Kopion Rallies to Catch Hope Road in Derby City Distaff

As he made the walk down the Churchill Downs tunnel, pausing briefly to accept congratulations from some of his Hall of Fame comrades, Richard Mandella came to halt outside of the entrance to the winner's circle and openly wondered 'Where am I supposed to go?'" It was a genuine query given that the Hall of Fame trainer hadn't run a horse beneath the twin spires since 2018 and hadn't won a race at the historic Louisville, Ky., oval since 2004. His reacquaintance to all of the above fittingly came from a daughter of his former trainee that many believed at the time was poised to put the legendary horseman in the middle of the most famous celebration the track has to offer. Mandella eventually found his way to the jubilation that was erupting after his protégé, Spendthrift Farm's Kopion, used a sweeping turn of foot to run down Bob Baffert-trained Hope Road and take the $999,600 Derby City Distaff Stakes (G1) by three lengths, besting a Breeders' Cup-quality field that featured four grade 1 winners. "She's starting to make it look like I know something," Mandella quipped, an understatement if ever there was one. In earning her second career top-level victory, Kopion continues to deliver on the promise both her bloodlines and ability suggested were there from her early days. The 4-year-old filly is a daughter of Spendthrift stallion Omaha Beach, who himself was trained by Mandella and was installed as the favorite for the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) before being scratched due to an entrapped epiglottis. Since winning on debut at Del Mar in November 2023, the chestnut filly has notched four graded victories and earned her previous grade 1 triumph when she upset the La Brea Stakes (G1) last December at odds of 37-1. Though she was facing a stout field Saturday that included defending race winner Vahva and fellow grade 1 winners Ways and Means and Positano Sunset, Kopion was bringing her own strong résumé to the table having won the seven-furlong Santa Monica Stakes (G2) in her seasonal bow Feb. 1. "You know she's an extremely talented filly, but this had to be the deepest, toughest field," said Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey. "We knew we were in tough, but we also knew that everyone else had a tough horse to contend with, too." Breaking from post 2 with jockey Kazushi Kimura in the irons, Kopion got away a step slower than her connections anticipated but was able to settle along the rail in sixth as Mystic Lake rattled off the opening quarter-mile in :22.30. Hope Road began to advance to Mystic Lake's outside and put the pressure on as they reached the half in :45.19. Once they hit the far turn, Kimura moved Kopion off the rail and swung her to the far outside, giving her clear aim at Hope Road as that one opened up by two lengths at the top of the stretch. "Her being down in post 2, I had some concerns about her getting buried," Mandella said. "She did get off a step slower than I thought she would, but the jockey had a lot of confidence in her and he rode her that way. And the more we go, the smarter she gets. It's nice to see her handling everything so smart and so confident." Hope Road gamely dug in and tried to maintain her advantage down the lane, but she was overtaken by a surging Kopion to her outside as the latter edged clear at the sixteenth pole en route to stopping the teletimer in 1:21.76 over a sloppy track. "I was little concerned early, but when I saw her swing out and switch leads, she's so strong down the stretch, I was pretty confident at that point," Toffey said. "But they are such good fillies in there, you just don't know. Really nice to get one like that." Hope Road held for second with Ways and Means third. "For about 10-15 seconds I thought I'm finally going to win a big race here," Baffert said of Hope Road. "Then I saw a horse coming and saw it was (Kopion) and was like 'Oh boy, I'm in trouble.' But we're proud of our filly. She ran her race, she ran great." Mandella said that given the way Kopion finishes her races, he believes she can handle added distance but isn't willing to test that before an expected run in the Breeders' Cup this season. "I hope there is upside with her, but I don't know where you get it. She's done a lot already," he said. "I would think she can get two turns, but I don't want to fool with it until after the Breeders' Cup. Don't want to break it if it ain't broke." Bred in Kentucky by Tall Oaks Farm, Kopion improves her record to five wins from seven career starts with $1,024,700 in earnings. She is the first graded stakes winner for Omaha Beach this season as the son of War Front stands the 2025 season for a fee of $35,000.