‘Stronger’ Songbird set to put flawless record on the line in Breeders’ Cup Distaff

When Polar River was scything through the Dubai World Cup Carnival last winter there was one major reason why champion trainer Doug Watson did not want to take the UAE Guineas and Oaks winner to America – Songbird.

Jerry Hollendorfer’s star filly is now unbeaten in America for the past two seasons and she puts her flawless record on the line on Friday night in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita in California.

Whichever way you look at Songbird’s record it is impressive. She is unbeaten in 11 starts, all under Friday’s rider Mike Smith, by an aggregate margin of 59 and a half lengths. She has won seven times this year in three different American states.

She is drawn on the rail in Gate One, a position from which this season she has won by an aggregate margin of over 15 lengths and on a variety of fast and sloppy tracks.

And the best may be yet to come, too.

“I think she’s a lot stronger and she’s a lot more rateable now than ever,” Hollendorfer said via teleconference.

Songbird has been beating up her own sex and age group, but steps out of that comparatively safe environment to take on older horses for the first time. Of her seven rivals six of them are Grade 1 winners and includes Beholder, last season’s US Champion mare, and Stellar Wind, who has beaten Beholder twice this season.

Beholder has two Breeders’ Cup victories to her name, having won the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, the $2 million Distaff in 2013 and missed out on taking on American Phaorah in the Classic due to spiking a fever.

The mount of Gary Stevens is drawn widest of all in Gate Eight, while old rival Stellar Wind, who will be ridden by Victor Espinoza, got the better of the post positions in Gate Five.

"I think it's fair to say we got a good draw," Trainer John Sadler told the Los Angeles Daily News. "Whether it's the best, I don't know. It won't affect strategy. We'll leave that up to Victor. He's ridden all of her races for us."

Smith will also ride former Godolphin Mile hero Tamarkuz when he takes on the likes of Dortmund and last season’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Runhappy in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on the undercard. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s 2014 World Cup night winner ran two huge races this season when second in the Forego Stakes and Kelso Handicap.

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