A good runner-up finish by Joyful Victory in the Grade 1 Zenyatta
Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita was not quite good enough. Trainer
Larry Jones, after consulting with owner Rick Porter, said Tuesday that
Joyful Victory would not run in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic and
instead return to Kentucky.
“We took our best shot, and the water
is just going to get deeper,” Jones said. “Royal Delta is coming in,
Love and Pride and Questing are the real deal, My Miss Aurelia … it’s a
deep pool to be swimming in.”
Joyful Victory finished 3 1/4
lengths behind Zenyatta winner Love and Pride, and a half-length in
front of third place Include Me Out while carrying five pounds less than
those two. In the Breeders’ Cup, Joyful Victory would carry equal
weight and her odds would likely have been 20-1 or higher. The likely
favorite is Royal Delta.
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