Dubai Majesty took over coming off the turn and rolled to a commanding 2 1/4-length victory in the $1 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) (VIDEO) Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.
Jamie Theriot guided the 5-year-old mare to victory for trainer Bret Calhoun, which was the first for both. The daughter of Essence of Dubai prepped for the race with a victory at Keeneland in the Thoroughbred Club of America (gr. II) on Oct. 9. Sent off at odds of 8-1, this was her fourth triumph in 10 starts this season and her fourth lifetime score in seven tries at Churchill.
Dubai Majesty, who cleared $1 million in career earnins with the victory, is owned by Martin Racing Stable and Dan Morgan. She was bred in Florida by Harold J. Plumley.
The complexion of the Filly & Mare Sprint was changed at the start when second choice Sara Louise missed the break under Frankie Dettori. The three-time graded stakes winning daughter of Malibu Moon tried to get back into contention but was never a major factor.
Gabby's Golden Gal set the pace with Martin Garcia aboard, sprinting through fractions of :22.56 and :45.44. Dubai Majesty broke sharply as well and stalked the pace, as did Champagne d'Oro, Secret Gypsy, and Switch.
Dubai Majesty made her winning move nearing the three-eighth pole and came roaring three-wide off the turn. She easily put away a tiring Gabby’s Golden Gal while drawing clear in the upper stretch. Switch and Joel Rosario tried to chase her down but were no match.
The final time for seven furlongs on the fast dirt was 1:22.31. Switch was three lengths clear of third-place Evening Jewel, who closed strongly with Victor Espinoza in the irons. Champage d'Oro, the slight favorite at odds of nearly 9-2, finished fourth, 6 3/4 lengths behind Dubai Majesty.
“This is a big first for me after 13 years of riding, working seven days a week,” Theriot said. “She broke like a shot and put me in a perfect stalking position. The speed cleared me and I was going just great. She was well within herself. On the turn, she took a deep breath and grabbed me and took me to the lead. When we made the quarter pole, I said ‘That’s it. I ain’t gonna get beat today’.”
Dubai Majesty earned two of her three graded wins entering the race in Churchill Downs, taking the Winning Colors (gr. III) the last two years. The dark bay/brown mare was 0-for-7 at the distance coming into the Filly & Mare Sprint.
The owners supplemented Dubai Majesty to the race at a cost of $90,000. The gamble paid off, and then some with a winning purse of $540,000.
“She loves this racetrack,” Calhoun said. “She made a great move and Jamie rode a great race. She was making an easy move and then she got into gear and I got really excited. Jamie did a great job of getting her settled back, and then she dragged him up there. I’ve gotten pretty excited before and then she’s gotten beat, but this time she got there. She did great. She’s trained extremely good. We all decided to supplement (her to the race) together.”
Bred in Florida, the winner is out of the Great Above mare Great Majesty. She improved to 12-7-6 from 34 lifetime starts and has now earned $1,509,243.
Dubai Majesty paid $19.20, $9.20, and $6. The exacta (12-9) returned $189.60 and the trifecta (12-9-5) was $1,956.40.
Sweet August Moon was fifth, followed by Sara Louise, last year's winner Informed Decison, Rinterval, Jessica Is Back, Gabby's Golden Gal, Secret Gypsy, Moontune Missy, and My Jen.