It's been a decade since the Masson family, who breed and race as Green Lantern Stables, last dared to dream of a Breeders' Cup victory. Evanescence has brought those hopes back to life—and in the family's adopted home state, no less.
Her victory in the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) on opening weekend at Breeders' Cup host track Keeneland Race Course earned her an automatic "Win and You're In" berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
"We weren't really thinking in that direction," owner Richard Masson said of the plan going into the race—and how it changed coming out of it.
A Breeders' Cup victory could put Evanescence in the conversation for an Eclipse Award. Eight of the past 10 Filly & Mare Sprint winners have gone on to earn divisional championship honors.
Richard Masson, a California native, and his wife, Sue Ann, who was born in Iowa, began racing Thoroughbreds under the Green Lantern banner in 1995. They purchased a farm in Versailles, Ky., and operated it from Los Angeles before retiring and moving to the Bluegrass State.
Green Lantern got its first taste of the Breeders' Cup in 1998, when Military, owned in partnership with the Thoroughbred Corporation and Glencrest Farm, finished 12th in the Mile (G1).
As the breeding program improved with the couple's increased involvement after moving to Kentucky—Sue Ann has been known to wake up in the middle of the night for foalings—their Breeders' Cup prospects grew stronger.
In 2009 at Santa Anita Park, Gotta Have Her finished second in the Turf Sprint, then an ungraded race, while homebred Karelian was sixth in the TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (G1). Seven years later, also at Santa Anita, homebred A. P. Indian crossed the wire fourth in the TVG Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) but was elevated to third following a disqualification.
In his final prep for the 2016 Breeders' Cup, A. P. Indian had won the Phoenix Stakes (G2) on opening weekend of Keeneland's fall meet. Richard Masson wondered whether the relatively quick turnaround contributed to his performance in the Sprint.
With that experience in mind, he initially planned a more conservative campaign for Evanescence. But the filly's durability, affinity for Keeneland and recent victory prompted a change of plans.
"I always thought if I had another sprinter, maybe we'd give them more time," Richard Masson said. "But this horse just loves this track. There's a good fit there, and you know, we live to take a shot, right?"
A victory in the Filly & Mare Sprint would make Evanescence Green Lantern's third Grade 1 winner, joining A. P. Indian and Karelian—an impressive accomplishment for an operation that typically has only about a dozen horses in training.
The 4-year-old daughter of Munnings first entered the Massons' lives at Keeneland, where she was purchased for $250,000 at the 2023 September Yearling Sale. One of the couple's sons, Patrick Masson, who founded Patrick Masson Bloodstock in 2019, signed the ticket.
Trained by Eddie Kenneally, Evanescence was multiple Grade 2-placed as a 3-year-old last season and has taken another step forward this year, finishing no worse than third in six starts.
She knocked on the door throughout the summer, finishing third in the Chicago Stakes (G2) in June at Churchill Downs and third in the Twin Bridges Stakes in July at Ellis Park.
"She's been good since the beginning," Kenneally said. "She's never run a bad race. She's never been out of the money. She's just a big, strong filly that thrives on racing and is getting better."
Evanescence finally broke through in the TCA, earning her first graded stakes victory with a determined stretch run.
Fifth in a field of seven after a half-mile of the 6 1/2-furlong race, Evanescence rallied to prevail by a neck over defending champion Praying, with Eclatant, a Grade 1 winner at Keeneland earlier this year, finishing third.
"It's hard to really put that feeling into words," said Patrick Masson, who now serves as racing manager and breeding consultant for Green Lantern. "You see a horse you've put a lot of work into, the team put a lot of work into, and to have her come down the stretch like that—I mean she does that every race, she tries every race."
The victory kept Evanescence perfect in three starts at Keeneland, where her previous two wins came in allowance-optional claiming company.
For Kenneally, the opportunity to return to Keeneland is appealing, but so is the seven-furlong distance of the Filly & Mare Sprint.
"She loves Keeneland and I think the distance of that race is ideal too," he said. "Six-and-a-half was fine, but I think her best distance is actually seven-eighths. So I think it's an ideal race for her, and the way she is right now I think she can show up again in a race like that."
Regardless of the outcome Oct. 31, the Massons are already looking beyond the Breeders' Cup, envisioning another season with their talented filly.
"Late-running sprinters stay sound," Richard Masson said. "We've had a few of those over the years, and so God bless her. We're thinking about a campaign for her next year. So this is great. It's fun. Racing is fun."
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