SUNTORY COLLECTION

Locally connected racehorses finish in top three in their races at Breeders’ Cup World Championships

Nearly a dozen locally connected racehorses competed at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 1-2 at the Del Mar racetrack. Several of the contenders finished in the top three in their races: Vodka With a Twist (second, $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies), co-owned by Bill Strauss of Del Mar; Gaming (second, $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance), co-owned by part-time Del Mar resident Mike Pegram; Johannes (second, $2 million FanDue

Locally connected racehorses finish in top three in their races at Breeders’ Cup World Championships + ' Main Photo'

Nearly a dozen locally connected racehorses competed at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 1-2 at the Del Mar racetrack.

Several of the contenders finished in the top three in their races: Vodka With a Twist (second, $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies), co-owned by Bill Strauss of Del Mar; Gaming (second, $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance), co-owned by part-time Del Mar resident Mike Pegram; Johannes (second, $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF), owned by Joe and Debby McCloskey of Solana Beach (CUYATHY LLC); and Candied (third, $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff), co-owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which is headed by Rancho Santa Fe resident Aron Wellman.

Johannes was the closest to victory, falling short by only three-quarters of a length in the Mile.

“He ran dynamite,” said Johannes’ trainer, Tim Yakteen. “Unfortunately, we were unlucky on the wire, but he showed up. My hat is off to Cherie (DeVaux) and her team. Their horse (More Than Looks) ran a monster. Were proud of him (Johannes). Hes a great horse. I was hoping we could cap off our year with a win and get into the championship running, but that’s horse racing, and well regroup.”

Eclipse owned/co-owned four other horses that raced during the two-day event – Vixen (sixth, $1 million John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf), There Goes Harvard (10th, $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf), and Anisette and Sunset Glory (9th and 11th, respectively, $2 million Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf).

Strauss also had another entrant – Zulu Kingdom, who finished 7th in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Other notables included Gold Phoenix, 4th in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf, co-owned by Marsha Naify of Solana Beach; and Raging Torrent, 7th in the $2 million Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint, co-owned by Del Mar-based Great Friends Stables.

Sierra Leone, center, takes the lead at the top of the stretch en route to winning the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. (Kelley Carlson)