No horse has ever won three Breeders' Cup races since the inception of the event in 1984 but in 2010, two horses will be attempting to put an end to that drought - Goldikova (IRE) and Zenyatta. What many people forget, however, is how close the brilliant European mare Ouijia Board (GB) came to pulling off that feat just a few short years earlier.
The video below is of Ouija Board's first race at the Breeders' Cup: the 2004 Filly and Mare Turf at Lone Start Park. She won this race with ease under jockey Kieren Fallon despite crawling fractions in the early stages. Ouija Board went for the double in 2005 at Belmont Park only to be denied by gate-to-wire winner Intercontinental (GB). Ouija Board finished second that day. Finally, in 2006, with the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs, the brilliant Cape Cross mare completed her Breeders' Cup career by once again winning with ease over an outmatched field of fillies and mares.
Had there been any pace pressure on Intercontinental in 2005, we might be talking about Goldikova and Zenyatta trying to join Ouija Board as a member of the three-peat club.
Ouija Board was a two-time European Horse of the Year (2004 and 2006), a two-time American Champion Female Turf Horse (2004 and 2006), European Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (2004), and European Champion Older Horse (2006). She won seven Group or Grade 1 races in her career (listed below), finished 2nd in the 2006 Coronation Cup, the 2006 Irish Champion Stakes and the 2005 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, along with a 3rd place finish in the 2004 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Group 1/Grade 1 Wins
2005 Vodafone Oaks
2005 Irish Oaks
2005 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
2005 Hong Kong Vase
2006 Prince of Wales's Stakes
2006 Nassau Stakes
2006 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
Loading comments...