There were many chips stacked against Survie (IRE) Aug. 15 where no one would have blamed her if she came up short in the $750,000 Christophe Clement Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The 5-year-old mare was not only facing the boys, but returning on just 13 days’ rest from 1 1/2-mile race and entering another.
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Yet, none of those challenges phased Michael Tabor’s daughter of Churchill (IRE). Her class shined through as she rallied from last to steal the victory and snatch an automatic berth to the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races, the winners of which receive automatic starting positions with fees paid into a corresponding race of the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held at Keeneland Oct. 30-31.
Boughey Mare Has Blossomed Since Landing in U.S.
Trained this season by George Boughey, the mare has been competing on the top stage in Europe throughout her career and has had success, but her turn of foot has taken her to greater heights since shipping to Saratoga for the summer. On Aug. 2, she rallied behind slow fractions to beat her own sex in the Glens Falls Stakes (G2), and on Saturday she needed to do the same again.
Ole Crazy Bone set slow fractions on the lead, going :26.24, :52.56, and 1:18.98. Such fractions usually favor the pacesetters as it leaves them more gas in the tank to finish, but there was no stopping Survie.
Entering the stretch last of six, jockey Manuel Franco needed to wait to find room before punching the launch button. Once she kicked into the clear, she finished with a flurry to run down Minaret Station and win by 3/4 lengths in 2:31.55. Program Trading (GB) was third.
“Her stamina is a big thing and the fact that she has that turn-of-foot, we were hopeful she could get out of a bit of trouble if she needed to,” Boughey said. “That turn of foot that she’s got is pretty lethal out in America.”
Survie a Legitimate Threat in Breeders’ Cup Turf
Bred in Ireland by Franklin Finance SA, Survie has now defeated a handful of the top American-based horses in the Longines Turf division. Further, she will hold an edge on her fellow Europeans with experiencing racing on the left-handed ovals. That experience should be valuable as she targets the 1 1/2-mile test at Keeneland.
“The plan was always to run her twice and then bring her home (to England) and prepare her for Keeneland,” Boughey said. “I’d like to get her back home and give her an easy time for a little bit—she doesn’t take a huge amount of training—and then ship her out with the normal horses for the Breeders’ Cup.”
