 Distaff winner Spain gets a kiss from her owner Prince Ahmed bin Salman |
Dateline: 11/04/00
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The 2000 edition of the Breeders' Cup Distaff was supposed to be the
rubber match between the Brazilian-bred closer Riboletta and the
front-running defending champion Beautiful Pleasure. Riboletta had been
supplemented into the race for a whopping $400,000 and given her
performances in the Ruffian and the Beldame, was bet down to 2-5.
Beautiful Pleasure was the second choice in the wagering, at 5-1.
Historically the Distaff has been won by favorites, and given the odds,
the crowd expected history to repeat itself. They were in for a shock.
 First time past in the Distaff with Surfside on the lead. |
 Victor Espinoza starting his victory celebration as Spain draws off from Surfside for the win. |
The odds-on favorite Riboletta was in mid-pack early, was four wide
throughout, and finished a tired 7th, 3 1/4 lengths behind Beautiful
Pleasure.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 4 Spain Espinoza 113.80 36.80 18.40 6 Surfside Day 9.20 6.60 1 Heritage of Gold Sellers 9.20 Winning Time: 1:47.66 $2 Exacta 4-6 664.60 $2 Trifecta 4-6-1 6,405.20Results Chart from Equibase
Distaff winner Spain in the post parade. Jockey Victor Espinoza said: "She was very, very strong from the gate. At the half mile, I felt very confident. When I took the lead, I didn't want to go too soon. At the sixteenth pole, I said 'oh no, I'm too early and the finish line seems so far away.' This was only my second Breeders' Cup mount, so this is very exciting and very special for me."
Spain gets her flowers while her owner Prince Ahmed bin Salman looks on. He said: "I had great, great respect for everybody in the race and I would be tickled to death if I came in third. The filly will stay in training. If my horses enjoy racing, they continue racing. I chose this jockey. I read a lot and Espinoza was a 17th century philosopher, so this guy has a good pedigree."
Spain in the winner's circle. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said: "We're thrilled. They've both (Spain and Surfide) trained so well this week. All we wanted to do with them was cruise out there, and if they ran by us they ran by us. When I saw those two white bridles together at the front of the stretch I knew we were going to win."
The happy connections at the trophy presentation in the winners' circle.
Second place finisher Surfside headed for the paddock to be saddled. Jockey Pat Day said: "I was very pleased with her race. When the winner came to us, she offered some resistance, but she got a little tired. For the second race back after the Santa Anita Derby, I couldn't have been more pleased.
Third place finisher Heritage of Gold in the post parade. Trainer Tom Amoss said: "It's Breeders' Cup day. Welcome to Lukas' world. All week long I was looking for a hot pace, but when I saw a mile pace I knew it would compromise anyone's chances. I could see what was happening 100 yards out of the gate. Breaking from the one hole we were stuck in our position.
2-5 favorite Riboletta in the post parade. Jockey Chris McCarron said: "I don't know what happened, she's never been like this. She just didn't pull at all. I kept trying to get her to pull on me but she didn't and wouldn't respond at all. I don't know if it was the track or what." Trainer Eduardo Inda added, "The track was too hard, not like it's been
all week." (Both of us observed the track being
rolled hard on Friday morning and again on Saturday morning, with the
rollers weighted down with huge concrete blocks. The dirt was so
compacted, the "harrowing" tractors barely scratched the surface when
they came around between races.)
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All photos by Cindy Pierson and Terence Dulay. Logo courtesy of Breeders' Cup Limited.
