Let's see. With Midnight Lute's second victory in the Sprint, all 6 of the established Breeders Cup races not named "Juvenile", obviously, have been won twice. One of those second victories came in a dead heat, but that makes High Chapparal's repeat no less noteworthy. One other repeat was marred by a sickening tragedy, and questions still whirl around about whether Bayakoa would have won her second Distaff that day, but dwelling on it isn't going to answer them. The record stands as is. Even the much younger F&M Turf has been taken twice, the second time in only its 8th running.....somebody forgot to give Ouija Board an acceptable timeline! LOL!
We've gotten a female jockey and a female trainer winning BC races out of the way, and we've seen a trainer win 4 of 8 BC races on one card. Not only was that historical when it happened, but it's awfully hard to imagine it ever happening again!
We've seen the first Breeders Cup run on a synthetic surface, and given the results, this may end up changing the face of racing, certainly in NA, in ways that we never even thought about.
This year, for the first time, we saw a winning horse trained by a Breeders Cup-winning jockey! And how appropriate was it that Freddie Head won the Mile on 3&4yo Miesque 2 years in a row, and comes back 10 years later as the trainer of Goldikova, winning that same Mile in a very Miesque-type style. Guess he knows a thing or two about fillies in the BC Mile, do ya think?
So what else is left? The only thing I can think of is a horse winning 2 BC races in different divisions. The valiant effort of Pleasant Tap is racalled here. He never came out on top, but running in 4 consecutive BC years is a feat unto itself, and to do it in 4 diffent divisions is more than eye-opening.....Juvenile, Sprint, Turf, Classic (not necessarily in order). Kind of makes you wonder what they were thinking, with a horse that can make it to the BC that often! Go Figure! The likliest scenario for this to happen is the Juvy races into the next year's classics, but who knows? The advent of synthetics could very well have something to say in this regard as well.
The other numbers....sires, breeders, owners, jockeys, number of appearances, etc., are ongoing, and historical significance kind of fades as the lead changes from one year to the next. The only sire stat that I will cling to until I find out I'm wrong is Street Cry getting 2 BC winners in his first crop. I need someone to tell me that's been done before.
I just have fun with this stuff....maybe nobody else cares, but for me........
As in Gaines. John Gaines. Well put Paseana. I'd say that Miesque was the the most prolific BC winner of all time. To win by open lengths on firm turf in California and off going at Churchill in back to back years coming from across the pond is remarkable. Others were awesome, but Miesque was dominant/brilliant.
