LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Stopchargingmaria won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff by a neck, giving trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Javier Castellano their second victories Friday on the opening day of the world championships at Keeneland.
The last of the day’s four Cup races was the most suspenseful, with the stewards needing several minutes to sort through a foul claim and objection before declaring the results official.
Stopchargingmaria ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.98 and paid $16.20, $8.40 and $6 at 7-1 odds.
Stellar Wind returned $9.20 and $6.60, while Pletcher-trained Curalina was another 3 1/2 lengths back in third and paid $7 to show. Pletcher’s third horse in the field, Got Lucky, finished 10th.
The stewards examined video of the stretch run, when Stopchargingmaria slightly bumped Stellar Wind and carried her wide toward the grandstand. Victor Espinoza, aboard Stellar Wind, filed the objection against Castellano, saying he was forced to check his horse.
With the crowd of 44,947 clutching their tickets, the stewards made no change in the order of finish, citing insufficient evidence.
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