There doesn't have to be a first filly to win the Pepsi North America Cup, but as the old adage goes, "you have to be in it to win it."
On the trotting side of the Standardbred sport, a number of standout sophomore fillies have tested male counterparts in the Hambletonian. A number of superstars — in recent memory, Jiggy Jog S, Mission Brief and Pampered Princess — have fallen short of harness racing's holy grail while some — Atlanta, Ramona Hill and Continentalvictory — have succeeded.
Fan Hanover made history in 1981 with her Little Brown Jug victory, but the pacing side doesn't have that same amount of belles vs. boys battles in the three-year-old classics.
Chantilly, the 2024 Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year who finished her two-year-old season without a blemish, could change that this year. A total of 68 colts and geldings and one filly were nominated to this year’s Pepsi North America Cup with the Feb. 15 payment, and that filly is Chantilly — the first filly paid into the event in its 42-year history.
"She has passed every test with flying colours so far so why not," James MacDonald, Chantilly's regular pilot and Canada's top driver the last four years, recently told The Canadian Press. "There's not too many two-year-olds that have won horse of the year or gone undefeated so I'd be crazy not to be high on her. Now do I think she can step up and beat the boys in the N.A. Cup? I think that's a big ask but if there's a horse that can do it, maybe she's the one.
"I think this is so good for the sport," MacDonald continued. "It's just one more thing to draw new people in and I think that's what we need in this industry."
With a highly-talented female in the mix this year, Standardbred Canada's latest web poll question asks when you think a filly will beat the boys in the Pepsi North America Cup — if ever? Have your say by clicking here.
(Standardbred Canada)