Rushing Fall

E Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Rushing Fall ($8) swept to the lead in upper stretch to win the 10th running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) for 2-year-old fillies by three-quarters of a length over Best Performance on Friday afternoon at Del Mar racetrack to kick off the 34th Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Javier Castellano, Rushing Fall covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:36.09 in winning her third race in as many starts. The victory was a repeat for all the human connections of Rushing Fall, who were represented in the winner’s circle last year by New Money Honey.

The victory was the fourth in the race for Brown, who registered his ninth Breeders’ Cup victory. His other Juvenile Fillies Turf winners are Maram (2008), Lady Eli (2014) and New Money Honey in 2016. Castellano won his eighth Breeders’ Cup race and second in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Javier (Castellano) rode a great race,” said Brown. “The key was going out of that post and getting a spot in the first half of the field which he accomplished. From there, with a nice pace in front of us, he was comfortable where he was and he moved when he felt the time was right. She has a devastating move when you turn her loose.”

“We had a little bit of a rough trip going into the first turn, but I was lucky to be able to save some ground in the first turn and then get to the outside. I had a perfect trip after that. "She's a very professional filly. I love the way she does things. She’s a very special filly. She’s 3-for-3 and has won on soft turf and firm turf.”

Versatility was indeed her mark. A $320,000 Fasig-Tipton August 2016 Saratoga sale purchase, this bay daughter of More Than Ready broke her maiden in her first start, a one-mile turf race at Belmont in September, which she won by 1 ¼ lengths as the 9-5 favorite, coming home five wide in the stretch and showing a displaying closing kick to wire. She faced a soft surface in her next start, the Grade 3 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland in mid-October. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite against 13 rivals, Rushing Fall came rolling down the stretch from ninth to first, winning by 3 ¼ lengths and setting herself up for her venture west and a Breeders’ Cup Championship.

Rushing Fall was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding.

Rushing Fall had a very successful season in 2018, winning three stakes races in four starts. She captured the Appalachian Stakes (G2) at Keeneland in April, and followed score with close runner-up finish in the Edgewood Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. In August, she returned to the winner’s circle with a 2 ¾-length win in the Lake Placid (G2) at Saratoga, and closed out her year by registering her second Grade 1 win, cruising to a 1 ¼ length victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Keeneland in October.