Betting with, and against, Lake Victoria in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf

An overflow field of 17 two-year-old fillies will run one mile on the Del Mar green in Friday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

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With Lake Victoria - Wagers

• $2 trifecta key 1 with 7,8,12,13 ($24)
• 50-cent trifecta 1 with 7,8,12,13 with all ($24)

Against Lake Victoria - Wagers

• $2 exacta box 7,8,12,13 ($24)
• $1 trifecta 8,12 with 1,7,8,12,13 with 1,7,8,12,13 ($24)

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Analysis

Two-time Group 1 heroine #1 Lake Victoria (8-5) is the one to beat for conditioner Aidan O’Brien, who won this race two years ago with Meditate. Unbeaten from four career runs to date, the Frankel filly has improved to some measure with each lifetime try to date, led by a super impressive three-length score in the Cheveley Park S. (G1) at Newmarket in her latest performance. 

Lake Victoria has handled good and soft turf to this stage of her development, and while she has yet to run beyond seven furlongs, I’m pretty confident that the one-mile trip will be well within her scope. She possesses very good early speed, and if the bay gets out of the gate well, then she will be formidable under the guidance of Ryan Moore. 

The favorite does have a tricky post assignment in a very big field, however, and she also faces a deep cast, so I can’t fault anyone who might be looking for other alternatives in the affair. 

O’Brien's second-stringer #8 Heavens Gate (12-1) has been consistently quite good from seven runs this season and will aim to cap her strong juvenile campaign with a score in her U.S. debut. A winner of the Weld Park S. (G3) at the Curragh last time, the Churchill filly is a forward type who figures to be in the first or second flight from the break, and her pedigree suggests that she will be just fine at this trip with Wayne Lordan coming in to ride. 

#12 May Day Ready (20-1) doesn’t boast massive Brisnet Speed figures, but the Joseph Lee trainee is 3-for-3 and has been visually impressive to me in each of her starts to date. The daughter of Tapit has a strong turn of foot and could sit a nice voyage behind a fast and contested pace to the top of the lane. The May foal is still developing, and she could surprise from off the pace at a big price under turf legend Frankie Dettori.

Drawing wide might be an ideal thing for #13 Vixen (15-1), who was last seen finishing a neck second in the Natalma S. (G1) at Woodbine. Trained by Mark Casse, the Vekoma filly broke her maiden emphatically two back at Ellis Park, and she has the natural cruising speed to be stalking the pace while in range throughout the contest. John Velazquez will guide the $200,000 juvenile purchase. Note, North American fillies have historically done well in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. 

Second-choice #7 Thought Process (5-2) has yet to be tested on the lawn from three grassy outings, including two over the Del Mar lawn. The Phil D’Amato pupil will get a real class test on Friday, but she might be up to the task with strong turf pilot Hector Berrios on board.