Owner Peter Brant has campaigned champion horses and has captured many of the world's biggest horse races but in the closing Breeders' Cup race of 2025 he checked another box with Gezora.
"I had never had a Prix de Diane winner turn around and win a Breeders' Cup race," Brant said while savoring the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) win by 3-year-old Gezora Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Gezora closed out that rare double Saturday by edging past a game She Feels Pretty in the Del Mar stretch to register a half-length win over the recent E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) winner.
After Gezora landed that French classic win in June, the connections kept a Breeders' Cup trip in the backs of their minds. In September she followed with a runner-up finish against older fillies and mares in the Prix Vermeille (G1) before finishing off the board against males in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1)—a race Brant won in 2020 with Sottsass, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Brant enjoyed more thrills Saturday. Jockey Mickael Barzalona rated Gezora in sixth through a half-mile in :47.43 as Be Your Best showed the way. Be Your Best would lead the field into the third turn of the 1 3/8-mile race, where she would be put to the test. She Feels Pretty launched a sustained run in the turn that saw her put away the front-runner and open a 1 1/2-length advantage in the stretch. But Gezora would prove to have the winning late move as she rallied from fifth in the final 3 furlongs to edge past She Feels Pretty in deep stretch.
Godolphin homebred Diamond Rain secured third.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux was proud of She Feels Pretty, who earned her second Breeders' Cup placing after finishing third in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T).
"She ran awesome," DeVaux said. "(Jockey John Velazquez) got her over beautifully from a tough spot (post 13). Just to be beat in the last jump, basically, is disheartening but I'm super proud of her. She continues to put in her best effort every single race."
Gezora completed the race in 2:12.54 on firm turf. Barzalona said he was confident in the daughter of Almanzor throughout the race.
"We got a good draw and we were able to get in a good spot," said Barzalona, who in 2017 captured the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) with Talismanic. "I thought I just had to maintain my filly's concentration to be in the race. ... She was very tough, and when the leaders started coming to me, I knew I was going to get to the front."
The victory marked the first Breeders' Cup win for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, who this season also captured the Arc with Daryz and the Champion Stakes (G1) with Calandagan.
"This season has been pretty much incredible. We've had very nice horses, but it's a lot of work but everything went really well with us through the season," Graffard said. "We've been able to win these amazing races and it's created a lot of emotion and we've enjoyed that very much."
Brant said he'll talk things over with his trainer about where to campaign Gezora next season.
"This is a very special filly," Brant said. "She has great temperament and great heart. All her races have been good—she drew badly in the Arc. She has such a good heart, she tries everything."
Bred in France by Haras d'Etreham, Gezora is out of the group 1-winning Silver Hawk mare Germance, who also has produced stakes-placed winner Garance. Gezora raced for her breeder at 2, closing out the year with a victory in the Prix des Reservoirs (G3). Brant purchased her after that effort.
"We were very, very fortunate to pick her out as a racehorse as a 2-year-old," Brant said. "It's very rare that you acquire a horse like that for your racing team, your colors, and they give back to you so quickly."
Del Mar, Saturday, November 1, 2025, Race 12Entries: Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Mission of Joy (ON) Umberto Rispoli 124 Philip D'Amato 30/1 2 2Stellify (KY) Florent Geroux 124 Brad H. Cox 30/1 3 3Atsila (IRE) Gavin Ryan 120 Donnacha O'Brien 20/1 4 4Village Voice (GB) Flavien Prat 124 Chad C. Brown 15/1 5 5Gezora (FR) Mickael Barzalona 120 Francis - Henri Graffard 7/2 6 6Diamond Rain (GB) Billy Loughnane 124 Charles Appleby 6/1 7 7Be Your Best (IRE) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 124 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 30/1 8 8Cathedral (GB) David Egan 120 Kevin Philippart De Foy 30/1 9 9Cinderella's Dream (GB) William Buick 124 Charles Appleby 9/2 10 10La Kika (PER) Mirco Demuro 124 Doug F. O'Neill 30/1 11 11Bedtime Story (IRE) Christophe Soumillon 120 Aidan P. O'Brien 12/1 12 12Bellezza (IRE) Tyler Gaffalione 124 Miguel Clement 20/1 13 13She Feels Pretty (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 Cherie DeVaux 4/1 14 14See The Fire (GB) Oisin Murphy 124 Andrew Balding 5/1
