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While the main event of the Breeders’ Cup each year is the Classic, there are years where the true star of the weekend participates in a different event.
Such is the case this year, as superstar mare Letruska looks to cap off a season that would rank among the better campaigns of the past decade.
Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, the modestly bred five-year-old mare has blossomed into a headliner in 2021, winning six of her seven starts this season.
With four Grade One victories to her name this year, there is a legitimate case to be made that, with a victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Letruska has earned the right to be named Horse of the Year.
For context, Horse of the Year honors in horse racing are on par with an NFL MVP award, a Cy Young award for a pitcher in Major League Baseball, or a Heisman Trophy for a college football player.
The element that makes Letruska so special – aside from winning most of the races she runs in – is her running style.
Letruska is a mare (older female) that does her best running when she can dictate the terms on the lead.
To put it plainly: she enjoys being the boss.
On Saturday, the question that handicappers must ask themselves is this – can Letruska be defeated?
And, if so, how does that happen and who is the filly or mare to take advantage?
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The most likely way in which Letruska loses this year’s Distaff is by NOT making a clear lead.
In her only loss of the season, the Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park, Letruska was forced to chase a filly who was controlling things on the front end.
That filly was named Shedaresthedevil, the 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner, who Letruska will again be squaring off against in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Saturday.
Shedaresthedevil is not the only other female in the race that possesses quality early speed, however.
A filly like Bob Baffert’s Private Mission or a mare like Bill Mott’s Horologist prefer to do their running on the lead, as well.
Knowing this, there is at least a feasible scenario in which a number of the competitors end up dueling with one another, compromising each other’s chances.
If this situation plays out, a couple of three-year-old fillies could be the prime candidates to take advantage.
Malathaat, the 2021 Kentucky Oaks winner, and Clairiere, the 2021 Cotillion winner, are fillies who would prefer to settle toward the middle or rear of the field before commencing their bid.
If the pace is on the more moderate side, their tasks become significantly more difficult to accomplish.
If, however, a scrum develops early and a few of the runners decide to go after Letruska, there is a good chance that either Malathaat and / or Clairiere can run down their older contemporaries in Saturday’s Distaff.
