In the final furlong of her ninth start of the 2023 season on a warm early November day at Santa Anita Park—a furlong that arrived at the end of a taxing 1 1/8-mile Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) that saw her race just off the half-mile pace of :46.26—Idiomatic somehow found a way to keep moving forward.
That approach, powered by a heart as big as her considerable frame, helped Idiomatic find the wire first.
The gutsy display should ensure the Juddmonte homebred 4-year-old daughter of Curlin an Eclipse Award as champion older dirt female and figures to garner her consideration for Horse of the Year. Not bad for a filly who wintered at Turfway Park and initially wasn't projected for such heights.
Juddmonte USA manager Garrett O'Rourke recalled a 2021 conversation with jockey Florent Geroux who after working Idiomatic as a juvenile commented that he thought she could be something special. As Idiomatic was one of several young Juddmonte fillies with trainer Brad Cox at the time, O'Rourke admitted to being a bit confused.
"Florent came back and said, 'The Curlin filly, wow, she's nice,'" O'Rourke said Saturday. "I was like, 'the Curlin filly? Really?'
"She has stepped up. She has an engine and, boy, she needed that engine down the stretch today. She produced."
As winter turned to spring and spring to summer, there would be no confusion about Idiomatic's talents as the fast-improving filly made her case in start after start. The Distaff marked Idiomatic's ninth start in the first 11 months of 2023 and during that time she has won eight races, including five straight graded stakes, and three straight grade 1 stakes.
And, there still was enough in the tank for that final desperate furlong of the $2 million Distaff Nov. 4 at Santa Anita. Cox noted that besides the numerous starts this season, the durable filly's forward running style allows for few interludes once the gates open.
"It's not like she's falling out of the gate and needs a set-up," Cox said. "She runs the whole race. That's, in my eyes, what good horses do. They're able to break, be involved, and continue on.
"Listen, I think she definitely deserves some votes for Horse of the year. It's a serious (race) record," Cox said. "It's not horse of the fall, horse of the summer, horse of the spring, or horse of the Breeders' Cup. She has had a tremendous year from start to finish. Today was just icing on the cake."
For fans, more sweets could follow from the 17.2-hand filly, who Cox believes may be the tallest horse he's trained. While he didn't fully commit, noting that Juddmonte leadership will have to weigh in, O'Rourke said Idiomatic most likely will return for her 5-year-old season in 2024.
Hot Pace
Sent off the 9-5 favorite, Idiomatic broke smoothly from post two as Alabama Stakes (G1) winner Randomized soon secured her familiar place on the lead as she aimed to extend her three-race win streak for trainer Chad Brown. Randomized and jockey Jose Ortiz blitzed through a quarter-mile in :22.31, half-mile in :46.26, and six furlongs in 1:10.16. The entire way, Idiomatic prompted, a half-length behind.
Idiomatic edged to the lead in the stretch then fought determinedly to maintain her advantage, finishing a half-length in front of runner-up Randomized and completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.57 on a fast track.
"When I needed her most—the last eighth of a mile when I really asked her—she just put her head down and started digging for me really hard," said, who won the Distaff in 2018 and 2020 aboard Cox-trained Monomoy Girl. "She was all heart in that victory."
Klaravich Stables' Randomized, the top 3-year-old finisher in the race, displayed heart as well to hold off the closers and finish second. Masaiva's Le Da Vida, who had finished second to Idiomatic last out in the Spinster Stakes (G1) Oct. 8 at Keeneland, finished third—leading a group of closers who couldn't quite catch the top two.
"I'm pleased. I still don't know what she's going to do the day she switches leads, but I'm thrilled to run against this bunch of fillies that way," said trainer Ignacio Correas IV. "She ran a great race and got a great ride from Vince (Cheminaud), so we are happy."
Racing Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen had hoped this would be the year for Stonestreet Stables homebred multiple grade 1 winner Clairiere, who finished fourth. Clairiere finished a close third in last year's Distaff at Keeneland and fourth in the 2021 Distaff at Del Mar.
"Honestly it's very frustrating to get as close as she has the last three years in a row and knowing she's going home," Asmussen said. "Beyond frustrating, but she's a tremendous mare and I'm blessed to have a chance to train her. For her to show up in this and run that competitively three years in a row, you want so much for her to be the champion and I came up short."
Quite a Campaign
After a seven-month layoff following her second start to recover after having a chip removed, Idiomatic finished third in a Dec. 7 allowance-level race at Turfway. When the calendar turned, Idiomatic would find 2023 very much to her liking.
January saw a pair of allowance-level wins at Turfway followed by a two-length score in her stakes debut—the Latonia Stakes. Idiomatic had found a home on the all-weather surface of Turfway, but as Cox worked with her, he suspected dirt would not be a problem.
Racing on dirt in the May 6 Ruffian Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park, Idionmatic finished second. She then followed with victories in the Shawnee Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, the Delaware Handicap (G2) at Delaware Park, Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, and the Spinster ahead of her Distaff victory. That's five graded stakes wins at five different tracks.
"We transferred her from the synthetic track at Turfway to the dirt in the spring and she's never looked back," Cox said.
Breeding
Idiomatic is the first starter for the stakes-winning First Defence mare Lockdown, who finished third in the 2017 Kentucky Oaks (G1). Lockdown is a full sister to champion older mare Close Hatches, dam of classic-placed 2019 Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) winner Tacitus .
"She comes from a pedigree that is Juddmonte through and through," O'Rourke said. "Her dam is Juddmonte, granddam (Rising Tornado, by Storm Cat) is Juddmonte, her maternal grandsire is Juddmonte. That's tremendously satisfying for an owner/breeder operation like Prince Khalid's and his sons'."
Curlin had landed three more victories as a sire in the 2023 Breeders' Cup as Cody's Wish and Elite Power defended their respective titles in the Dirt Mile (G1) and Sprint (G1). Curlin has sired back-to-back Distaff winners as Malathaat captured the 2022 Distaff. Curlin's other previous Breeders' Cup winners are Vino Rosso (2019 Classic, G1), and Good Magic (2017 Juvenile, G1).
Curlin, the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner, will stand the 2024 season for $250,000 at Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa, near Paris, Ky.
