To properly understand the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies this year, the input of these three guests is paramount. In fact, missing this article may account for thousands in losses for anyone naive enough to overlook it. All three guests stayed up for nights on end deciphering this puzzle, and their findings are nothing short of astounding.
At this point, any loyal Paddy’s Picks reader should be familiar with Jill “Rice Dicer” Rice and Gillian Russo, who have been enthusiastic guests on this website since its inception. Their work is readily available across the majority of my past big race coverage, and their talents in the racing world and in all of their other efforts are common knowledge.
Meanwhile, relative newcomer Cristine Kalinski, also known as “The Dame of Del Mar,” has emerged with analysis rivaling any expert. For someone literally divining the horse’s talents through their names, picks like Hot Rod Charlie in the Haskell and Art Collector in the Woodward this year frankly feel supernatural. She also beat me in poker with four jacks once, something I still haven’t recovered from.
In the world of racing, these three represent the handicapping elite. Ignore them at your own risk.
For the official Paddy’s Picks Analysis of this race, click here.
To return to the Breeders’ Cup Friday Master List, click here.
Race 7
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) for Two-Year-Old Fillies, 1 1/16 Miles on the Dirt
1- Desert Dawn
Jill: She sounds like a middle-aged mom and a beautiful sunrise. So I bet she’s pretty but a little high maintenance.
Gil: Desert Dawn: The Newest Blockbuster Western Movie Starring This Horse. If he can’t swing it in racing, he could have a great film career with that name.
Cristine: A little boring and working too hard on the alliteration, doesn’t inspire me with too much confidence about the horse
2- Hidden Connection
Jill: Hidden Connection will make the connection between last place and first, but I’m not sure that she’ll do well enough to win.
Gil: I chose the horse with the tryst-sounding name (Spanish Loveaffair) last time I did this. She lost greatly, so I won’t make the same mistake again. Pass.
Cristine: Super mysterious. My guess is that this is a dark horse, both literally and figuratively (don’t correct if I’m wrong).
3- Sequist
Jill: A nice Latin root, but it means “to follow” — so I can’t see her ending up in first.
Gil: Like sequins. Glitzy. Glamorous. My kinda horse.
Cristine: No fucking idea honestly. Looks like they misspelled Seabiscuit and then forgot some letters.
4- Tarabi
Jill: It sounds like an Arabian, and I feel like Arabians are pretty fast. But maybe her name is just too short for her to win.
Gil: Cool name. I have nothing clever to say about it, but I support her.
Cristine: Also not quite sure what to make of this name but I do like it. I would root for this horse.
5- Juju’s Map
Jill: I love maps. As someone with a J-name, this seems wonderful to me! But maybe she needs a map to get around, which would slow her down.
Gil: I would say that any horse that needs a map is probably going to have trouble following the racetrack to a win, but if she *is* the map, I guess she’s charting a course to victory. Godspeed.
Cristine: Something about this screams of old power to me. I would be afraid to bet against this horse.
6- Echo Zulu
Jill: I think these are the NATO phonetic alphabet, which is really cool. She makes this race look E-Z!
Gil: Okay, bear with me here: I’m thinking about the opening number of The Lion King, the Circle of Life (sung in Zulu!) and it echoes throughout the Pride Lands. But for some reason I don’t think she’s gonna live up to that royal association. Just a gut feeling that’s probably wrong, but doing zero research into these horses is kinda my whole thing.
Cristine: Sort of a chaotic but fun name. I would guess this horse is young but full of energy and ready to win big.
Jill’s Pick: 6- Echo Zulu
I heard from a Very Important Horse Knowledge Guy that Echo Zulu is likely to win. I like her phonetic name and she will breeze past the alphabet of the rest of the horses from E to Z! Echo Zulu will surpass the rest of the pack and I will not win money, since I’m not betting anything on this race.
Gil’s Pick: 3- Sequist
I’ve got to go with Sequist. An understated name, easy to forget amid the Hollywood-sounding Echo Zulus and Desert Dawns of the world, but I think it belies sparkling racing ability that, like a generously sequined outfit, you can’t miss. Or at least I hope so.
Cristine’s Pick: 6- Echo Zulu
I think I have to go Echo Zulu because, based on my own characterization, the horse seems like a spark of energy that’s ready to come out of the gates hot and have the young stamina to keep strong until the finish.