Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf

As easy as Meditate won the $920,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, it seems remarkable the striking charcoal black gray/roan filly nearly missed the opportunity.

Owned by longtime partners Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith along with Westerberg, Meditate had never been tested beyond seven furlongs, so the one-mile Juvenile Fillies Turf didn’t seem an obvious target.

“Speaking to Michael the last week or 10 days, we were thinking of bringing the filly called Never Ending Story, a filly that ran in France,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien, referring to a daughter Dubawi who placed in the about one-mile Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac Criterium des Pouliches. “Michael [Tabor] just thought that maybe this race would suit this filly better.

“We gave her every chance since Newmarket not to come here, but she kept passing all the tests,” O’Brien continued. “She was doing everything right.”

Another factor in bringing Meditate to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships is her dam, a winning daughter of Dalakhani, who won the 2003 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere and Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby — both at 1 1/2 miles. Such a strong stamina influence was beneficial to stretching out the speed Meditate has already shown through her sire No Nay Never. A son of Scat Daddy, No Nay Never won Darley Prix Morny at 2 going six furlongs. At 3, he won the 2014 Woodford Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select at 5 1/2 furlongs and was second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs.

“No Nay Never is a speed influence and we have the highest quality 2-year-olds by him this year, so want to see if they can stay farther than five, six, or seven [furlongs]. We were looking to find out if No Nay Never [runners] out of stamina mares will stay and we found out they can get the mile,” O’Brien said. “[Horses by No Nay Never] have great minds and good personalities and are very exciting horses, really. Seeing this filly do it over a mile even makes them more exciting.”—Eric Mitchell