BREEDERS’ CUP RECAPS
Better Talk Now leaves bettors speechless
Bushwood Racing Partners’ BETTER TALK NOW (Talkin Man) left
the gate at nearly 28-1, the longest odds of the field, to take
home a win in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Turf
(G1).
The field of eight was led by Star Over the Bay (Cozzene) for
the first mile in splits of :24 4/5, :49 and 1:13 4/5 as jockey
Tyler Baze kept the gray gelding a good distance ahead of the
rest of the pack. Entering the second turn, Powerscourt (GB)
(Sadler’s Wells) motored to the front while racing three-wide and opened up a clear advantage on the far turn, marking
off the next two fractions in 1:40 and 2:04. Kitten’s Joy (El Prado [Ire]),
favored at 3-5, made a move to the inside but was walled up by traffic, prohibiting his progression
to the lead.
All the while, Better Talk Now, guided by Ramon Dominguez, drifted
across the lane in midstretch as he moved to the front. The five-year-old
crossed under the line in 2:29 3/5 for 1 1/2 miles on the yielding turf, but had
to wait for his trip to the winner’s circle as the stewards immediately posted
the inquiry sign into the stretch run. A few anxious moments later, the race was
declare official with no change.
“This is so wonderful,” trainer Graham Motion said.
“Any win is an emotional thing but this seems to be even
more so. This has turned out to be an amazing day, to have three
horses run this well and all of them longshots. It makes it even more special
when you have a longshot and you get a win. I didn’t tell Ramon anything special. He knows this horse very well. And
besides, he is starting to be a star; in fact he is a star in his
own right now.”
Better Talk Now finished 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Kitten’s
Joy, becoming the third-highest upset in Breeders’ Cup Turf
history. He paid $57.80, $12.40 and $5.20 and started a
$134.80 exacta and $492 trifecta. Kitten’s Joy returned $2.80 and $2.20 while Powerscourt
earned the bronze spot, giving back $3. Magistretti (Diesis [GB])
landed on the bottom of the 5-4-1-6 superfecta, which was worth $1,483.40.
Rounding out the order of finish were Mustanfar (Unbridled),
Request for Parole (Judge T C), Strut the Stage (Theatrical [Ire])
and Star Over the Bay.
The win comes on the heels of a fourth-place finish in the Man
o’ War S. (G1). Better Talk Now owns one other Grade 1 title, the
Sword Dancer Invitational H. (G1), which he earned in August
of this year, and another Grade 2 win, the Knickerbocker H. (G2)
last November. The new millionaire now has $1,744,437 in the
books with a record of 24-8-5-2.
Better Talk Now was bred in Kentucky by Wimborne Farm Inc.,
and is out of the winning mare Bendita (Baldski). He is a half-brother to stakes
winner B. A. Way (Lasting Approval) and a weanling colt named Better Be Ready (More
Than Ready).