The Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge at Keeneland this Saturday (Oct. 14) has attracted an especially strong group. Thirteen, including one also eligible, are entered in this 1 1/8-mile grass affair, aka the QEII.

From the rail out, the field is comprised of Mission Joy, Elusive Princess, Safeen, Mawj, Be Your Best, Lindy, Sounds of Heaven, Elounda Queen, Heavenly Sunday, Liguria, Prerequisite and Papilio, along with Freydis the Red, who is the lone also eligible.

U.S. and Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is sending out Papilio, who had the misfortune to draw post 12. Casse won the 2017 renewal with La Coronel.

This Saturday’s QEII “is one of the toughest ones I’ve seen in years,” Casse said Tuesday on Steve Byk’s SiriuxXM radio program At the Races. “It’s a tremendous race. I mean, when Papilio is 10-1 in the morning line, that tells you how tough it is. Oh my goodness! This has to be one of the best 3-year-old fillies I’ve seen in a long time.”

Casse isn’t kidding. To a large extent because of the size of the field, Nick Tammaro has made a number of quality fillies a big number on his morning line. This is the same dynamic that I will have to deal with when making the morning lines for this year’s Breeders’ Cup races, lots of quality horses in numerous large fields.

Considering the excellent field that has been assembled for this year’s QEII, I decided a look at the entrants, one by one, is in order.

No. 1 Mission of Joy (20-1 on the morning line). She is a two-time Grade III winner with a Hall of Fame jockey (John Velazquez) and a Kentucky Derby-winning trainer (Graham Motion). In Mission of Joy’s latest three starts, she has been a 7-10 favorite (won the Grade III Regret Stakes), a 2-1 favorite (finished seventh in the Grade I Belmont Oaks) and an 11-10 favorite (finished fourth in the Virginia Oaks). But in this deep race, Mission of Joy is indeed a longshot.

No. 2 Elusive Princess (3-1). Without question, she is a major player, as reflected by her low odds on the morning line. She’s coming off a dominant 3 1/4-length victory on soft ground as a 13-10 favorite in the Grade III Saratoga Oaks after winning three of seven in France.

No. 3 Safeen (30-1). She was good enough to win the Grade III Pucker Up Stakes at Ellis Park as a 6-5 favorite before finishing eighth as a 5-2 favorite in the Dueling Grounds Oaks on that tricky Kentucky Downs layout. In eight career starts, Safeen’s odds have never been higher than 7-1. In this spot, she’s definitely a longshot.

No. 4 Mawj (2-1). Granted, she hasn’t started since May 7. But, wow, what a race she ran that day. She defeated 19 opponents to win the Group I One Thousand Guineas in England by a half-length at Newmarket. The runner-up was none other than Tahiyra, an exceptional talent trained by the great Dermot Weld. Tahiyra won the Matron at Leopardstown in Ireland on Sept. 9, her fourth Group I victory in six lifetime starts.

“Tahiyra has become somewhat of a superstar filly over in Europe, landing the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Group I), Coronation Stakes (Group I) and Matron Stakes (Group I) in her last three starts,” BloodHorse’s Molly Rollins wrote in her QEII preview.

Mawj was credited with a huge 117 Timeform Rating for her One Thousand Guineas performance.

By the way, Mawj is a half-sister to Modern Games. Now retired, Modern Games was a 2022 Eclipse Award recipient as champion male turf horse after winning last year’s Grade I BC Mile at Keeneland. Modern Games also won the Grade I BC Juvenile Turf in 2021 at Del Mar.

No. 5 Be Your Best (20-1). This is a nice filly. She finished a close second (to QEII rival Prerequisite) in Saratoga’s Grade II Wonder Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, then ended up ninth when finding the 1 1/4-mile trip of the Grade I Belmont Oaks too far. When back in a shorter 1 1/8-mile race, Be Your Best finished a respectable second to the talented Anisette in the Grade I Del Mar Oaks. Anisette ran second to older win machine Didia in Santa Anita’s Grade II Rodeo Drive Stakes last Saturday (Oct. 7). Despite Be Your Best’s runner-up efforts in the Wonder Again and Del Mar Oaks, she no doubt will be a big price in the QEII.

No. 6 Lindy (6-1). She belongs on the list of QEII contenders, as reflected by being 6-1 on the ML. Lindy is coming off a 1 1/4-length win in a one-mile allowance/optional claiming contest at Kentucky Downs. True, she is moving way up in class to the Grade I level in the QEII, but it’s important to note that she was good enough to finish second twice earlier this year in France to Blue Rose Cen, one of the top 3-year-old fillies in Europe. Blue Rose Cen is a three-time Group I winner in France this year. On Oct. 1, Blue Rose Cen proved a punctual 8-5 favorite in the Group I Prix de l’Opera at ParisLongchamp.

No. 7 Sounds of Heaven (8-1). Here is yet another European shipper. She has not competed since finishing sixth in France’s Group I Prix Rothschild at Deauville on July 30. But at Royal Ascot on June 23, she finished third in the Group I Coronation Stakes, only one length behind a tough adversary in the aforementioned Tahiyra.

No. 8 Elounda Queen (10-1). This French invader comes off a narrow victory in a Group III race at Deauville on Aug. 15. She has won four of nine career starts. The 1 1/8-mile QEII will be the farthest she has ever raced. Mawj and Elusive Princess both bring much stronger Euro credentials to the QEII than this filly.

No. 9 Heavenly Sunday (30-1). She’s a Grade II winner in the hands of two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox. The biggest price that Heavenly Sunday has been in the betting to date is 9-1. She won the Grade II Edgewood at Churchill Downs on May 5. Yet in this race, Heavenly Sunday is expected to be pretty much ignored by horseplayers. She is pegged at 30-1 on the ML.

No. 10 Liguria (15-1). When do you ever get a juicy price like 15-1 on the ML with a Grade III-winning filly trained by Chad Brown and ridden by 2021 Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario? You do if it’s the 2023 QEII. In Liguria’s last three starts, all in New York, she’s been a 9-5 favorite, a 2-1 favorite and a 3-1 favorite. She will get nowhere close to favoritism this Saturday.

No. 11 Prerequisite (20-1). This Grade II-winning filly trained by Brown and ridden by four-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is an even bigger price on the QEII ML than Liguria. Prerequisite is the filly who won the Wonder Again at Belmont Park in June by edging Be Your Best, who’s also in this race. Since winning the Wonder Again, Prerequisite has finished second in the Grade I Belmont Oaks and fifth in the Grade II Lake Placid Stakes.

In five starts going into Saturday’s race, Prerequisite has been 5-2, 5-1, 7-1, 7-2 and 4-1. But in this extremely tough edition of the QEII, she is 20-1 on the ML.

Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer, has won the QE II a record five times (Dayatthespa in 2021, Rushing Fall in 2018, Cambier Parc in 2019, Shantisara in 2021 and Gina Romantica in 2022). Even so, both fillies trained by Brown in this Saturday’s QEII are ML longshots.

No. 12 Papilio (10-1). This Grade II-winning filly’s pilot will be Javier Castellano, a Hall of Fame jockey who has won this year’s Kentucky Derby on Mage, plus this year’s Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes aboard Arcangelo. Since coming to the U.S. from Ireland, Papilio has been a jewel of consistency, finishing third or better in all six starts.

Papilio’s most recent start came in the Grade III Saratoga Oaks, which was contested at 1 3/16 miles on soft ground during a downpour. Eighth early, she motored past rivals with a powerful move on the far turn and appeared to briefly get a slight lead in upper stretch. But Papilio could not sustain her rally. Elusive Princess won going away by 3 3/4 lengths after sweeping by Papilo in the stretch. Papilio had to settle for third. Nevertheless, that impressive move Papilio made on the far turn on such a soggy course suggests she certainly should not be cavalierly dismissed in the QEII.

No. 13 Freydis the Red (10-1). As the only one on the also-eligible list, she will not get an opportunity to run unless someone scratches. Third in the Grade III Pucker Up Stakes won by QEII entrant Safeen, Freydis the Red is coming off a 2 3/4-length win in the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Oaks (Safeen finished eighth).

Below are my Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup selections:

1. Mawj
2. Elusive Princess
3. Papilio
4. Sounds of Heaven

I like Mawj a lot in this race. I will be betting her. Look, I do have respect for Elusive Princess. Do I think Elusive Princess could possibly win? Yes. But I really expect Mawj to defeat this group.

I also consider Papilio to be a candidate to hit the board after that terrific move she made on the far turn over a turf course that was a bog when she finished third in the Saratoga Oaks.

FINAL 2023 LONGINES BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC RANKINGS

Arcangelo tops the final Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly rating of the Top 10 horses in contention for America’s richest race, the $6 million BC Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

The first 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Rankings back on July 18 had Cody’s Wish at No. 1, followed by No. 2 West Will Power, No. 3 Forte, No. 4 Defunded, No. 5 Arcangelo, No. 6 Mage, No. 7 Rattle N Roll, No. 8 Charge It, No. 9 Art Collector and No. 10 Stilleto Boy.

Cody’s Wish remained No. 1 until he finished third to White Abarrio and Zandon in Saratoga’s Grade I Whitney Stakes on Aug. 5. After Cody’s Wish did not win the 1 1/8-mile Whitney, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said that the 5-year-old son of Curlin would target a repeat win in the Grade I BC Dirt Mile rather than run in this year’s BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles.

Following the Whitney loss by Cody’s Wish, Forte took over the top spot in the poll. He was ranked No. 1 for three straight weeks until he ran fourth in Saratoga’s Grade I Travers Stakes on Aug. 26. The Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male of 2022 is No. 10 in this week’s final poll.

Arcangelo won the Grade III Peter Pan Stakes on May 13 and Grade I Belmont Stakes on June 10 prior to his one-length triumph in the Travers. He moved into the No. 1 position after the Travers. Arcangelo has ranked No. 1 for the final seven weeks of this year’s poll.

Jena Antonucci trains Arcangelo, a gray or roan ridgling by 2016 BC Classic winner Arrogate.

The final Top 10 in the 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Rankings is below:

Rank Points Horse (First-Place Votes)

1. 312 Arcangelo (23)
2. 261 Geaux Rocket Ride (1)
3. 245 Arabian Knight (4)
4. 222 White Abarrio (3)
5. 136 Zandon
6. 116 Bright Future
7. 103 Ushba Tesoro (2)
8. 101 Proxy
9. 97 Saudi Crown (2)
10. 90 Forte

WHAT WERE THE FINAL 2022 BC CLASSIC RANKINGS?

Six different horses have received a first-place vote or votes in the final 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings. It was quite a different story last year. The fabulous Flightline received as 35 first-place votes in the final 2022 poll.

The final Top 10 in the 2022 Longines Breeders’ Cup Rankings is below:

Rank Points Horse (First-Place Votes)

1. 350 Flightline (35)
2. 291 Epicenter
3. 265 Life Is Good
4. 217 Taiba
5. 216 Olympiad
6. 191 Hot Rod Charlie
7. 94 Country Grammer
8. 73 Rich Strike
9. 69 Cyberknife
10. 42 Happy Saver

Flightline headed into the BC Classic off a Secretariat-like 19 1/4-length victory in Del Mar’s Pacific Classic. He recorded a whopping 126 Beyer Speed Figure for what I labeled as being “a goosebumps performance” in that 1 1/4-mile race. Indeed, NBC racing commentator Randy Moss called Flightline’s Pacific Classic the greatest performance in American racing since Secretariat’s legendary 31-length victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes to end a 25-year Triple Crown drought.

Going into the BC Classic, Flightline had won all five of his races by a combined 62 3/4 lengths. His average winning margin prior to the BC Classic was 12 1/2 lengths.

Flightline won the BC Classic by 8 1/4 lengths. That broke the record for the biggest winning margin in the history of the BC Classic, which was first run in 1984. The previous mark of 6 1/2 lengths had been set by pick-six-scandal-exposer Volponi in 2002 and matched by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015. Volponi was a 49-1 longshot. American Pharoah was a 3-5 favorite.

Tammaro made Flightline a 3-5 favorite on the BC Classic morning line. DRF’s Brad Free likewise listed Flightline as a 3-5 favorite in his DRF odds.

“I think there is a pretty good chance that Flightline is going to be 2-5, which would break the record for lowest odds ever by a BC Classic favorite,” I wrote for Xpressbet.com. “Easy Goer holds that record. Easy Goer was a 1-2 favorite when he finished second to Sunday Silence in the 1989 BC Classic at Gulfstream Park.

“One of the reasons I believe Flightline very possibly is going to be lower than 3-5 or 1-2 is he doesn’t have a rival who is going to get bet as much as Sunday Silence did in the 1989 BC Classic. Sunday Silence was 2-1 when he met Easy Goer in a Horse of the Year showdown in the BC Classic. Yes, Epicenter and Taiba are very good 3-year-olds. They certainly are going to attract some wagering support in the BC Classic, as will 4-year-old multiple Grade I winner Life Is Good. But I don’t see Epicenter, Taiba, Life Is Good or anyone else being anywhere close to 2-1 vs. Flightline in the BC Classic.”

Flightline did start as a 2-5 favorite in the BC Classic.

Those running in this year’s BC Classic are very, very, very lucky that Flightline was retired from racing after he won last year’s renewal.

Just imagine how exciting this year’s BC Classic would be if Flightline had continued racing in 2023? One wonders what a 2023 campaign of his would have looked like. Would he have run in the $20 million Saudi Cup and/or the $12 million Dubai World Cup? Or would he have skipped the first half of 2023 and perhaps focused on the second half of the year?

Whatever races Flightline would have run in this year if he had not been retired to stud, there is no question in my mind that no horse seen so far during 2023 in this country could have come anywhere close to beating him.

Ah, one can only imagine what might have been.

Flightline is No. 1 on my list of the Top 100 Thoroughbreds of the 21st century so far to have won in North America, as shown below:

1. Flightline
2. American Pharoah*
3. Zenyatta
4. Arrogate
5. Ghostzapper
6. Curlin
7. Rachel Alexandra
8. Justify*
9. Shared Belief
10. California Chrome
11. Tiznow
12. Gun Runner
13. Invasor
14. Wise Dan
15. Point Given
16. Goldikova
17. Beholder
18. Enable
19. Barbaro
20. Smarty Jones
21. Bernardini
22. Azeri
23. Lava Man
24. Bricks and Mortar
25. Rags to Riches
26. Candy Ride
27. Blame
28. Pleasantly Perfect
29. Kona Gold
30. Mineshaft
31. Saint Liam
32. Intercontinental
33. Ouija Board
34. Life Is Good
35. Knicks Go
36. Authentic
37. Tepin
38. Essential Quality
39. Afleet Alex
40. Songbird
41. Monomoy Girl
42. Xtra Heat
43. Game On Dude
44. Mucho Macho Man
45. Empire Maker
46. Congaree
47. Conduit
48. I’ll Have Another
49. Kitten’s Joy
50. Roses in May
51. Blind Luck
52. Havre de Grace
53. Royal Delta
54. Big Brown
55. Lost in the Fog
56. Midnight Bisou
57. Cape Blanco
58. Gio Ponti
59. Lookin At Lucky
60. English Channel
61. Medaglia d’Oro
62. Tiz the Law
63. Midnight Lute
64. Street Sense
65. Discreet Cat
66. Lawyer Ron
67. Nyquist
68. Ashado
69. Monarchos
70. Quality Road
71. Fantastic Light
72. Flintshire
73. High Chaparral
74. Lady Eli
75. Funny Cide
76. Rock Hard Ten
77. Raven’s Pass
78. Maximum Security
79. Frosted
80. Gamine
81. Unique Bella
82. Uncle Mo
83. City of Light
84. Accelerate
85. Mitole
86. Groupie Doll
87. Lemon Drop Kid
88. Runhappy
89. Aptitude
90. Commentator
91. Lido Palace
92. Sightseek
93. Surfside
94. Sistercharlie
95. Fort Larned
96. Street Cry
97. Left Bank
98. Vino Rosso
99. Animal Kingdom
100. Roy H

*Triple Crown winner

TOP 10 IN THIS WEEK’S NTRA TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL

As shown below, Arcangelo again ranks No. 1 in week 37 of this year’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, which concludes following the Breeders’ Cup:

Rank Points Horse (First-Place Votes)

1. 315 Arcangelo (23)
2. 309 Cody’s Wish (8)
3. 216 Echo Zulu (1)
4. 210 Elite Power (1)
4. 210 Up to the Mark (2)
6. 179 White Abarrio (2)
7. 130 Arabian Knight
8. 117 Idomatic
9. 88 Geaux Rocket Ride
10. 39 Casa Creed