ARCADIA, Calif. – Eight years after becoming the youngest jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race, Joseph O’Brien became the youngest trainer to accomplish that feat when his Iridessa outfinished Vasilika by a neck to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. O’Brien was 18 years old when he guided St. Nicholas Abbey to victory in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Turf for his father, the trainer Aidan O'Brien. He is now 26, one year younger than Craig Dollase was when he saddled Reraise to win the 1998 Sprint. “Obviously, I’ve been coming here for a number of years and know how hard it is to compete here,” said O’Brien, who was starting just his fifth horse in a Breeders’ Cup race. “I suppose I’ve been in a privileged position to be supported by some fantastic owners since I started training. Obviously, with dad I’ve had some very good horses, so it’s very special. It hasn’t sunk in yet that I had a winner here.” The winner was also the first Breeders’ Cup winner for jockey Wayne Lordan with his ninth mount. In winning the Filly and Mare Turf, Iridessa beat Sistercharlie, who won this race last year and was sent off the 4-5 favorite Saturday. Sistercharlie could only manage a third-place finish, 2 1/4 lengths back with no real excuse. “The only thing I can say is it seems a little hard to close on this turf course right now,” Chad Brown, trainer of Sistercharlie said. “Other than that, I was fairly pleased with my trip.” Brown was upset earlier in the week when Thais, whom he brought here to help set the pace, was scratched by the onsite team of veterinarians. But even without Thais, the Filly and Mare Turf did not lack for pace. Mirth, winner of the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive, set an ambitious pace under Mike Smith, opening up a nine-length lead running while six furlongs in 1:09.45. Lordan had sent his filly away from the gate to establish position and she settled in a comfortable and clear third, with only Vasilika and Mirth up ahead. Approaching the top of the lane, as Mirth began to tire, Vasilika, under Flavien Prat, and Iridessa began to make their moves. The two hooked up at the three-sixteenths pole and Iridessa, on the outside, got the better of Vasilika on the wire. “She needs that,” Lordan said of the company inside of her. “If she was on her own, she would completely get very lazy.” Vasilika finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of Sistercharlie, who was followed, in order, by Fanny Logan, Just Wonderful, Mirth, Villa Marina, Billesdon Brook, Mrs. Sippy, and Castle Lady. Iridessa, a 3-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Ruler of the World, is owned by Mrs. Regalado Gonzalez.  She was bred by Anne-Marie O’Brien, the mother of Joseph O’Brien. She covered 1 1/4 miles over firm turf in 1:57.77 and returned $28.40 to win. Bill Dwan, the racing manager for Gonzalez, said the fast pace and firm ground were both keys to Iridessa’s success. “She’s a lovely action filly, the faster the ground the better, to be honest,” Dwan said. “Once she got a level pace, that was key to the race for her. Anytime she’s won, she’s won off a level pace." Aidan O’Brien, the trainer of Just Wonderful, was forced to scratch Fleeting from the Filly and Mare Turf by the Breeders’ Cup veterinarians on Saturday morning. The vets did not like the way she jogged in a pre-race examination. “That’s the way she trots always, that’s the way it is,” O’Brien said. O’Brien said he was happy for his son getting his first Breeders’ Cup victory. “Absolutely over the moon,” he said. Vasilika, who was saddled by Dan Ward substituting for banned trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, lost for just the second time in 13 starts over the Santa Anita turf course. Jockey Flavien Prat said he got the trip he wanted on Vasilika. “She was traveling well, she gave me a really good kick turning for home,” Prat said. “That horse she fought back and was able to hold on.” John Velazquez, on Sistercharlie, said he made a move earlier than usual, noting the speed-favoring nature of the turf course. “I tried to force the pace a little bit in front of me because I know they were not going to come back to me,” Velazquez said. “I tried to change the style of my horse a little bit, and it just did not really work out for her.” Iridessa was expected to ship back to Ireland on Sunday and most likely will stay in training in 2020. The future of Sistercharlie will be determined at a later date. Brown said that owner Peter Brant was going to take a few days “win or lose” the Breeders’ Cup to think about what he may do with Sistercharlie.