(More Than Looks / Holly M. Smith)

McLean’s Selections Review: A bad miss here for me, because I started this review really liking the eventual winner. For some reason, I backed away, and, instead, went with a list that was headed by Notable Speech (6), and followed, in order, by Porta Fortuna (7), Carl Spackler (12), Chili Flag (2), Ramatuelle (1), Johannes (9) and Diego Velazquez (4). Instead, it came in More Than Looks (8), Johannes, Notable Speech and Ten Happy Rose. Two of my picks — Diego Velazquez and Ramatuelle — were both scratched. But? We went? McLean’s Selections Results: 0-0-0.

From the Breeders’ Cup Media Team:

FANDUEL BREEDERS’ CUP MILE

MORE THAN LOOKS — Victory Racing Partners’ More Than Looks will return to Kentucky on Monday after winning Saturday’s FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) for trainer Cherie DeVaux.

“He came back really well,” assistant trainer Enrique Miranda said. “He doesn’t even look very tired. Everyone is really excited and everything is in good order.”

More Than Looks posted the three-quarters of a length score under Jose Ortiz to make DeVaux the ninth female trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup event. The win also marked the son of More Than Ready’s first Grade 1 victory.

Miranda added that the team will bring the 4-year-old back to Kentucky to evaluate further plans.

 

JOHANNES — Breeders’ Cup Mile runner-up Johannes is expected to continue his career next year, trainer Tim Yakteen said Sunday morning. Johannes looked to be in a winning position in deep stretch after a battle with Notable Speech (GB), but More Than Looks swept to the front with an outside rally to win by three-quarters of a length.

“He came out of his race in excellent shape,” Yakteen said. “Our thoughts on our next race, and how we move forward off this race is that we still haven’t completely digested everything, and we’ll take a week or so and figure it out. I guess the bottom line is we’re undecided exactly at this point on how we’re moving forward. The main thing is, is that he’s coming out of the race in excellent shape, and that gives us all the options of how we want to proceed.”

Johannes’ connections gave their colt an extended layoff from spring 2023 after detecting some bone bruising. He resumed his career in April with the Mile as the season’s goal. He won all four of his starts, all in graded stakes, and delivered a big performance at Del Mar.

“He ran absolutely super. We’re very, very proud of our horse,” Yakteen said. “More Than Looks, kudos goes to him and Cherie DeVaux’s team. Their horse ran a phenomenal race, and we were just unlucky to run into him on that day.”