Last year in deep stretch at Keeneland Race Course, three terrific older females served up a reminder that the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff is, year in and year out, one of the greatest races in the world.

Champion Malathaat edged a determined Blue Stripe and a game Clairiere as two noses separated the top three finishers. When you consider that the 2022 Distaff followed Japanese invader Marche Lorraine’s thrilling nose victory at 49.90-1 odds over Dunbar Road just a year before at Del Mar, and it’s crystal clear why racing fans need to brush up on the contenders for this year’s race.

The 2023 Longines Distaff at Santa Anita Park features a solid favorite in Idiomatic riding a four-race winning streak with a classic East Coast-West Coast showdown looming against Adare Manor, a winner in Southern California of five straight herself. Sprinkle in a terrific group of 3-year-old fillies for this 1 1/8-mile dirt race plus a ton of speed and you have the recipe for one of the best races of Breeders’ Cup weekend.

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Get up to a $5,000 Sign Up Bonus when you sign up and bet the Breeders' Cup with 1/ST BET! Visit 1st.com/bet/cheatsheet and use promo code ABR5000 to get started. Once you have signed up, you'll get $10 for every $100 bet up to $5,000. That way, once you get to know the Breeders' Cup horses in this handy Cheat Sheet, you can stop by 1st.com/bet/cheatsheet and place your bets on Friday and Saturday Nov. 3rd and 4th. Plus, you can take advantage of 1/ST BET’s other promotions at 1st.com/bet/promotions. So no matter what horse you pick, your best bet is with 1/ST BET. The $2 million Distaff is one of the “original seven” Breeders’ Cup races, having been run every year since the inaugural Breeders’ Cup in 1984. Starting with the first winner, Hall of Famer Princess Rooney, numerous champions have won the Distaff, including Personal Ensign (1988), Zenyatta (2008), Beholder (2013 and 2016), Monomoy Girl (2018 and 2020), and the aforementioned Malathaat. Two Distaff winners went on to win Horse of the Year: Lady’s Secret in 1986 and Azeri in 2002. 

Whether you are interested in making a couple of bucks on the race or just want to know a little bit about this year’s entrants, we’ve got you covered with our 2023 Breeders’ Cup Distaff Cheat Sheet Presented by 1/ST BET.

Let’s take a look at this year’s Distaff field.

Coady Photography

1. Hoosier Philly (20-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Owner: Gold Standard Racing Stable

Career record: 9 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $708,410

Earnings per start: $78,712

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Tapella, by Tapit

Color: Gray or roan

Age: 3

Running style: Press the pace/pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Hoosier Philly looked like a budding superstar when starting out her career with three straight open-length victories last fall at Churchill Downs, including back-to-back stakes wins by a combined margin of 12 ½ lengths. She entered the year with a ton of buzz as the leading contender for the Longines Kentucky Oaks and a dark-horse candidate for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. The gray or roan Into Mischief filly has not lived up to the hype as a 3-year-old, however, with only a front-running 3 ½-length win in the ungraded Monomoy Girl Stakes at Ellis Park to show from her six starts. She was soundly beaten in her two most recent races in the seven-furlong, Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks and the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes, but both of those races came on “off” tracks, so perhaps a fast track in the Distaff could lead to an improved effort. That said, she would need to improve her career-best Equibase Speed Figure by about 15-20 points to be a win candidate in the Distaff and figures to be one of longest shots in the field for trainer Tom Amoss, who finished third in the Distaff with Heritage of Gold in 1999 and 2000 and with Serengeti Empress in 2019.

Bet Hoosier Philly in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

BENOIT photo

2. A Mo Reay (20-1)

Jockey: Christophe Lemaire

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Haruya Yoshida

Career record: 16 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $862,775

Earnings per start: $53,923

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Margaret Reay, by Pioneerof the Nile

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: A cleverly named filly by Uncle Mo out of Margaret Reay … That’s A Mo Reay! The dark bay or brown 4-year-old filly won the Grade 1 Beholder Mile Stakes on this racetrack back in March for two-time Breeders’ Cup Distaff-winning trainer Brad Cox to cap a three-race winning streak. She has not won in four subsequent starts but enters off a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Beldame Stakes Oct. 8 at the Belmont at the Big A meet, where she recovered from a stumble at the start to secure a runner-up finish behind fellow Distaff contender Randomized. There looks to be plenty of speed in this race, so A Mo Reay should get a nice trip tucked in just behind the early leaders and get a jump on the closers, provided she gets off to a good start. A Mo Reay could outrun her odds on a track she likes and deliver a top-three finish. Cox won the Distaff in 2018 and 2020 with Monomoy Girl.

Bet A Mo Reay in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Eclipse Sportswire

3. Pretty Mischievous (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 10 starts – 7 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,944,560

Earnings per start: $194,456

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Pretty City Dancer, by Tapit

Color: Bay

Age: 3

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Trainer Brendan Walsh told Breeders' Cup publicity on Nov. 3 that Pretty Mischievous would be scratched from the DIstaff. "After traveling, she got a little bit colicky and we had to treat her the next day. She's looked great on the track, but that's just her. She's been a little dull and not showing us what she usually does."

Coady Photography

4. Idiomatic (5-2)

Jockey: Florent Geroux

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Juddmonte

Career record: 11 starts – 8 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $1,416,840

Earnings per start: $128,804

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Curlin – Lockdown, by First Defence

Color: Bay

Age: 4

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Idiomatic has been simply dominant this year with seven wins and one second in eight races in 2023 for two-time Breeders’ Cup Distaff-winning trainer Brad Cox. The Curlin filly totes a four-race winning streak into the Distaff and profiles as the most likely favorite coming off of a four-length win over 2022 Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath and champion Nest in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga and a 4 ¼-length romp in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes at Keeneland in her two most recent starts. The two concerns with Idiomatic are that she has never raced at Santa Anita and there appears to be a ton of pace in the Distaff, which has only had one front-running winner in the last 15 editions. Idiomatic’s lone defeat this season came in a race when she was unable to get the early lead, although she does have three wins from off the pace this year, including overcoming a poor start to rally to a victory by a head in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap in July. These are minor quibbles regarding the most likely winner in this field, who is 2-for-2 at this distance and consistently fast. If Idiomatic is able to clear the field early and dictate the pace, it’s probably game over; but if she has to fight for the lead or rate off the pace it should be a much more challenging race. Cox and jockey Florent Geroux teamed to win the Distaff in 2018 and 2020 with Monomoy Girl; owner Juddmonte Farm finished second in the 2013 Distaff with Close Hatches.

Bet Idiomatic in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

BENOIT photo

5. Adare Manor  (4-1)

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner: Michael Lund Petersen

Career record: 13 starts – 7 wins – 4 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $981,600

Earnings per start: $75,508

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Brooklynsway, by Giant Gizmo

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 4

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This 4-year-old Uncle Mo filly has flown a bit under the radar this season out on the West Coast, but she has put together an amazing season. Adare Manor rides a five-race winning streak into the Distaff, including four on this main track at Santa Anita where she boasts a lifetime record of six wins in nine starts, and most recently dominated the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes there at 1 1/8 miles when leading from start to finish in a 5 ¼-length romp. Adare Manor has a great chance to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his first career win in the Distaff, but she is a speed horse who definitely will be challenged early in a race loaded with pace. She has won several times from just off the pace, but she prefers to lead from start to finish, and only one Distaff winner in the last 15 years (Royal Delta in 2012) has led at every call. There is a chance Adare Manor’s chances might be compromised by a strong early pace and the shape of the race, but she must be considered a top contender based on talent and accomplishments. Baffert’s best previous finish in the Distaff was a runner-up finish by Abel Tasman in 2017.

Bet Adare Manor in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Eclipse Sportswire

6. Search Results (5-1)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owner: Klaravich Stables

Career record: 16 starts – 7 wins – 3 seconds – 5 thirds

Career earnings: $1,903,810

Earnings per start: $118,988

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Flatter – Co Cola, by Candy Ride

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 5

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Search Results faded to sixth after pressing the pace in the 2022 Distaff, the only race in her 16 career starts where she did not finish in the top three. The 5-year-old Flatter mare enters this year’s Distaff off a front-running 3 ¼-length score in the Grade 3 Locust Grove Stakes at Churchill Downs that earned her a 113 Equibase Speed Figure, equaling a career best. Search Results has run some huge races throughout her career and appears to regaining her best form at the perfect time; however, she is one of many contenders whose chances could be compromised by what projects to be a fast pace with multiple entrants keen to take the lead or be very close. She did use a stalking trip to earn her lone Grade 1 win to date in the 2021 Acorn Stakes, which offers reason for optimism, but keep in mind that was in a one-turn mile race and this is a two-turn contest going an additional furlong. Search Results is clearly fast enough and talented enough to be a big threat in a race loaded with similarly classy fillies and mares and she rarely throws in a clunker. Trainer Chad Brown finished second in this race in 2018 with Wow Cat and in 2021 with Dunbar Road.

Bet Search Results in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Janet Garaguso/NYRA

7. Wet Paint (10-1)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 10 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $1,177,175

Earnings per start: $117,718

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Pedigree: Blame – Sky Painter, by Street Cry

Color: Bay

Age: 3

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: One of several very talented 3-year-old fillies entered for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Wet Paint looked terrific in winning the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at this 1 1/8-mile distance in July at Saratoga. She did not show quite the same punch in deep stretch at Saratoga four weeks later when she finished second to fellow Distaff contender Randomized in the Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales. Several factors play in her favor here regarding her chances to turn the tables on Randomized. First, Wet Paint has been freshened since that race and figures to be well rested; and second, she should appreciate the cut-back to 1 1/8 miles. Most importantly, Randomized will almost certainly face more pressure early in the Distaff than she did in the Alabama when she had a clear lead after the opening quarter-mile. That could set up Wet Paint to pick off opponents one by one in the stretch with a big shot to win the Distaff. On the flip side, my biggest concern with Wet Paint is that she has never run a really fast race, topping out at a 100 Equibase Speed Figure. I’m worried she might not be quite fast enough to deal with a group of very good 3-year-olds and older females that are, on paper, faster than Wet Paint. Trainer Brad Cox won the Distaff in 2018 and 2020 with Monomoy Girl, the first of those when she was a 3-year-old like Wet Paint. Owner Godolphin has not won the Distaff but finished second with Cocoa Beach in 2008 and It’s Tricky in 2011; jockey Flavien Prat finished third in the Distaff twice.

Bet Wet Paint in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

8. Randomized (6-1)

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owner: Klaravich Stables

Career record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $603,350

Earnings per start: $100,558

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Nyquist – French Passport, by Elusive Quality

Color: Bay

Age: 3

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This year’s Distaff features a strong group of 3-year-old fillies, a contingent that was bolstered in the second half of the season by the emergence of Randomized. After an unplaced finish in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes behind fellow Distaff entrant Pretty Mischievous, Randomized put together a three-race winning streak: taking the Wilton Stakes and Grade 1 Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales, both at Saratoga, before defeating older females in the Grade 2 Beldame Stakes most recently on Oct. 8 at the Belmont at the Big A meet. She led from start to finish in all three races and won the Alabama by four lengths and then the Beldame by 3 ¾ lengths to earn a career-best 110 Equibase Speed Figure. Randomized is 4-for-4 when allowed to set the pace but lost both of her starts when not in front from the beginning, so expect her to force the issue in a race with several other accomplished front-runners. It will be interesting to see how this race unfolds with three of the leading contenders – Randomized, Idiomatic, and Adare Manor – dedicated front-runners and several others at their best when pressing the pace. If Randomized can get to the front or show a new dimension while rating just behind the speed, she has a big shot to take home the top prize and give trainer Chad Brown his first win in the Distaff. Brown finished second in this race in 2018 with Wow Cat and in 2021 with Dunbar Road.

Bet Randomized in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Joe Labozzetta/NYRA

9. Clairiere (4-1)

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owner: Stonestreet Stables

Career record: 21 starts – 8 wins – 6 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $3,166,392

Earnings per start: $150,781

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117

Pedigree: Curlin – Cavorting, by Bernardini 

Color: Bay

Age: 5

Running style: Closer/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Clairiere has been an elite racemare really since her career debut back in October 2020, after which she finished second in a Grade 2 race and then went on to amass four Grade 1 victories over the next three seasons among six graded stakes wins. She closed with a powerful rush in this race a year ago but came up just a head short when third behind winner Malathaat and runner-up Blue Stripe in an amazing edition of the Distaff at Keeneland. The bay mare by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin looked like the best older female in training in spring 2023 when posting back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap and Ogden Phipps Stakes, but she was defeated by 2 ¼ lengths in the Shuvee Stakes and then finished 17 ¾ lengths behind Idiomatic on a sloppy track in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes, both at Saratoga Race Course. If you draw a line through that last race, Clairiere looks like a top contender to finish the job in the Distaff this year, but she was beaten with no real excuse in the Shuvee and has never raced at Santa Anita Park. On the bright side, she should benefit from plenty of pace to set up her powerful closing ability and her career-best 117 Equibase Speed Figure is four points faster than any other contender in this race. Owner Stonestreet Stables has come very close in the Distaff with My Miss Aurelia finishing second in 2012 and Clairiere beaten by a head last year and finishing fourth by a half-length in 2021. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen won the Distaff in 2014 with Untapable; jockey Joel Rosario finished second aboard Close Hatches in the 2013 Distaff and third twice, including last year.

Bet Clairiere in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

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Eclipse Sportswire

10. Desert Dawn (20-1)

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: Phil D'Amato

Owner: H & E Ranch

Career record: 16 starts – 2 wins – 4 seconds – 5 thirds

Career earnings: $816,525

Earnings per start: $51,033

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: Cupid – Ashley's Glory, by Honour and Glory

Color: Bay

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Desert Dawn has won only two of her 16 career starts, a maiden win in August 2021 and the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks in March 2022. She is winless in nine starts since that stakes win, but the Cupid filly is almost always competitive, picking up four seconds and three thirds during the winless stretch, all in graded stakes races. She been the bridesmaid to top West Coast Distaff contender Adare Manor in her two most recent starts, the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes in August at Del Mar and the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita Oct. 1. The pace scenario probably sets up better here for Desert Dawn than it does for familiar foe Adare Manor, but on paper she just doesn’t look fast enough to return to the winner’s circle against this elite group of females. A minor award at a huge price would not be a shock, especially if the pace is exceptionally fast early, but filling out the trifecta or superfecta is probably the best-case scenario.

Bet Desert Dawn in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Eclipse Sportswire

11. Le Da Vida (20-1)

Jockey: Vincent Cheminaud

Trainer: Ignacio Correas

Owner: Masaiva Inc.

Career record: 24 starts – 8 wins – 5 seconds – 5 thirds

Career earnings: $615,124

Earnings per start: $25,630

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Gemologist – Viene Cantando, by Gstaad 

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 6

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Le Da Vida was a Group 1-placed stakes winner in her native Chile and has achieved similar results since moving to the U.S. barn of Ignacio Correas in September 2022. She won the Lady Jacqueline Stakes at Thistledown in June and most recently ran second to Idiomatic, beaten by 4 ¼ lengths, in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes Oct. 8 at Keeneland. The Gemologist filly figures to be a massive price in the Distaff but as a deep closer in a race with a ton of pace she could be an appealing longshot to fill out your exacta and trifecta tickets, plus Correas won the Distaff in 2019 with $19.80 upset winner Blue Prize. If the speed horses battle it out early and run out of gas late, Le Da Vida should be doing her best running in the stretch with an outside chance to pick up a minor award. Multiple variables would need to break in her favor for that to happen, which is why she profiles as a longshot.

Bet Le Da Vida in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff