DEL MAR, Calif. – It was international chaos on Saturday at Del Mar, where a mare from Mexico was the heavily favored rage, but a longshot from Japan delivered a shocking upset in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. March Lorraine ($101.80), making her first start outside Japan, won the Distaff by a nose over unlucky Dunbar Road, while the clock struck midnight for 7-5 favorite Letruska. The cross-country star who began her career in Mexico City and emerged this year as the top older female in the United States pressed a blistering pace and backed up to finish next to last. The only Distaff runner that Letruska beat was pacesetter Private Mission. Both were victims of a race that unfolded quicker than most expected, including Fausto Gutierrez, who trains Letruska. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with recaps, results, charts, news, and more for each division Speaking of the fast early fractions, Gutierrez said: “21 and 44 is ridiculous. In this case, some horses prefer to not win, so that others do not win.” Letruska, with six graded stakes wins this year over as many different racetracks, including four Grade 1 wins, probably has done enough this year to win the Eclipse Award as outstanding older filly or mare. In the Distaff, Private Mission was asked for speed from the inside post and smoked the opening quarter mile in 21.84 and the half-mile in 44.97. Letruska pressed her from the outside through those sprint-like fractions in a 1 1/8-mile race. Six furlongs in 1:09.70 was a recipe for a pace meltdown, and a chaotic result. March Lorraine’s payoff is second highest in the Distaff, behind Spain’s $113.80 in the 2000 Distaff at Churchill Downs. The final time for the Distaff was 1:47.67, which was good for a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. The win was the second on the BC card for Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who won the Filly and Mare Turf earlier with Loves Only You. The jockey who orchestrated the Distaff victory was Oisin Murphy, who had never ridden Marche Lorraine nor had he ever ridden a dirt race at Del Mar. “I tried to ignore her odds and just give her every chance to win in the run, and hopefully she could finish off,” Murphy said. “And to be honest, we were obviously a hostage to fortune. I sat out the back, and they went quick.” Murphy was smart enough to follow a rider who does have experience, Jose Ortiz on Dunbar Road. “He’s got a lot more experience on the track than I have, and he wasn’t going early, so I knew the fractions were very fast,” Murphy said. March Lorraine was positioned ninth in the 11-horse field, and Murphy said he moved earlier than he preferred when the pacesetters began to peel away. It was the right time. She rallied three wide on the turn, wider yet into the lane, opened up by two lengths in midstretch, and held barely. The runner-up was Dunbar Road, who lost her momentum in heavy traffic into the far turn, was shuffled back, re-rallied, and lost a race she might have won with a clean trip. Malathaat rallied from eighth to finish third. Clairiere, who trailed early, uncorked a huge sweeping move on the far turn, entered the stretch with a head of steam, and flattened out to finish fourth. The race shape told the tale – the top five finishers rallied from the back of the field, and all the early pacesetters succumbed to the heat and finished in the back. :: Get everything you need with a DRF Breeders' Cup package! Includes PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. After one-two-three finishers Marche Lorraine, Dunbar Road, and Malathaat, the order of finish was Clairiere, Royal Flag, Shedaresthedevil, Blue Stripe, As Time Goes by, Horologist, Letruska, and Private Mission. Marche Lorraine, who won 8 of 20 starts in Japan, was making her first start since Aug. 12. The partnership group who owns her includes 400 shareholders.  Marche Lorraine, a 5-year-old bred in Japan, is by Orfevre and produced by the French Deputy mare Vite Marcher. Marche Lorraine is the first horse from Japan to start in the Distaff.