Untapable, ridden by expectant mum Rosie Napravnik, capped a stellar season with a victory in the $2 million Distaff, the marquee race Friday on the opening day of the Breeders' Cup.
Overjoyed by the win, Napravnik blurted out her own good news, stunning the crowd at the winner's circle ceremony by saying she's expecting a first child with husband Joe Sharp and will be retiring on Sunday.
"You know what? I've been planning the retirement since I found out that I was pregnant," said Napravnik, the only woman besides Julie Krone to ride a Breeders' Cup winner.
"I'm about seven weeks pregnant. My plan was to wait until after the weekend, and I don't know if I had won on another horse if I would have said anything.
"This filly has just been very special to me, and it's a very special way to go out, so I just couldn't resist because they asked me how much it meant to me."
Breaking from the 10th post in the 11-horse field, Untapable ran wide through much of the 1 1/8-mile race on the dirt track at Santa Anita, sitting comfortably off a scorching early pace before finally bursting from the pack to pull alongside leader Iotapa on the final turn.
She was in control on the straight, winning by 1 1/4 lengths over fast-finishing Don't Tell Sophia with Iotapa third.
This was the sixth win in seven starts this season for the Steve Asmussen-trained Untapable.
Her only defeat came against male horses in the Haskell at Monmouth, a performance that Napravnik called creditable.
- Special filly, special win -
Napravnik said she never had any doubts in Friday's race.
"Down the backside I could not have had more confidence," Napravnik said. "She was just very powerful underneath me, and she started to take me when she was ready to move. We were wide around the second turn but I was just sitting and she was waiting on my call.
"She has always been a really special filly and I can't tell you how special this win is for me," added Napravnik, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile two years ago on Shanghai Bobby.
Top four-year-old filly Close Hatches, trained by Bill Mott, was expected to challenge Untapable but never fired and finished last.
"It was a good trip," said jockey Joel Rosario. "Everything was fine. On the backside she wasn't very comfortable until I hit the three and a half and she just didn't move forward. She just kind of wasn't herself."
Philip Sims, trainer of Don't Tell Sophia, was delighted with the performance of the six-year-old mare purchased for the bargain-basement price of $1,000 as a yearling.
"We're so proud of her," Sims said. "She was where she was supposed to be and made a run. She kept coming. She lost to a great horse today."
Despite impending motherhood, Napravnik has a little more work to do before she heads into retirement.
She's scheduled to ride four horses as the Breeders' Cup concludes with nine races on Saturday.
"I'm riding tomorrow," she said, "just as well as I rode today, hopefully."
Source: AFP