Anyone who has followed the evolution of the New York Racing Association's Turf Triple for 3-year-olds should not be surprised by the Sept. 18 results in the series' final legs at Belmont Park.
Trainer Chad Brown finished 1-2 in the race for fillies and a European shipper took the 1 1/2-mile test for males.
First, Shantisara landed the $671,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes by a half-length over stablemate Higher Truth, giving Brown his fourth winner in 13 runnings of the Turf Triple races for fillies since 2014.
Immediately afterwards, group 2 winner Yibir made an impressive United States debut, drawing off to a 2 1/2-length victory over Soldier Rising in the $980,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes to give European arrivals their eighth win in the 26 races.
Business as usual, right?
Neither of Saturday's races were graded because they had been contested only once before due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out the 2020 editions. Yet the performance by Godolphin's Yibir, a homebred son of Dubawi, should go a long way toward attaining the Jockey Club Derby grade 1 status when its 2022 renewal comes up for evaluation.
Winner of York's Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes (G2) at Saturday's 1 1/2-mile distance in his last start, the gelding handled the sweeping turns of Belmont Park's turf course with aplomb in providing trainer Charles Appleby with a third NYRA victory—all in stakes—from 10 starts in 2021.
"The purses here are phenomenal and hopefully in time they will become graded races. Charlie and the boss (Godolphin owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) is a big advocate of taking on the best around the world, so if we can do our little part by coming over here, that's great," said Appleby's assistant Chris Connett. "We have a great team and everyone plays their part and thankfully Sheikh Mohammed put it all in place and we just try to make him proud. Hopefully we've done that today."
Yibir and jockey Jamie Spencer were last in the field of seven 3-year-olds after a half-mile in :49.45 on firm turf and still trailed after a mile-and-a-quarter in 2:03.12, but swung wide on the final turn and surged to the front by the eighth pole and quickly drew clear.
The 5-2 third-choice in the wagering ($7.30), Yibir covered the 12-furlong distance in 2:26.23 while earning a free spot in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" program.
Connett said Yibir, a winner of five of 11 starts with earnings of $815,580, will return to England Sept. 22 and a decision on the gelding's Breeders' Cup status will be made in due time.
The fifth foal from the Monsun mare Rumh and her second graded stakes winner, he is a full brother to multiple group 1 winner Wild Illusion. Rumh also has a 2-year-old colt named Wild Crusade, who is a full brother to Yibir and Wild Illusion, and a yearling colt by Golden Horn.
Soldier Rising, a son of Frankel making his second U.S. start, took second by a neck over Jerry Marks Stables' Slicked Back, a Quality Road gelding trained by Brad Cox.
Owned by Michael Dubb, Morris Bailey, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Caruso and trained by Christophe Clement, Soldier Rising was second in the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) that served as the second leg of the series.
Bolshoi Ballet, the 2-1 favorite who captured the series-opening Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T), was fourth.
Shantisara Surges in Stretch Run
The stretch run of the Jockey Club Oaks was a joy to behold for Brown.
The battle to the wire came down to two horses, both trained by the four-time Eclipse Award winner. Pacesetting Higher Truth did her best to fend off stablemate Shantisara, who had been prompting the pace from second throughout. But in the end it was the daughter of Coulsty who edged past the front-runner and prevailed in the 1 3/8-mile test for 3-year-old fillies.
"This Turf Triple has been a nice addition to the program here," Brown said. "It's great to run 1-2 in one of them. I started off running through these races pretty good and doing well, then it got a lot more competitive. So to get back to having a nice 1-2 finish in one of them and take in a big chunk of the purse is rewarding because we have such a large turf presence. These owners also deserve to be rewarded with that kind of purse money."
Shantisara was purchased overseas earlier this year by the ownership group of Dubb, Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, and Robert LaPenta with the intention of running in one of the Turf Triple stakes, but Brown took a patient approach. The filly made her first U.S. start with a second in the June 26 Boiling Springs Stakes at Monmouth Park. Then, instead of testing her in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T), the second leg of the series, Brown opted to run her in the Pucker Up Stakes (G3T) at Arlington International Racecourse and was rewarded with a victory there followed by Saturday's triumph.
"Chad has done a wonderful job with her," Dubb said. "We got the filly here in the springtime and Chad insisted on baby steps, developing her and not rushing her, and this is the result when you let Chad do his thing. I try to do my part my staying out of his way."
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Shantisara was timed in 2:16.91 for the 1 3/8 miles and paid $11.40 to win as the 9-2 fourth choice in a field of six 3-year-old fillies.
She is the third and most recent foal by the Dalakhani mare Kharana and the dam's first runner. The victory gives her four wins in eight career starts with earnings of $488,108.
Higher Truth, a daughter of Galileo owned by Jeff Drown, Team Hanley, and Michael Ryan, turned in another game effort. The 2-1 favorite Saturday, she placed in all three legs of the Turf Triple for fillies. She was previously second in the Saratoga Oaks and third in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T), losing by a combined 1 3/4 lengths in the trio of stakes.
Brown said it was unlikely either of his fillies would run in the Breeders' Cup.
"I think they can have real good years at 4 and 5 if we are patient with them," he said.
Flaxman Stable's Harajuku, a Deep Impact filly trained by Andre Fabre, was third in her U.S. debut.
Video: Jockey Club Derby Invitational S. (BT)
Video: Jockey Club Oaks Invitational S. (BT)
