BC Internationals: Juvenile Fillies (Turf) contender Nemoralia

Photo courtesy Keeneland/Coady Photography.

Trained by Jeremy Noseda, who sent out Wilko to surprise the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at 28-1, Nemoralia has a slightly different profile.

Wilko, a veteran with 10 starts under his belt prior to the Breeders’ Cup, looked pretty exposed by the time he shipped stateside. His handful of stakes placings -- especially behind the likes of Shamardal and Dubawi -- indicated that he was useful, but a cut below his European contemporaries

Nemoralia hasn’t had such a rigorous campaign, nor has she been tried in black-type company in England. And unlike Wilko, she turned in a U.S. prep on dirt when second in the Frizette (G1). But she does have a couple of points in common with Wilko: she’s a Kentucky-bred with a dirt-friendly pedigree, and she was second to a superstar named Ballydoyle, albeit in a Newmarket maiden.

By More Than Ready and out of the Came Home mare Alina, a Grade 2-placed multiple stakes winner on dirt, Nemoralia was purchased for $170,000 as an OBS March juvenile. You can watch her work at the under tack show, a furlong in :10, via the link.

Fifth versus the boys in her June 19 debut at Newmarket, Nemoralia next ran into the more experienced (and highly talented) Ballydoyle. She then went on to win her next two, a maiden over Kempton’s Polytrack followed by a Doncaster nursery.

I first expected Nemoralia to head straight to the Breeders’ Cup off that effort, but she ended up taking a detour to the October 3 Frizette at Belmont Park:

 

Nemoralia has since settled in at Keeneland, where she will stretch out to two turns for the first time.

Oct. 23 Update: Although Noseda had previously commented that he regarded her as more of a dirt filly, Nemoralia has listed the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) as her first preference. It will be intriguing to discover the reasons for the change in plan. Concerns about facing the likes of Songbird, and Rachel's Valentina as well, on dirt? Or something else?

For more insight into Nemoralia's race record and an appraisal of her chances, check out the international analysis at brisnet.com/cgi-bin/special_reps.cgi.

Brisnet.com has the Breeders' Cup PPs files available for all 13 races -- 4 on Breeders' Cup Friday (30th) and 9 on Breeders' Cup Saturday (31).