Every once in a while I like to veer off the beaten path in this blog, and when I do so it’s usually for one of two reasons: it’s a Mid-Atlantic-based racehorse (hey, I’m a Delaware Park guy) or it’s a Thoroughbred who has flashed eye-catching finishing speed. In Ultimate Love’s case, it’s the best of both worlds.

The chestnut Curlin filly improved to 3-for-3 with a four-length domination of the $125,000 Selima Stakes Sept. 27 at Laurel Park and is under strong consideration for the $1 million John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Oct. 31 at Del Mar.

Accomplishments: In 2019, Sharing used a Selima Stakes victory as a springboard to a 13.80-1 upset win in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita Park. Sharing was a terrific filly; Ultimate Love has that type of upside.

Ultimate Love rallied from off the pace in her first two starts to win by open lengths, powering to a 2 ¾-length debut win July 24 at Colonial Downs and romping by 6 ¾ lengths in a Sept. 5 allowance-optional claiming race at Laurel Park.

There was much to like after two wins in as many starts at a mile on the grass, but while Ultimate Love was visually impressive in the Laurel Park race she did not finish especially fast with a final quarter-mile in :24.38. That changed in the Selima Stakes Sept. 27 at Laurel, her stakes debut.

After stalking a slow pace, Ultimate Love blitzed the final three-eighths of a mile in :34.80 and final quarter-mile in :23.03, according to the Equibase GPS chart, on her way to a four-length victory. She certainly appears worthy of a trip to Del Mar for the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“Those thoughts crossed my mind as she crossed the finish line,” trainer Mike Trombetta said.

Speed Figures: Ultimate Love’s Equibase Speed Figures don’t jump of the page with a 71-82-78 sequence for her three starts, considering the average winning Equibase figure for the Juvenile Fillies Turf has been 105.4 in the 17 editions to date. She earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure for her allowance win and an 80 for the Selima, which is much closer to the Beyer target range for this Breeders’ Cup race and thus more promising. Turf speed figures can vary greatly because of pace and race shape, so I focus on horses capable of finishing fast or those with a tactical advantage, like lone speed.

Looking Ahead: Ultimate Love has impressed in three starts to date and showed the ability to close powerfully in the Selina Stakes. I think she would very likely fly under the radar coming from Laurel Park and would have a great chance to outrun her odds.

She’s also a well-bred filly. Her sire is two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, a versatile and elite stallion, and her grandam (maternal grandmother) is Grade 1 winner My Typhoon, by Giant’s Causeway. My Typhoon is a sibling to European Horse of the Year Sea The Stars and breed-shaping stallion Galileo. It’s simply one of the best families in the stud book.

“I didn’t know how she would do on the turf,” Trombetta said after the allowance win. “From when we ran her on it the first time at Colonial, all the feedback was good, so here we are again. Curlin will get you dirt. The dam-side is more turf. What I like about this filly is that I think she’s going to be a mile-and-an-eighth, mile-and-a-quarter type of filly.”

The two immediate questions are, has she done enough to get into what figures to be a crowded Breeders’ Cup race with plenty of interest from European shippers and, if she qualifies, can she run with them? I’m not sure about the first question, but if Ultimate Love is in the race, I believe she has a big shot. While European invaders have won two of the last three editions of the Juvenile Fillies Turf, U.S.-based runners had won eight in a row before 2022 and have won 13 of 17 editions overall. I overlooked Sharing in 2019 – I won’t make that mistake with Ultimate Love in 2025.