Daily Racing Form expert handicapper and analyst Mike Welsch previews the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies 2025, including the entries, odds, and past performances of the field.
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As if a $2 million purse and the honor of becoming a Breeders’ Cup winner were not enough, a division championship is also certain to be at stake when nine 2-year-old fillies square off at 1 1/16 miles Friday at Del Mar in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
The wide-open Juvenile Fillies will bring together the best of the division from both coasts. The East contingent is led by two-time Grade 1 winner Tommy Jo, the undefeated Iron Orchard, and Percy’s Bar, who was disqualified and placed second following an apparent victory in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland in her last start. The West will be ably represented by the Bob Baffert-trained duo of Explora and Bottle of Rouge, along with the Grade 3-placed La Ville Lumiere and recent maiden winners Super Corredora and Meaning.
Tommy Jo was nothing short of sensational in capturing her first two starts by a combined 10 1/4 lengths this summer at Saratoga, including the Grade 1 Spinaway by 6 1/2 lengths over Percy’s Bar. She was a bit of a disappointment to many, however, including her trainer, Todd Pletcher, despite being declared the official winner of the 1 1/16-mile Alcibiades via the somewhat controversial disqualification of Percy’s Bar on Oct. 3.
“I didn’t think she ran as well as she normally does in the Alcibiades,” Pletcher admitted. “She was showing some subtle signs of being in season, although I don’t know if that was the explanation.”
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Pletcher said Tommy Jo has had two very strong breezes since her last start, including a bullet half-mile in 47.80 seconds over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga prior to shipping to Del Mar last weekend.
“I don’t know if those works means she’s improved, necessarily. But all of her training says to me she can handle the distance, even if she didn’t run her best last time,” Pletcher noted. “I’m not sure how this race will play out. There is a bit of speed in the field. I just hope she can get a clean, smooth run and gets into a nice rhythm wherever she might wind up coming from.”
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies will be Race 7 in your Friday Del Mar program with post time expected to be 6:25 p.m. ET on October 31.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies 2025 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Iron Orchard | J. Rosario | D. Gargan | 6-1 |
| 2 | Bottle of Rouge | M. Smith | B. Baffert | 9/2 |
| 3 | Meaning | J. Ortiz | M. McCarthy | 15-1 |
| 4 | Percy’s Bar | L. Machado | B. Colebrook | 9/2 |
| 5 | Tommy Jo | J. Velazquez | T. Pletcher | 7/2 |
| 6 | La Ville Lumiere | K. Kimura | M. McCarthy | 20-1 |
| 7 | Explora | J. Hernandez | B. Baffert | 5/2 |
| 8 | Super Corredora | H. Berrios | J. Sadler | 15-1 |
| 9 | La Wally | F. Prat | M. Glatt | 10-1 |
Iron Orchard is perfect in three starts. She dominated New York-bred competition in wire-to-wire fashion to launch her career, then showed a new dimension when rallying from midpack to a nose decision over longshot Rileytole while stretching to a mile for the first time in the Frizette. Iron Orchard was subsequently purchased in the Fasig-Tipton flash sale for $2.5 million by her current owner KatieRich Stables, which has kept her with trainer Danny Gargan for the Breeders’ Cup.
“We were confident she would win her first two races, and we knew she was lightning fast,” said Gargan. “Going a mile was obviously a little bit of a question. She’s so fast, we weren’t sure she would be able to rate. We wanted to take her back a bit, although to be honest, I didn’t want to see her that far behind, and for about 10 jumps, when she got shuffled to sixth, I got nervous. I didn’t expect her to win from there. Then Joel [Rosario] hit her left-handed and she just exploded.”
Iron Orchard drew the rail for the Juvenile Fillies, and Gargan doesn’t expect to see her that far back again on Saturday.
“I don’t think breaking inside is the worst place in the world on this track,” Gargan added. “I’d like to see her sitting second or third in the pocket, although she’s quick enough [that] she can be on the lead if she wants to be.”
Percy’s Bar set a contested pace, then readily drew away from Tommy Jo through the final furlong when making her two-turn debut in the Alcibiades, only to lose that victory for coming out under a left-handed stick and solidly bumping that rival near midstretch. Many observers, including Percy’s Bar’s trainer, Ben Colebrook, felt the incident did not change the ultimate order of finish.
Bottle of Rouge and Explora will meet for a second time in the Juvenile Fillies, with Bottle of Rouge coming out a length the best when the pair finished one-two in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 6. Bottle of Rouge has not started since, while Explora returned to flatter the race with a convincing 4 1/4-length triumph going 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 2 Oak Leaf at Santa Anita four weeks later.
“They are two different types of fillies,” said Baffert. “Explora came back and ran well, while the other already had three races and I knew would stretch easily, so I decided to freshen her up and didn’t need to run her again.”
Baffert said he sees Explora forwardly placed in the Juvenile Fillies, with Bottle of Rouge likely doing her best running from behind.
“Explora has speed if you want to use it, so I don’t see her too far back,” Baffert predicted. “The other filly isn’t as quick, so I’d expect to see her back behind the leaders.”
La Ville Lumiere is the more experienced and accomplished of the Michael McCarthy-trained duo in the race along with Meaning, who ran to her 1-5 backing winning her only previous start by 3 1/2 lengths five weeks ago. La Ville Lumiere has already run four times, becoming Grade 2-placed in her most recent try when finishing third, 5 1/2 lengths behind Explora, in the Oak Leaf.
Super Corredora showed farther is better when stretching out to a mile to win a maiden race by 8 1/4 lengths going a mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 11. That was after having proven no match for Bottle of Rouge going 6 1/2 furlongs in her previous start two months earlier.
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