Hall of Fame rider Joel Rosario will link up with David Loughnane’s Anshoda when she goes for Breeders’ Cup glory at Del Mar early next month.
The daughter of Inns Of Court was acquired by Team Valor and Gary Barber after confirming the promise of her shock debut victory at Lingfield by finishing second in the Star Stakes at Sandown.
She then claimed Goodwood’s Group Three Prestige Stakes on her first start for her new owners and although disappointing at Doncaster in the May Hill, connections feel there are valid excuses for that display on Town Moor and Anshoda remains on course to run Stateside on November 1.
She is set to be Team Valor and Barber’s only runner at the end-of-season spectacular and they have plumped for the experienced Rosario – a man with multiple Breeders’ Cup victories to his name – to do the steering in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“We have one runner in Anshoda and it’s going to be a very competitive race,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor, when discussing his Breeders’ Cup plans.
“She ran great on soft at Goodwood and she has run well on good to firm as well, but I don’t know what to expect, to tell the truth.
“We’ve got Joel Rosario to ride her, which will be a plus, and I think she’s a really gutsy filly.”
He went on: “The last race at Doncaster, she wound up on the lead, as no one else wanted it, and she doesn’t want to race like that.
“She’s a filly with a turn of foot and wants to race in the middle or towards the back and come with a big run – and last time it just didn’t work out at all like we thought.
“A lot will depend on the draw and how she handles the first turn. In America, we have lots of tracks we call bullrings and Del Mar, going a mile on turf, is like a bullring.”
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