My Miss Aurelia: A 2013 Forecast

The older female division for 2012 was certainly not lacking in talent, excitement and glamour. As exciting as 2012 was in the distaff division, 2013 is setting up to be an even more spectacular display of the nation’s best fillies and mares. Royal Delta added a second stellar year to her record and became the first back-to-back winner of the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (Gr.1) since superstar Baykoa won back-to-back runnings in 1989 and 1990 in early November of this year. A failed attempt to win the Dubai World Cup did little to diminish her status as an elite runner and she finished up the year with two consecutive Grade 1’s and will enter 2013 once again as the title holder for divisional honors. It doesn’t appear she has reached the limit of her potential and in fact, she looked better than ever winning the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic, so it wouldn’t be considered absurd to predict another championship season from such a talented, capable filly. But many challenges lie in her path in the coming year if she is once again to conquer the championship. The talent pool she faces in 2013 may be the toughest she has faced yet and the biggest threat could come from a champion who was handed her first ever career defeat by Royal Delta...Read the complete post on Horse Racing Nation Here