Executiveprivilege remained undefeated in five starts after a
convincing win in the Chandelier Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita. After a slight
stumble at the start she quickly took the lead and steadily drew away to her
biggest win margin of six and a quarter lengths. The final time of 1:44-1 earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 84
for Executiveprivilege.
Horse Racing Nation’s “Undefeated
Watch” lists only 3 American horses that have a longer unbeatable streak than
Executiveprivilege, with Awesome Feather and My Miss Aurelia being two of
them. Her last four wins have come
in stakes races in California earning very consistent BSFs ranging from 84 to
88.
After Executiveprivilege’s
win in the Chandelier, trainer Bob Baffert described her performance and looked forward to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “She
just gets it done, but now she’ll have to step it up again because Todd
Pletcher has a really good filly (Dreaming of Julia). It’s going to be a
great Breeders’ Cup.”
Prior to the renaming of
the major stakes races at Santa Anita this year, the Chandelier was known as
the Oak Leaf. Executiveprivilege’s win was the eighth time that Bob Baffert has
won the Chandelier/Oak Leaf. His eight wins include four consecutive winners
from 1997 to 2000, and leaves him one behind D. Wayne Lukas’s record of nine. Six out of seven of Baffert’s
prior winners did start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, but none of them
have won the race.
Baffert does have two wins
in the BC Juvenile Fillies with Indian Blessing in 2007 and Silverbulletday in 1998. He has had a total of 18 starters in the race.
Five past winners of the
Oak Leaf did go on to win the Juvenile Fillies. Three of those victors took advantage
of the home track advantage. In
2008 Stardom Bound, 2003 Halfbridled, and 1993 Phone Chatter came back to win when the
Breeders’ Cup was held at Santa Anita. The other two winners were Sweet Catomine in 2004 at Lone Star and
in 1991 with Pleasant Stage at
Churchill Downs.
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Here are links to my
coverage of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.