Now that she is home safe, and as befits the season, Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel has begun her campaign for the division title. "I worried about her," said Frankel, failing to hold back tears. "She's going home safely. I wanted her to win and go out on top. I said months ago that this was going to be her last race. The Juddmonte people questioned me about it, but I told them I wanted this to be it. We made Javier (Castellano) go look at all of her races at Belmont, and he saw one race she was sitting a little bit off the lead and opened up and won by 11. So, I wanted him to know that he didn't have to be five in front with her. If you handicap the race, you know the other horses can't go faster, anyway. Nobody wanted the lead.
"This is definitely the best mare I've trained on dirt. The Eclipse Award is up to the voters. She beat Azeri by 11 lengths and Azeri beat her by a length and a half. I know Azeri is the darling of everybody, but this is a great filly. The pace scenario made her win easily. I was a little concerned because it looked like he was pulling her up at the sixteenth-pole. I thought this would be the best way for her to go out. This was a big purse -- $750,000 - she ran three weeks ago, and if she were going to run in the Breeders' Cup, it would only be another three week to that. "When they first sent her into the barn, before she ever ran, I used to show her to people because she is such a big, monster mare. She didn't let me down. She's very sweet. I might send her to the farm next week."
The good vibes created by Sightseek were also felt by Castellano, who was grateful to ride her in her final race. "Bobby Frankel made me feel so special --he gave me the opportunity to ride the filly," Castellano said. "He made me feel confident. I know this is probably her last race. I wanted her to win. I really appreciate Bobby Frankel. It went perfect. I never really let her run. This is her last race, and I didn't want to kill her."
With Sightseek out, there will be many shooters in the $2 million Nextel Breeders' Cup Distaff at nine furlongs at Lone Star Park, Texas on Saturday, October 30th. One of them will be the three-year-old Society Selection, who is in the more-than-capable hands of Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens.
"We did the best we could under the circumstances," Jerkens said. "We didn't want to change our filly's running style. He (Cornelio Velasquez) rode her fine. We want to go to the big race. The owners want to go. She always eats well. If she eats right, we'll leave on the 24th."
Former juvenile champion Storm Flag Flying ran third for trainer Shug McGaughey, who saddled three winners earlier in the day: Survivalist ($6.30) in the second; Strategy ($3.60) in the third and Settle Up ($5.40) in the fifth. "It wasn't her kind of race," McGaughey said of Storm Flag Flying. "She had to press and press and press. I thought she ran okay. We'll see how she comes back and talk the Breeders' Cup over. It will be a different kind of race. This could have been tough for her today, coming off two, two-turn races." Board Elligible and Nevermore completed the order of finish.