ARCADIA, Calif. – Late on Sunday morning at Santa Anita, War Like Goddess bounced off the track in the manner of a frisky 2-year-old more than a 6-year-old mare with eight stakes wins. It was not the first time she displayed such enthusiasm. “She’s a little bit of a challenge to train,” trainer Bill Mott said over the weekend. “She wants to be a strong galloper.” War Like Goddess is a strong finisher in many of her races, too, which leaves her as the leading domestic contender for the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles at Santa Anita on Saturday, the nation’s richest grass race. Owned by George Kirkorian, War Like Goddess has been in this position before. In October of 2022, War Like Goddess won her debut against males in her 12th career start in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at the Belmont at Aqueduct meeting. She followed that win with a third in the BC Turf at Keeneland, the highest placing for an American-trained runner. This year, War Like Goddess may be sharper. War Like Goddess ran the best race of her career in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at the Belmont at Aqueduct meeting on Oct. 7, closing from sixth in a field of eight to win by an eye-catching 4 1/2 lengths. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2023: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division “That was pretty awesome the way she ran,” Krikorian said. “She got a clean trip and she got to show her stuff.” This will be the third consecutive year War Like Goddess has started in a Breeders’ Cup race. She was third in the BC Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar in 2021, leading in the stretch as the 2-1 favorite before finishing a half-length behind Loves Only You, a Japanese runner. This year’s BC Turf will not be any easier than the 2022 running, with foreign runners such as Auguste Rodin, King of Steel, and Mostahdaf among the leading contenders. “Just because you have competition from overseas, that wouldn’t worry me,” Krikorian said. If War Like Goddess wins, she will become the first American-based filly or mare to win the prestigious race in its 40th running. The last filly or mare to win the BC Turf was the Irish filly Tarnawa at Keeneland in 2020. About six weeks before that race, War Like Goddess won her debut in a maiden race at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Churchill Downs. When she followed with a win in an allowance race at 1 3/8 miles on turf in late October, a week before the Breeders’ Cup, Mott thought War Like Goddess was a filly with exceptional ability. Prior to her debut, War Like Goddess tested the patience of Krikorian and Mott. She was late getting to the races because of a series of minor ailments, Mott said. “We had no idea how good she was because we never got that far with her,” Mott said. “Until she got close to running at 3, we hadn’t gotten far enough along to be able to judge her.” In 2021, War Like Goddess won four consecutive stakes at Gulfstream Park, Keeneland, and Saratoga prior to her loss in the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. Last year, she won stakes at Keeneland and Saratoga before she won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. In April of this year, War Like Goddess won the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Keeneland for the third consecutive year before she finished sixth after a wide trip in the Grade 1 New York Stakes at Belmont Park in June. She followed with a troubled second by a neck in the Grade 2 Glens Falls Stakes at 1 1/2 miles for fillies and mares at Saratoga on Aug. 3. War Like Goddess was 1-2 and left bettors frustrated when her late rally failed. Junior Alvarado replaced Joel Rosario after that race and has the mount Saturday. A winner of 11 of 17 starts, War Like Goddess, who is by 2007 BC Turf winner English Channel, has specialized in closing from off the pace. The style has not always worked when traffic issues occur. “It’s been a lot of fun on the days that it’s gone well,” Mott said. “There’s been a few times when she’s been compromised going around the track,” said Krikorian. “It’s cost her.” :: Breeders' Cup Shop: DRF Past Performances available now Krikorian, 78, is a longtime owner and breeder in California. The operator of a chain of movie theaters, Krikorian served on the California Horse Racing Board in the 2010s. Krikorian rates War Like Goddess as the finest horse he has campaigned, which is why she has raced this year instead of being retired. “I enjoy horse racing,” he said. “Having a special horse that can run and running at the top of the game, that’s what you’re looking for.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.