Distaff results
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