To view the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, click here.

by Ed DeRosa

Lady Serena Rothschild’s Pounced lived up to his name on Saturday at Santa Anita Park by kicking clear under Frankie Dettori to dispatch his rivals with ease in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) to kick off eight Breeders’ Cup races on Championship Saturday.

Eugene Melnyk’s homebred Bridgetown set all the pace and turned away challengers Interactif and Becky’s Kitten after fractions of :23.61, :48.50, and 1:12.47 through six furlongs, but he could not hold off Pounced in deep stretch, who won in 1:35.47 for one mile on firm turf.

“They went slower than I expected in there and the draw helped,” trainer John Gosden said of Pounced’s trip. “It looked like there was some speed in there, and I said this week that this horse is as good as [Donativum (GB)] who won last year.”

“We got outsprinted,” said Kent Desormeaux who rode Interactif to a third-place finish. “In hindsight, we went too slow. … You could run him in the next race; he’s not even tired.”

The Juvenile Turf was Pounced’s first race beyond seven furlongs and his first around two turns. He finished second in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere Grand Criterium (Fr-G1) on October 4 at Longchamp.

Carwell Equities bred Pounced in Kentucky out of the stakes-placed winning Storm Cat mare Golden Cat, whose dam, Eurobird (Ire), by Ela-Mana-Mou, was an Irish classic winner who produced three stakes winners.

Bridgetown and Interactif stayed on well to finished second and third, respectively, while Awesome Act closed for fourth.

For an Equibase chart, click here.

For video of winning trainer John Gosden, click here.

For video of winning owner Nat Rothschild, speaking on behalf of Lady Rothschild, click here.

For quotes, click here.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times