After Sistercharlie saw her chances at repeating as champion turf female diminish with a disappointing third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) earlier in the day, stablemate Uni likely kept the honor within the Chad Brown stable for another year with a sensational rally in the $1,840,000 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Santa Anita on Saturday.
RELATED: Transcript for the Breeders’ Cup Mile
Ridden by Joel Rosario, Uni led an unprecedented one-two finish for females in the Mile as she wore down her Fourstardave H. (G1) conqueror Got Stormy in deep stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths in a time of 1:32.45 on firm ground.
With the early-afternoon scratch of Bolo, the pace of the Mile was expected to be slower than Uni might have preferred, but that did not turn out to be the case as Hey Gaman and El Tormenta were one-two through splits of :22.78, :45.32, and 1:09.27.
Uni made an eye-catching, wide rally into contention around the far turn, was in high gear when Got Stormy took a brief lead at the eighth pole, and proved best for owners Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Bethlehem Stables.
“We had a perfect trip. The speed got away from me a little on the backstretch, but she was comfortable and in a good spot so I just sat still with her,” Rosario said. “I asked her at the three-eighths pole and she gave me a strong run. That’s when I knew we would win. But when we got alongside of her (Got Stormy), she fought back a little. For a minute I thought oh-oh, because she’s a very nice filly who beat us this summer. But, my filly still had more left and we pulled cleared her in the last sixteenth.”
Got Stormy, the 3-1 favorite, had a 1 1/4-length advantage of the European duo of Without Parole, trained by Brown, and Circus Maximus, who were separated by a nose.
A stakes winner in France prior to her importation in 2017, Uni captured the Sands Point (G2) and placed in the Belmont Oaks (G1) and Lake Placid (G2) at three. She was undefeated in four starts last season, highlighted by her first top-level triumph in the Matriarch (G1) at Del Mar.
Prior to this victory, Uni had won the $100,000 Perfect Sting at Belmont in late June prior to a late-rallying third in the Fourstardave won by Got Stormy over the boys. Uni prepped in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland, which she won in course record time going a mile. Her record now stands at 18-10-3-3, $2,347,880.
Bred in Great Britain by Haras d’Etreham, the five-year-old Uni is by More Than Ready and out of Unaided, by Dansili. This is the extended female family of noted sire Invincible Spirit.
