Destino D’Oro Returns To Keeneland For Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup
At 0h04, on October 9, 2025 • By Keeneland
Blake Cox, assistant to and son of trainer Brad Cox, has no trouble recalling the one time Steve Landers Racing’s Destino d’Oro ran at Keeneland.
The race was the Jessamine (G2) Presented by Keeneland Sales last October, and three noses hit the wire together.
“I was halfway across the track to the Winner’s Circle on the turf course and looked at the tote board and saw we were third,” Cox said. “I thought she won it.”
Destino d’Oro rallied from far back only to be nosed out by winner May Day Ready and Totally Justified. The Jessamine Presented by Keeneland Sales marked her final start of 2024.
“We gave her the winter off and wanted her to have a good spring and summer, but she was delayed getting back to the races,” Cox said.
Destino d’Oro returned in June with an allowance win at Churchill Downs and then a victory in the Pucker Up (G3) at Ellis Park in August before running sixth behind stablemate Fionn in the Blackwood Dueling Ground Oaks Invitational (G3) at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 10.
“Her first two races were impressive,” Cox said. “At Kentucky Downs, she had kind of a claustrophobic trip … not a bad trip, just claustrophobic.”
On Friday, Destino d’Oro and Fionn will return to Keeneland for Saturday’s 42nd running of the $800,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana going 1⅛ miles on the turf.
Irad Ortiz Jr. will partner Destino d’Oro for the first time. Flavien Prat retains the mount on Fionn, who is owned by George Messina and Michael Lee.
