Rigney Racing’s Kentucky-bred Tam Tam notched her second straight Grade 1 victory in winning the $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland.
Junior Alvarado guided the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro to a 2½-length win over Faithful Departed with Braida (FR) third. Tam Tam added the QE II to her victory in the Aug. 22 Del Mar Oaks (G1) in her prior start. The newest win also gave trainer Phil Bauer his third Grade 1 victory along with the Del Mar Oaks and the 2023 La Troienne (G1) with Rigney Racing’s Played Hard.
Alvarado kept the third wagering choice near the front front on the backstretch, Luster started to retreat approaching the stretch, while Tam Tam spurted clear in the lane. She led by 1½ lengths at the eighth pole and stayed clear in deep stretch to win in 1:49.91. Tam Tam won for the fifth time in 10 starts and picked up $435,938 to boost her earnings to $1,084,738.
Tam Tam Scores Back-to-Back Grade 1 Wins
“You don’t think you can top Grade 1s, but this tops (winning the) Del Mar (Oaks-G1 Aug. 22),” said Bauer. “Del Mar was extremely special, but Keeneland is the top. Growing up, coming here, I mean, this is the (top) echelon. I like it when (jockey) Junior (Alvarado) gives me that slogan, ‘It’s not how fast you’re going; it’s how you’re going fast.’
“Good horses take you places, and she has,” he added. “We’re just very blessed to have her. I’m so fortunate to be in this position and so proud of the barn and excited for things to come. Scary to say, but I really think she’s just going to keep getting better and better. She’s all class. We kind of joked all week that we were walking around the barn like roosters with our chests puffed out. You watch her train; she puts a smile on your face. She did it all week. Her last breeze, she went out with a quartet of horses, breezing, and three of them came back panting like, ‘We did something,’ and she was looking around like, ‘What else do I need to do?’ So, we knew she was ready and are just elated that she could get the job done.”