America’s Best Racing editor Patrick Reed presents takeaways from big Sept. 12 races at Woodbine and Churchill Downs, as four horses earned “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup berths in Canada and the first qualifying points for the 2027 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve were distributed in Louisville.

Notable Indeed: Reigning champion turf male Notable Speech returned to the venue where he began his 2025 Eclipse campaign and notched a repeat victory in the Woodbine Mile, storming home in the stretch of the E. P. Taylor turf course to defeat Deterministic by 1 ¼ lengths. Last year, Notable Speech won the Woodbine Mile on the track’s inner turf course around two turns, but traveling the sweeping one-turn mile on the E. P. Taylor course proved no obstacle.

A year ago, Notable Speech followed up his Woodbine Mile win with a similarly decisive 1 ½-length win in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF. That was at Del Mar, and while the Dubawi horse started his 5-year-old campaign in 2026 with a fourth-place effort in the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland – the site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup – he was blocked in the stretch and had to be steadied late. Since then, he’s won three of four starts and will be one of the favorites for the BC Mile Oct. 31, if not the favorite.

“He's just a very classy horse, and he's got a great racing brain to go with it,” said jockey William Buick, who has ridden Notable Speech in all 19 of his career starts for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby. “He’s an incredible horse, really.”

Deterministic at Woodbine. (Michael Burns/Woodbine)

A Sensational Streak Ends: Deterministic came into the Woodbine Mile on a six-race winning streak dating back to May 2025. In fact, he had won the same three races twice during that span, all of them turf graded stakes in New York. He immediately took the lead Saturday and opened up by two lengths at the top of the stretch but could not hold off Notable Speech’s late surge.

Still, the 5-year-old Liam’s Map horse was 2 ¼ lengths clear of third-place finisher Gas Me Up, a four-time winner on Woodbine’s turf course including two Grade 2 stakes. Deterministic made his debut at Woodbine in this tough spot and also raced around one turn for the first time in his career debut, which was on dirt. If trainer Miguel Clement ends up pointing him to the Breeders’ Cup Mile, he has enough class and tenacity to be a factor.

Salahudin and Ortiz. (Eclipse Sportswire)

First Steps to the Derby: Southern California mainstay Bob Baffert has had success since moving a string of his horses to Kentucky earlier this year, and now the six-time Kentucky Derby winner has the early points leader in his stable. Salahudin impressed with a half-length score in the Iroquois Stakes under the Twin Spires Saturday, overcoming a terrible start where he missed the break to grind through the stretch of the one-turn mile and wear down game runner-up He Is No Lie.

The strapping dark bay or brown Uncle Mo colt also had a substitute jockey in the saddle, as Jose Ortiz took the assignment on Salahudin after Florent Geroux, who had piloted him to a 2-for-2 record this summer, was injured in a spill Sept. 10 at Churchill.

“We were thinking about Florent today,” Ortiz said. “I was able to watch the last two replays and see how Florent rode him and how he ran. He broke a little slow again today but got into a comfortable rhythm. He’s a big horse and takes a little time to get going into his best stride. But once he did, he kept finding more to get to the front.”

Salahudin figures as a leading contender for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA Oct. 30 at Keeneland, which would be his first start around two turns.

Another promising 2-year-old turned heads earlier on Churchill’s Saturday card as Coach Pope, a Tapit colt trained by Ken McPeek, moved forward from a near-miss in his Saratoga debut to whomp a field of 11 other juveniles by 12 ½ lengths going a one-turn mile. Could we see a fairly quick turnaround for this one in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity Oct. 3 at Keeneland, with his namesake UK men’s hoops coach in the stands cheering?

Gimme a Nother impresses. (Andrew Lahodynskyj/Woodbine)

A “Nother” Standout Victory: In early 2025, Gimme a Nother was a “buzz” mare as she traveled from her native country of South Africa to a new residence in Graham Motion’s barn. She had gone a perfect 7-for-7 in South Africa with five group stakes victories, yet after going 1-for-5 in her first stateside starts, she moved somewhat under the radar by the end of last year and did not participate in the Breeders’ Cup.

Gimme a Nother returned with two wins to start her 6-year-old campaign, including a neck score in the Beverly D. Stakes last month. She’s now all the way back in the spotlight after securing a spot in the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf with a game neck victory in the E. P. Taylor Stakes Saturday at Woodbine. Under a typically expert ride by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, the bay mare took a short lead in midstretch traveling an inside route and was all out to prevail in the 1 ¼-mile E. P. Taylor over two onrushing European invaders to her outside, See The Fire and Jancis. Gimme a Nother heads to Keeneland on a four-race win streak.

“She came to me undefeated,” Motion said. “So, that was a lot of pressure, but she’s been remarkable. You know, we hoped to get her to the Breeders’ Cup last year, and it didn’t quite work out. And ever since we gave her a little break over the winter, she’s been unbeatable. ​She’s very special.”