First Breeders' Cup Win For Graffard, As Gezora Wins The Filly And Mare Turf For Brant

Already a winner of the G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) in June, Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}) unleashed a devastating late kick to down stretch leader She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) in the dying strides and claim the $2-million GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf by half-length. The final time for the 1 3/8 miles was 2:12.54. The bay gave her trainer Francis-Henri Graffard his first Breeders' Cup victory. He is champion trainer elect in France this year.

Bred by Haras d'Etreham where her sire used to stand prior to his permanent export to Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, the White Birch Farm colorbearer has now won five of her 10 starts.

Sent off at 9-1 in this affair after running 13th in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Oct. 5, Gezora perched in sixth while Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) cut out fractions of :24.36, :47.43 and 1:11.17. Inside horse Village Voice (GB) (Zarak {Fr}) dueled with She Feels Pretty to her outside in second and third heading into the backstretch. In a beautiful rhythm, Gezora inched up to a clearcut fifth place ahead of Mission Of Joy (Kitten's Joy). As the field began to bunch with just three-eighths to travel, Gezora continued to give all of the right signs, as She Feels Pretty took over the lead.

Gezora surged up into second well off the fence and took dead aim on She Feels Pretty, although she did not pass that game  MGISW until the final five jumps. The rallying Diamond Rain (GB) (Shamardal) was another three-quarter lengths back in third. Cathedral (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) ran fourth by another half-length. The 3-1 favorite Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal), second in this race last year, did not pick up in the final stages and finished eighth.

Graffard said, “It's a meeting I've always loved and tried to win one, but it's very hard. I saw that again today how hard it is and you really need a horse like Gezora, who has a big heart, travels really strongly and is able to quicken. She's a champion filly and it's fantastic to win a race like that, especially for Mr. Brant in his famous colors.

Added Graffard, whose previous best performance at the Breeders' Cup was a second with Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) in the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf, “The Arc was 17 runners, a very strong field, soft ground and a mile and a half. It's a different journey, but she was way too far back in the race and made a move. I was hoping she came out really well and she did. She's a very sweet filly and she tries very hard. She's not complicated, so she helps us do the job. Today she proved she's a real champion. She's a Classic winner, Prix de Diane winner and a Breeders' Cup winner–which is amazing–and I don't think many fillies have this on their CV.”

Said Barzalona who was winning his second Breeders' Cup race, “I got a good draw, so I was able to get into a good position without too much effort in the beginning of the race. The pace went a good gallop and I thought I just needed to maintain my filly and concentrate to be in the race. The leader was coming back to me and I knew I was going to get to the front.”

Of the runner-up, trainer Cherie DeVaux said, “She ran awesome. Johnny [Velazquez] got her over beautifully from a tough spot. Just to be beat in the last jump, basically, is disheartening but I'm super proud of her.”

Godolphin's Charlie Appleby also had an update on the beaten favorite Cinderella's Dream and the fourth-place finisher and GSW Diamond Rain.

“Cinderella's Dream, I would say she's probably run her last race there,” said Appleby of the MG1SW. “She'll head to the breeding sheds now and it's well-deserved, considering what she's accomplished in her career. Diamond Rain, she delighted us. She's a big filly to get around those turns and she handled herself well. Hopefully next year we'll have some fun with her hopefully here in America.”

Initially raced by her breeder and under the care of trainer Nicolas Le Roch, Gezora claimed the G3 Prix des Reservoirs in her juvenile finale in Deauville last October. Purchased privately in the interim by Peter Brant's operation, the daughter of Germance (Silver Hawk) was moved to the Graffard barn. In her first start for her new connections, Gezora ran third in the G3 Prix Vanteaux in April, and captured the G2 Prix Saint-Alary in May. The Diane went her way over the re-opposing MGSW & MG1SP Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in June, and she was not disgraced when second to 2024 Arc second Aventure (Sea The Stars) in the G1 Prix Vermeille in September. Gezora's only performance worse than fourth was in the Arc.

Pedigree Notes:

The most decorated runner for her sire, who won the Prix du Jockey Club, Champion Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes at the top table himself, Gezora is one of 25 stakes winners worldwide for Almanzor. His Sydney Cup-winning son Circle Of Fire and Victoria Derby hero Manzoice are also Group 1 winners.

Sold to Horse France from the Mill Ridge Sales agent out of the 2004 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, subsequent G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Germance was runner-up in the Diane in 2006. Gezora is her 11th and final foal. Germance, in turn, is a daughter of stakes winner and G1 Prix de la Salamandre second Majestic Role (Fr) (Theatrical {Ire}), responsible for G3 Prix Fille de l'Air heroine Aiglonne (Silver Hawk). The latter is the dam of the sire Mekhtaal (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a winner of the G1 Prix d'Ispahan, and Aigue Marine (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), a MGSW. The sire White Muzzle (GB) (Dancing Brave), who won the G1 Derby Italiano and was second in the 1993 Arc is also a member of this family.

GEZORA RUNS DOWN SHE FEELS PRETTY TO WIN THE BREEDERS' CUP FILLY & MARE TURF! 🥇@BreedersCup #BC25 @GraffardRacing pic.twitter.com/loOs95qTDg

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 2, 2025

Saturday, Del Mar
MAKER'S MARK BREEDERS' CUP FILLY & MARE TURF-GI, $1,840,000, Del Mar, 11-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 3/8mT, 2:12.54, fm.
1–GEZORA (FR), 120, f, 3, by Almanzor (Fr)
            1st Dam: Germance (G1SW-Fr, $558,680),
                        by Silver Hawk
            2nd Dam: Gaily Tiara, by Caerleon
            3rd Dam: Majestic Role (Fr), by Theatrical (Ire)
O-Peter M. Brant; B-Haras d'Etreham (FR); T-Francis – Henri
Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record:
G1SW-Fr, 10-5-2-1, $2,037,412. Werk Nick Rating: F.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–She Feels Pretty, 124, f, 4, by Karakontie (Jpn)
            1st Dam: Summer Sweet, by More Than Ready
            2nd Dam: Summer Solstice (Ire), by Caerleon
            3rd Dam: Summer Sonnet (GB), by Baillamont
($240,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Lael Stables; B-Payson Stud Inc
(KY); T-Cherie DeVaux. $340,000.
3–Diamond Rain (GB), 124, f, 4, by Shamardal
            1st Dam: Dancing Rain (Ire) (Hwt. Filly-Eng- at 9 1/2 –
                        11 f., Hwt. Filly-Eng- at 11 – 14 f., G1SW-Ger,
                         G1SW-Eng, $932,081), by Danehill Dancer
                         (Ire)
            2nd Dam: Rain Flower (Ire), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
            3rd Dam: Rose of Jericho, by Alleged
O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charles Appleby. $180,000.
Margins: HF, 3/4, HF. Odds: 9.10, 3.30, 4.70.
Also Ran: Cathedral (GB), Bedtime Story (Ire), Bellezza (Ire), Stellify, Cinderella's Dream (GB), See The Fire (GB), Mission of Joy, Be Your Best (Ire), Village Voice (GB), La Kika (Per). Scratched: Atsila (Ire). Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.