by Ed DeRosa

Horses have won the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) after leading at every call, horses have won the Turf after winning the race the previous year, and a female has defeated males in the Turf.

Not all of those things will happen again on Saturday at Santa Anita Park in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf, but there is a good chance that history will repeat itself as the three favorites for the $3-million 1 1/2-mile race are front-runner Presious Passion, last year’s winner and champion turf male Conduit (Ire), and three-year-old filly Dar Re Mi (Fr).

All eyes will be on Presious Passion at least in the early stages of the race, as the six-year-old Royal Anthem gelding is expected to open up a big lead on the world-class field. Conduit’s stablemate, Spanish Moon, and Dar Re Mi probably will get first run on the pacesetter with Conduit closing from the back.

Sir Michael Stoute, who trains Conduit for breeder Ballymacoll Stud and Spanish Moon for breeder Juddmonte Farms, said that he has not given a lot of consideration to the pace of the race and that each of his horses just needs to run his race.

John Gosden, who trains Dar Re Mi for Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, echoed Stoute’s sentiments.

“I think you just have to make sure you ride her race and not let another horse in the race dictate what you do,” Gosden said. “I think you do more harm than good as a trainer if you give too many instructions to the jockey. It’s up to him to ride the right race.”

Dar Re Mi is attempting to become the first female to win the Turf since Miss Alleged in 1991 at Churchill Downs. The Breeders’ Cup inaugurated the Filly and Mare Turf (G1) in 1999, so fewer females have challenged males at the longer trip, though Bright Sky (Ire) did so in 2003 at Santa Anita and finished sixth.

“Her best distance is 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 miles, and 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita plays more like 1 1/8 miles,” Gosden said of Dar Re Mi. “We thought we had a lot better chance going 1 1/2 miles even against males.”

Mary Hartmann, who trains Presious Passion for Patricia Generazio, hopes her gelding is up by “a few lengths” turning for home. Presious Passion has won four consecutive races on turf rated as firm.

J. Paul Reddam’s 2006 Turf winner Red Rocks (Ire) is among three other Grade 1 winners in the race.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times