BloodHorse staff members recently selected their favorite races of 2024. Over the next few days, with a Christmas break pause, we’ll count down those top 10 races.
The Top 10 countdown started Dec. 20 with No. 10, the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T). And now the countdown continues with No. 9, the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T), Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
How it played out
The notion that the third time is a charm surely applies to More Than Looks .
In his third start of the year, the 4-year-old son of More Than Ready turned in the best effort of his career in his most important race.
The way More Than Looks fashioned his victory was certainly rare. How often in a grade 1 stakes does a horse rally from eighth at the eighth pole to win by nearly a length?
Yet that was the dynamic burst of speed More Than Looks used to defeat an international field of rivals and post a Breeders’ Cup win for trainer Cherie DeVaux and owner Victory Racing Partners.
Tenth and last after the opening quarter-mile and ninth at the quarter pole, jockey Jose Ortiz angled More Than Looks five wide to commence his powerful rally.
Still eighth with a furlong to go, More Than Ready swept past those seven rivals to record a three-quarter-length victory in 1:32.65 for the mile on turf.
The victory was the fifth in 11 career starts for the 4-year-old colt bred by Hinkle Farms in Kentucky who has earned $1,870,715.
Quotable
Molly Rollins, BloodHorse assistant editor: “This year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile was arguably the deepest race in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Championships. The Two Thousand Guineas winner (Notable Speech, third) clashed against some exciting U.S. runners in Johannes (second) and Carl Spackler (sixth). It ended up being More Than Looks who stole the show and provided trainer Cherie DeVaux with her first Breeders’ Cup winner.”
Impact
The victory lifted More Than Looks into the picture for the Eclipse Award for champion turf male, but in his two previous starts he was second to Carl Spackler , who owns a pair of grade 1 victories and is also a top candidate for the award. With Far Bridge , Cogburn , and Rebel’s Romance also in contention, the turf male category stands as the most wide-open Eclipse division.
Notable
More Than Looks snapped a streak of four straight Mile wins by European-based starters … DeVaux became just the seventh female trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup race.
