VSiN Managing Editor Adam Burke previews the Breeders’ Cup Distaff 2025, including the entries, odds, and past performances of the field.
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Fillies and mares take center stage at Del Mar in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, as a field of 12 runners has entered in hopes of taking down a piece of the $2 million purse. This is a terrific field ranging from 3 to 5-years-old. Scottish Lassie was scratched from the race so we’re down from 13 to 12 runners, but that still means a lot of traffic, especially after only seven runners started last year.
Thorpedo Anna won last year and probably would have been the favorite this year, but she was retired in mid-October. Surely we’ll be following along to see how her progeny does, but that’ll be a little while. For now, the focus is on these 12 horses and their accomplishments.
The Breeders’ Cup Distaff will be Race 7 in your Saturday Del Mar program with post time expected to be 5:01 p.m. ET on November 1.
Breeders’ Cup Distaff 2025 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Nitrogen | J. Ortiz | M. Casse | 4-1 |
| 2 | Sarawak Rim | I. Ortiz Jr. | I. Correas | 12-1 |
| 3 | Clicquot | F. Prat | B. Walsh | 10-1 |
| 4 | Scylla | J. Alvarado | W. Mott | 15-1 |
| 5 | Scottish Lassie | J. Rosario | J. Abreu | SCR |
| 6 | Alice Verite | K. Frey | K. Nakatake | 20-1 |
| 7 | Gin Gin | L. Saez | B. Walsh | 12-1 |
| 8 | Seismic Beauty | J.J. Hernandez | B. Baffert | 9/5 |
| 9 | Majestic Oops | U. Rispoli | D. Ward | 30-1 |
| 10 | Gun Song | T. Gaffalione | M. Hennig | 30-1 |
| 11 | Dry Powder | A. Fresu | C. Summers | 20-1 |
| 12 | Dorth Vader | J. Velazquez | G. Weaver | 5-1 |
| 13 | Regaled | J. Ramos | D. Beckman | 30-1 |
There are a lot of good horses here, but for a signature Breeders’ Cup event, it feels like a lot more quantity over quality. You can see that by the fact that Seismic Beauty is such a strong favorite. Dominant 3-year-old fillies weren’t really a thing this year and the best of the bunch is probably Nitrogen, who drew the rail post here.
On the plus side, there are some creative ways to put exotics together here with some prices that could end up hitting the board, seeing as how the morning line odds only had three single-digit prices. Scratched Scottish Lassie was also a 12-1 shot, so that did alter some prices from the morning lines listed here.
Here are some thoughts on each horse at the odds at time of publish:
1. Nitrogen (4-1; J. Ortiz/Casse): Mark Casse has a really good one here in Nitrogen. She’s raced a ton with 11 starts, including eight this year, but she has six wins and two seconds in all stakes races. The distance of 1 ⅛ miles won’t be a factor for her, as she won the Alabama Stakes back in August in her first test at 1 ¼. She was second by a head to Gin Gin last time out in the G1 Spinster and second in the Belmont Oaks Invitational to Fionn by a nose. Even when she loses, she’s right there.
The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro and Tiffany Case actually had a career-best 95 Beyer in that close loss to Gin Gin last time out. This is a fairly quick turn for her, but she’s also raced every month except September since the Florida Oaks in March. She’s absolutely a contender and has a closing style that fits the pace of this race. She’s had enough data points to prove her mettle on dirt after starting on turf.
2. Sarawak Rim (12-1; I. Ortiz/Correas): Sarawak Rim is something of an unknown here for Ignacio Correas. He gets a top rider in Irad Ortiz Jr., as this horse has five career races in Argentina with four wins and a second. The bloodline is pretty solid here with Remote and Sarawak Top, who have produced stakes winners in the past. Correas has history in this race with Argentinian horses, picking up the 2019 win with Blue Prize, albeit at slightly smaller odds than what he has here.
This will be Correas’ first race with the horse and he got Irad to take the mount. This horse truly has the potential to contend based on the context clues.
3. Clicquot (10-1; Prat/Walsh): Ortiz taking up the mount on Sarawak Rim is made even more compelling by the fact that he has ridden Clicquot to three of her four career wins. Instead, Flavien Prat draws the ride here for Brendan Walsh aboard the daughter of Quality Road and Royal Obsession. Clicquot’s wins are not exactly getting a ton of respect, as she won the G1 in-name-only Cotillion at Parx back in September, coming off the shelf more than three months after a win in the Indiana Oaks.
The layoff might have been good for her, as she fired a career-best 92 Beyer to beat fellow Distaff contender Dry Powder by a neck. Distance shouldn’t be an issue for the daughter of Quality Road, but this is her first test at 1 ⅛ miles and you wonder how she’ll handle that, especially with so much extra traffic in the 12-horse field.
4. Scylla (15-1; Alvarado/Mott): Last year at this time, Scylla tried her luck in the Filly & Mare Sprint. This year, she’ll go on a route run instead and take her chances in the Distaff. You have to go back to the 2024 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs to find her last win. In fact, it was a run of three straight wins and she hasn’t won since.
The well-bred daughter of Tapit and Close Hatches has been bested by a variety of contenders, including Gin Gin and Nitrogen in this field last time out in the Spinster. That was Junior Alvarado’s first ride on her and he’ll get the call here as she goes 1 ⅛ miles for just the third time in her career.
5. Scottish Lassie (12-1; Rosario/Abreu): Scottish Lassie was scratched on Oct. 30.
6. Alice Verite (20-1; Frey/Nakatake): Japanese import Alice Verite started as a turf horse and actually made her dirt debut in this race last year. It was an admirable effort with a fourth-place finish in a race easily won by Thorpedo Anna. She returned to Japan and has four starts on four different tracks this year, with no finishes better than fourth.
Kyle Frey gets the ride again, just like he did last year and it was a rocky one in the field of seven. Alice Verite wants to run out front if she can and the traffic and push towards the rail might bottle her up again this year with a much larger group.
7. Gin Gin (12-1; Saez/Walsh): The daughter of Hightail and Before You Know It seems to be blossoming as a 4-year-old. She’s won twice and has a second and a fourth since moving from the Brad Cox barn to the Brendan Walsh barn. She outran Nitrogen in the Spinster in the first ride for terrific jock Luis Saez.
It was a wire-to-wire effort for Saez and Gin Gin over 1 ⅛ miles in that one and that’s what she’ll be asked to go here. Her 95 Beyer to beat Nitrogen wasn’t even her best career effort. That was off the shelf at Keeneland in her first race for Walsh. But, she’s been thoroughly consistent this year with Beyers of 95, 81, 94, and 96 under Walsh’s guidance. She’s a very legitimate threat here, even shipping to the west for the first time.
8. Seismic Beauty (9/5; Hernandez/Baffert): Shipping is not an issue for Seismic Beauty, as the hometown gal is coming off of a blazing 110 Beyer to win the Clement L. Hirsch on August 2 for regular rider J.J. Hernandez. She’s the only horse in the field to fire two 100+ Beyers and one of two to hit triple digits. She didn’t debut as a 3-year-old until August and burst onto the scene with a second and a first before shutting down for the winter.
Things started a little slow this year with a second and a third in a couple of optional claiming sprints, but she’s loved a mile or more thus far. She crushed the field with a five-length win in the G2 Santa Margarita, her stakes debut. She followed that up with the Hirsch win, but she hasn’t raced since August 2. Of course, she hadn’t raced since May 25 prior to that and that’s when she had a career effort.
9. Majestic Oops (30-1; Rispoli/Ward): This looks like a pretty expensive participation trophy for Majestic Oops, with $60,000 put up to have a shot in this field. The top 10 finishers get something for their efforts, but only the top five make enough to cover the entry fees. The 5-year-old daughter of Majestic Harbor and Miss Oops has done pretty well for Dan Ward, who took over at the start of 2025.
Ward has picked his spots wisely, as the horse has 10 starts this year with three wins, three seconds, and a third for nearly half a million in earnings. Her career-best 96 Beyer could get her in contention here, but she’s been on a downward trend since that high point and she’ll be out west for the first time. Umberto Rispoli gets the ride for the first time.
10. Gun Song (30-1; Gaffalione/Hennig): When Gun Song shows up, she shows up big. She only has five career wins, but the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Cathryn Sophia Stakes are two of them with some nice purses. She just won for the first time in 2025 in the G2 Beldame beating a pretty good horse in Randomized to get there. She’s raced all over the place, but never at Del Mar, so we’ll see how she takes to the California dirt.
Regular rider John Velazquez will not be aboard, as he’s on third favorite Dorth Vader. Tyler Gaffalione gets the call here. The only other riders dating back to the start of 2024 have been Jose Lezcano and Julien Leparoux.
11. Dry Powder (20-1; Fresu/Summers): Gun Song’s half-sister is to her right, as Dry Powder, also sired by Gun Runner, takes on her biggest test as a 3-year-old. She won the Cathryn Sophia Stakes with Luis Saez in the mount and was second to Clicquot in the Cotillion with Antonio Fresu. Fresu gets the ride again here following a career-best 91 Beyer for the daughter of Tell All.
This is a bump in distance from her last two starts. She finished third in the four-horse Coaching Club American Oaks, more than 21 lengths behind the winner. Her last two runs have been her best two and maybe she’s maturing as a 3-year-old late in the season. She’s a price to think about looking at exotics.
12. Dorth Vader (5-1; Velazquez/Weaver): In my opinion, this is the hardest horse in the field to handicap. Dorth Vader has 17 career races and only five wins, but she’s racked up over $1 million in earnings with wins in the Davona Dale and Ogden Phipps leading the charge. She only ran once as a 4-year-old and has finished no worse than fourth as a 5-year-old for trainer George Weaver.
Regular rider John Velazquez has the mount here, as he’s been the rider ever since Weaver took over in June 2023 from Michael Yates. As a horse that ran right with Thorpedo Anna in the Personal Ensign Stakes last time out, you can see the reason for optimism, as she had a 100 Beyer. This distance has also been good for her and her last three races have been very strong.
13. Regaled (30-1; Ramos/Beckman): The long shot on the far outside has finished in the trifecta in all six races this season and has finished second, third, and first since Whit Beckman took over from Samuel Davis. Joe Ramos gets the ride again, as he has in the last three races. She’s improved in each one of them, posting Beyers of 89, 92, and 94. If she can inch up a couple of points here, she can hit the board at a number.
The daughter of Mohaymen and Ascot Walk has never appeared in a G1 race and she seems to like the slop more than others, as she won at Delaware Park on a muddy track and has had two other really strong efforts in the rain. She’ll have a sunny, dry, fast track here.
Breeders’ Cup Distaff Predictions
Seismic Beauty deserves to be favored, but this race, and especially the way exotics land, feels completely wide-open. I really love the way that Gin Gin is developing with the trainer change and her last data point with a win over Nitrogen. At the price, she’s absolutely worth a look to win this and definitely to hit the board. I like Gin Gin over Seismic Beauty and Nitrogen, though the race for third and fourth could feature a lot of different competitors. I’ll put Dorth Vader there.
Prediction: 7-8-1-12
