There could be some serious global travel decisions to be made for the connections of Saturday’s L’Ormarins Gr1 King’s Plate winner One Stripe and the eyecatching Cartier Gr1 Paddock Stakes victress, Double Grand Slam.
The winner of the 1600m L’Ormarins King’s Plate gains an automatic berth into the $2 million FanDuel Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, while the Paddock Stakes star receives complimentary entry into the $2 million Maker’s Mark Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.
Star 3yo One Stripe (Gavin Lerena) charges to victory (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
There was plenty of debate and doubt that the Varsfontein Stud-bred Double Grand Slam would actually see out the 1800m trip but she did so in style.
However the Del Mar Grade 1 to which she is invited is run over 2200m. So that may be the dealbreaker.
Now in its 19th season, the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races, the winners of which receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held from 31 October to 1 November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California.
As a part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders’ Cup pays the pre-entry and entry fees for the winners of Saturday’s races to start in the World Championships. Breeders’ Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the Championships.
The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup programme by the pre-entry deadline of 20 October to receive the rewards.
The 2024 L’Ormarins King’s Plate winner Charles Dickens was retired to his birthplace Drakenstein Stud, while 2024 Paddock Stakes heroine Beach Bomb, who won as a 3yo, took up the Breeders’ Cup invitation.
Trainer Graham Motion at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday – now a familiar face to SA racing fans (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
She was saddled by Graham Motion, who also had star sprinter Isivunguvungu in his care. Both acquitted themselves well, with Beach Bomb beaten 3,50 lengths into 8th. Motion attended the L’Ormarins King’s Plate meeting on Saturday.
Interestingly all of the races at the Breeders’ Cup are weighted on the northern hemisphere weight-for-age scale.
On the South African weight for age scale Beach Bomb was actually 1kg under sufferance in the Gr1 Breeders Cup Filly And Mare Turf considering four-year-olds in South Africa still get 1kg over the 2200m trip of the BC Filly And Mare Turf in the month of November, whereas she got no age allowance at all.
Her European and American four-year-old counterparts, who are all officially seven months older than her, would not get any age allowance on that same scale, it being the eleventh month of their four-year-old career.
November is the fourth month in the SA racing season and in the UK horses do not receive any weight for age allowance over one mile and three furlongs in the fourth month of their racing season i.e April.
It is believed that consideration of hemisphere differences in weight for age allowances could soon be brought to the table for discussion amongst BC organisers.
