Daily Racing Form expert handicapper and analyst Steve Andersen previews the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf 2025, including the entries, odds, and past performances of the field.
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She has won Grade 1 races in California, Canada, and New York in the last 12 months, was beaten only a head in her only loss this year, and has a consistent style of stalking the pace and delivering a successful rally.
There is much to like about She Feels Pretty in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, with one exception. She has a tough assignment from post 13 in a field of 14.
The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf will be Race 12 in your Saturday Del Mar program with post time expected to be 8:25 p.m. ET on November 1.
Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf 2025 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Mission of Joy | U. Rispoli | P. D’Amato | 30-1 |
| 2 | Stellify | F. Geroux | B. Cox | 30-1 |
| 3 | Atsila | G. Ryan | D. O’Brien | 20-1 |
| 4 | Village Voice | F. Prat | C. Brown | 15-1 |
| 5 | Gezora | M. Barzalona | F. Graffard | 7/2 |
| 6 | Diamond Rain | B. Loughnane | C. Appleby | 6-1 |
| 7 | Be Your Best | I. Ortiz Jr. | S. Joseph Jr. | 30-1 |
| 8 | Cathedral | D. Egan | K. De Foy | 30-1 |
| 9 | Cinderella’s Dream | W. Buick | C. Appleby | 9/2 |
| 10 | La Kika | M. Demuro | D. O’Neill | 30-1 |
| 11 | Bedtime Story | C. Soumillon | A P O’Brien | 12-1 |
| 12 | Bellezza | T. Gaffalione | M. Clement | 20-1 |
| 13 | She Feels Pretty | J. Velazquez | C. DeVaux | 4-1 |
| 14 | See The Fire | O. Murphy | A. Balding | 5-1 |
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There will be no room for error for She Feels Pretty in a field with such distinguished runners as Gezora, winner of the Group 1 French Oaks in June; Diamond Rain, who finished second to She Feels Pretty in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in August; Cinderella’s Dream, second in the 2024 BC Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar; Bellezza, winner of the Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes at Saratoga in August; and See The Fire, a good second in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera in Paris on Oct. 5.
But She Feels Pretty, who races for Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables and trainer Cherie DeVaux, is the only three-time stakes winner of 2025 in the lineup.
A winner of 8 of 12 starts, She Feels Pretty can win her eighth stakes, and sixth Grade 1, in the BC Filly and Mare Turf at 1 3/8 miles.
“She’s special in that no matter what we ask her to do, she does everything,” DeVaux said.
She Feels Pretty will start at 1 3/8 miles for the first time in the BC Filly and Mare Turf, an issue that does not overly concern DeVaux. The key to a successful race will unfold in the first half-mile if jockey John Velazquez can secure a good trip from post 13.
If that can be achieved, She Feels Pretty is likely to race as a stalker.
“She’s agreeable to do whatever Johnny wants her to do,” DeVaux said. “She waits for her cue to go.”
The style worked when She Feels Pretty won the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 1/4 miles on turf for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita last December, in the Grade 1 New York Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on June 6 at Saratoga, and in the E.P. Taylor Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on Aug. 16.
Her only loss this year was a second by a head to the now-retired Excellent Truth in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf July 12 at Saratoga.
“Even that was one of her best races,” DeVaux said.
Gezora appears as the leading challenger to She Feels Pretty and may go off favored. Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard of France, Gezora won the Group 1 French Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Chantilly in June and was a good second to the well-regarded Aventure in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at 1 1/2 miles on Sept. 7 at Longchamp.
Bedtime Story, third in the Prix Vermeille, is Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s only hope in the BC Filly and Mare Turf.
Following the Prix Vermeille, Gezora did not have a good performance in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe against males at Longchamp in Paris on Oct. 5. She was an outsider at 31-1 and raced at the back of the field, finishing 13th by 10 1/2 lengths.
“She didn’t have a hard race in the Arc,” Graffard said Wednesday.
Gezora has won 4 of 9 starts at distances ranging from about a mile to 1 5/16 miles in the French Oaks. She typically runs as a stalker or from midpack.
“I want her to be closer to the pace, into the rhythm of the race, and have a clear run when they pick up,” Graffard said.
The BC Filly and Mare Turf is Gezora’s final start for Graffard. She is scheduled to be sent to trainer Chad Brown after Saturday’s race, Brown said Wednesday.
Aside from Gezora, the leading European-based runners are the 4-year-old fillies Cinderella’s Dream and Diamond Rain, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin Racing; and See The Fire, trained by Andrew Balding.
Cinderella’s Dream won the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile at Newmarket Racecourse in England in July. She was third in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes at a mile on Oct. 4 at Newmarket “on ground on the slow side and her minimum trip,” Appleby said.
“She’s definitely come forward from that run,” he said.
Diamond Rain had her Grade 1 debut, and first start in North America, in the E.P. Taylor Stakes, closing from sixth of seven.
“What she achieved in the E.P Taylor we were delighted with,” Appleby said.
Diamond Rain was held out of early autumn stakes on purpose.
“I didn’t see a gain to that,” Appleby said. “We thought – let’s come in here fresh and well.”
While She Feels Pretty has a tough post, See The Fire is to her outside. At least the firm ground will be to her liking, Balding said.
“The draw has not helped,” he said. “It will be tough to get in from that post. She’s been at her best on the quicker surfaces.”
Brown has a fascinating outsider in the Filly and Mare Turf in Village Voice, a minor stakes winner in France in 2024 who won her American debut with a late rally in the Grade 3 Waya Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf on Oct. 5 at Aqueduct.
“I think she’ll move forward,” Brown said. “It makes sense to run her.”
The BC Filly and Mare Turf distance will suit Bellezza, who won the Flower Bowl over that trip Aug. 30. Trainer Miguel Clement said earlier this week that Bellezza is best suited to firm turf, which she will get Saturday. Earlier this year, Bellezza won the Grade 3 Sheepshead Bay Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on firm turf at Aqueduct.
“She’s still improving. She’s only 4,” Clement said. “She was very impressive in the Sheepshead Bay. I expected a good performance on firm turf.”
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