Filly and Mare Turf

POST: 12:34 P.M. Fifth of eight-race Breeders’ Cup card at Santa Anita.

CONDITIONS: For 3-year-olds and up.

DISTANCE: 1 1/4 MILES.

PURSE: $1 MILLION. First place: $520,000. Second place: $200,000. Third place: $120,000. Fourth place: $57,000. Fifth place: $30,000.

THE FIELD

*--* PP Jockey Wgt Trainer Owner Odds Ho rs e 1 Pat Valenzuela 123 Bobby Frankel Juddmonte Farms 6-1 TA TE S CR EE K 2 Mick Kinane 118 Aidan O’Brien Magnier & Henry 12-1 YE ST ER DA Y 3 Jerry Bailey 123 Bobby Frankel Juddmonte Farms 6-1 HE AT HA ZE 4 Kieren Fallon 123 Michael Stoute Weinstock Executors 3-1 IS LI NG TO N 5 Frankie Dettori 118 Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin Racing 8-1 ME ZZ O SO PR AN O 6 Gary Stevens 118 Neil Drysdale Sheikh Maktoum 4-1 MU SI CA L CH IM ES 7 Corey Nakatani 123 Chr. Clement Green Hills Farm 10-1 VO OD OO DA NC ER 8 John Velasquez 123 Pat Kelly Fox Ridge Farm 30-1 RI SK AV ER SE 9 Alex Solis 123 Bobby Frankel Michael Bello 12-1 ME GA HE RT Z 10 Pat Smullen 118 Dermot Weld Joseph Higgins 12-1 DI MI TR OV A 11 Edgar Prado 118 Aidan O’Brien Tabor & Magnier 50-1 L’ AN CR ES SE 12 Don Pettinger 123 Donnie Von Hemel John & Kris Richter 12-1 BI EN NI CO LE No te : PP (p os t po si ti on ) nu mb er in fi rs t co lu mn wi ll al so be th e ho rs e’ s sa dd le cl ot h nu mb er

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HOW TIMES HANDICAPPER BOB MIESZERSKI SEES THE FILLY AND MARE TURF UNFOLDING

START

BIEN NICOLE, who has won half of her 18 races on grass, is most effective on the lead and should take it while TATES CREEK, RISKAVERSE and ISLINGTON stay close to the pace. Other contenders, such as HEAT HAZE, MEGAHERTZ, MUSICAL CHIMES, ISLINGTON and DIMITROVA, do their best work from behind and their riders will be looking to gain favorable position as the field comes down the hill and passes by the wire the first time.

AT THE HALF-MILE POLE

BIEN NICOLE will still be prominent because the pace isn’t likely to be swift and the others should be starting to get more serious. In a field this size on a turf course that is tighter than many others throughout the country, there is sure to be some trouble. The fillies and mares who will have the most success will, clearly, be the ones who can avoid any mishaps or roadblocks.

AT THE QUARTER POLE

The real racing begins. The pacesetters won’t be able to keep up as the pressure intensifies, and for the last two furlongs, it will be a matter of who can out-kick the others and stay out of trouble. ISLINGTON, who came within a neck of beating the boys in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last month, found nothing but trouble in this race last year and was probably best when third, less than two lengths behind upset winner Starine.

FINISH

If able to find a clear path, ISLINGTON can make amends for her unlucky journey in 2002 at Arlington Park, but she’ll have to hold off the likes of MEGAHERTZ, HEAT HAZE, MEZZO SOPRANO, DIMITROVA and the ultra-consistent TATES CREEK, who is a three-time winner over the Santa Anita turf course. Only twice in her 16-race career has TATES CREEK been worse than second. They figure to be bunched at the end of the 1 1/4 miles.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

The First Four

1. ISLINGTON 2. MUSICAL CHIMES 3. TATES CREEK 4. YESTERDAY

The Rest

5. Heat Haze, 6. Mezzo Soprano 7. Voodoo Dancer 8. Dimitrova 9. Megahertz

10. L’Ancresse 11. Bien Nicole 12. Riskaverse

FILLY AND MARE TURF WINNERS

*--* Year Track Horse Jockey Win Margin $2 Payoff 1999 Gulfstream SOARING Jerry Bailey 3/4 length $9.20* Park SOFTLY 2000 Churchill PERFECT Jerry Bailey 3/4 length $12.00 Downs STING 2001 Belmont Park BANKS HILL Olivier 5 1/2 lengths $14.00 Peslier 2002 Arlington STARINE John 1 1/2 lengths $28.40 Park Velazquez

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* As favorite

THROUGH THE YEARS

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EACH BREEDERS’ CUP

* 1992 at Gulfstream Park: Thirty Slews helped put trainer Bob Baffert, who was relatively new to the game after moving over from quarter horses, on the thoroughbred map with his 18-1 surprise in the Sprint. California jockeys and trainers cleaned up in Florida. Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron and Patrick Valenzuela won six of the seven races with five of the victories going to Baffert, Alex Hassinger Jr., Ron McAnally, Darrell Vienna and Neil Drysdale.

* 1993 at Santa Anita: Form prevailed through most of the sunny day -- Cardmania was the only winner who paid in double digits -- until the Classic. Then, Arcangues, a 5-year-old son of Sagace who had never raced on dirt, rolled past Bertrando, part of a three-horse entry trained by Bobby Frankel that was the 6-5 favorite, in the final sixteenth to win at 133-1. Arcangues remains the most improbable of all Breeders’ Cup winners, even though it remains hard to believe that any horse ridden by Jerry Bailey could pay $269.20 to win.

* 1994 at Churchill Downs: Wayne Lukas, who has a record 17 Breeders’ Cup victories, had two as the event visited Kentucky for the third time in seven years. Lukas finished 1-2 in the Juvenile Fillies as a game Flanders prevailed by a head over Serena’s Song. It was to be Flanders’ final race. She was vanned off the track, lame in her right front leg and was later retired with four victories in five starts. Lukas also won the Juvenile with Timber Country, and the unlikely One Dreamer pulled the day’s shocker, winning the Distaff at 47-1 under Gary Stevens.

* 1995 at Belmont Park: Cigar capped a 10-for-10 year with his anticipated victory in the Classic, beating 51-1 longshot L’Carriere by 2 1/2 lengths under Jerry Bailey, who rode off with third consecutive Classic win. Desert Stormer, a filly and 14-1 only because she was part of the mutuel field, was the stunning winner of the Sprint. Owner-breeder Ogden Phipps and trainer Shug McGaughey teamed for victories in the Juvenile Fillies (My Flag) and Distaff (Inside Information).

* 1996 at Woodbine: Californians made themselves at home in the Breeders’ Cup’s lone visit to Canada. Jockey Corey Nakatani won the Sprint with Lit De Justice for trainer Jenine Sahadi and the Distaff with Jewel Princess for father-in-law Wally Dollase. Gary Stevens took the Mile with Da Hoss and Chris McCarron made sure Cigar didn’t go out a winner, taking the Classic with 19-1 longshot Alphabet Soup for trainer Dave Hofmans and the late owner-breeder, Georgia Ridder.