MOORE'S "ONE BULLET" HITS THE TARGET IN BREEDERS' CUP TURF
A series of strongly-fancied European-trained runners failed to deliver at the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Keeneland on Saturday but the visitors finally notched a victory as Benvenuto Cellini and Ryan Moore quickened clear to win the $5m Turf.
Moore was initially expected to ride Diamond Necklace, a stable companion of the winner at the Aidan O’Brien yard, in Saturday’s race, but switched to Benvenuto Cellini after he drew an inside stall.
It proved to be an inspired decision, and Moore found a charmed path to the lead from a position on the inside rail turning in, hitting the front well inside the final furlong on the way to a three-quarter length success.
The win was Aidan O’Brien’s 28th victory at Group One or Grade One level in 2026, equalling his own record, which was set in 2017. The International meeting in Hong Kong in December will offer him a chance to set a new mark.
“Ryan was calm and relaxed on him and let it happen,” O’Brien said. “He was brilliant on him. He did it again, he had to come out and come round. Time after time he produces on the day. He accepted early he let them go, but he had one bullet to fire which he executed perfectly.”
Benvenuto Cellini is a possible runner in Hong Kong, and will stay in training as a four-year-old next season.
Sovereignty, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner, was a convincing winner of the most valuable race on the card, the $7m Classic, with Japan’s Forever Young, successful in the race last year, only fifth.
Bill Mott’s four-year-old was a first Classic winner for the Godolphin racing and breeding operation, having also supplied Godolphin’s first win in the Kentucky Derby in 2025.
Earlier on the card, several big names from the European circuit came up short, including Charlie Appleby’s Notable Speech, who finished fast into second place behind Deterministic in his attempt to win the Mile for the second year running.
Blue Bolt, a multiple Group One winner this year, and O’Brien’s filly Precise, the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, both finished unplaced behind Kathynmarissa in the Filly & Mare Turf, while Wesley Ward’s Bacio, who is trained next to the track, comfortably beat Donnacha O’Brien’s Comanche Brave, the July Cup winner, in the Turf Sprint.
Japan’s big hero came up short but that was a seismic win for the global Godolphin operation, at the end of a day which saw just a single winner from a European stable, but in the most valuable turf race on the card.
It’s been a fascinating couple of days in Kentucky, and the Breeders’ Cup show moves on to Belmont Park next year for the first time since 2005. It will be a very different Belmont Park too, after the New York Racing Association invested around a half-billion dollars in redevelopment.
It sounds very much as though that was Sovereignty’s last trip to the track. He will be off to stud in the morning.
A thoroughly convincing success for Sovereignty, who settled beautifully off the pace set by his stable companion, Knightsbridge, and put the race to bed with a burst of speed at the top of the stretch.
That’s a first ever success in the Classic for the Godolphin operation, delivered by the colt who also supplied their first ever win in the Kentucky Derby win last year.
CLASSIC RESULT: SOVEREIGNTY RULES AT KEENELAND
1. SOVEREIGNTY (Junior Alvarado), 2. The Puma, 3. Knightsbridge. 7 ran.
Updated
Down the back, it’s still Knightsbridge in front, Forever Young poised in behind as Sovereignty makes his move …
They’re turning in, it’s going to be a battle for the line … Sovereignty hits the front, he's going a length or two clear, Forever Young looks beaten …
It’s all over and it’s all Sovereignty, last year’s Kentucky Derby winner adds the Classic to his record!
Knightsbridge is straight into the lead, Forever Young is close behind in third …
Golden Tempo is adrift of the field in last, Sovereignty sits fifth…
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic!
They are going in steadily for the Classic, it won’t be long now …
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Classic
The pace scenario in the Classic had a shake-up earlier in the week when the much-fancied Magnitude, who likes to set the gallop, was scratched due to injury. His absence could well make life easier for Ryusei Sakai on Forever Young, as he will look to sit in behind a steadier tempo and strike for home at the top of the stretch.
I think, and hope, that Forever Young will stamp his name into Breeders’ Cup history in a few minutes’ time, as he’s a horse that I’ve had a soft spot for ever since his luckless run in the Kentucky Derby. But this is possibly the biggest test of his career, and Sovereignty is currently vying for favouritism with Forever Young at 9-5.
Knightsbridge is a 9-2 shot, while Cherie DeVaux’s Golden Tempo, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, is popular too with the local punters at 5-1.
Updated
22.16 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Grade One, 1m 2f
It feels as though the card has flown by, but now we come to the highlight of the meeting, restored this year to what feels like its rightful position as the final race.
This year’s Classic could also see history made as Japan’s Forever Young attempts to become only the second horse – after Tiznow – ever to go back-to-back in the Breeders’ Cup’s feature event. Yoshito Yahagi’s five-year-old was a half-length winner at Del Mar last November …
… and was also a close third in the 2024 Classic at the same track.
That run came at the end of a three-year-old season when Forever Young also finished third – beaten by a nose and the same – in one of the tightest ever finishes to the Kentucky Derby, having been leant on by Sierra Leone – the 2024 Classic winner – all the way down the stretch. It is a hugely impressive career record overall – he has yet to finish outside the first three in any of his 16 starts – and he is clearly the horse to beat.
There is real depth to the field, though, and Forever Young will finally come face-to-face with Bill Mott’s Sovereignty, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner, a meeting which was expected to be the highlight of last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar until Sovereignty was a late scratch due to injury.
He has had a light campaign this season, finishing as the beaten favourite when second in a Grade Two in April and then third in the Grade One Stephen Foster Stakes in June, but he was back in the winner’s enclosure last time when successful in the Grade One Whitney Stakes at Saratoga.
The third horse in this year’s Classic field at single-figure odds is another runner from the Mott stable in Godolphin blue: Knightsbridge, the emphatic winner of the Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August.
The local punters will be pleased with themselves too, they supported Benvenuto Cellini down to start as the 3-1 favourite on the tote.
Ryan Moore opted to jump off Diamond Necklace to ride Benvenuto Cellini from an inside draw and what an inspired choice it proved to be by the best jockey in global racing.
Map Of Stars, who was detached from the field in the early stages, also finished well to take second for James Doyle and Francis-Henri Graffard, suggesting that the pace was off the scale. And Tiffany deserves plaudits too for her fourth-place finish, just behind Diamond Necklace.
Updated
TURF RESULT: BENVENUTO CELLINI LEAVES IT LATE
1. BENVENUTO CELLINI (Ryan Moore), 2. Map Of Stars, 3. Diamond Necklace. 14 ran.
Ryan Moore has worked wonders to pick a path through the field from the home turn. He was on the rail with a furlong left with a wall of horses in front of him, but when he pulled outside, Benvenuto Cellini took off and ran them down with some ease.
Far Bridge and Minaret Station take the lead, now here’s Deep Monster from Japan going up wide …
Deep Monster leads into the stretch first time, Johanna Walsh and Far Bridge in pursuit ..
Back out past the clubhouse, Bay City Roller only eighth but now making ground …
Benvenuto Cellini on the rail and has only four behind …
Diamond Necklace making ground now, still Deep Monster in front turning for home …
Tiffany and Bay City Roller try to finish, and now here comes Benvenuto Cellini, flying home from off the pace …
He’s going to get there, what a ride by Ryan Moore, Benvenuto Cellini gets the win!
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Turf!
A new favourite for the Turf, with the local punters at least: Benvenuto Cellini, the beaten favourite-that-wasn’t in the Derby in June, is now 4-1 on the tote, with Diamond Necklace next in at 9-2.
Burnham Square is the only US-trained runner with any real chance according to the betting, but he was soundly beaten behind Sir Mark Prescott’s admirable globe-trotting mare, Tiffany, and the runner-up, Ethical Diamond, in the Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational at Kentucky Downs last time.
It would be some story if Tiffany could take out today’s race, and add the trophy from the Breeders’ Cup Turf to the one from Alpinista’s win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on the mantlepiece at Sir Mark Prescott’s stable in Newmarket.
After a long series of favourites at or around even-money, we have a favourite at a working-person’s price! Diamond Necklace is a 9-2 shot on the local tote.
Latest betting:
9-2 Diamond Necklace
5-1 Benvenuto Cellini & Tiffany
6-1 Bay City Roller
9-1 Burnham Square
12-1 Ethical Diamond
14-1 Survie
20-1 bar
21.36 Breeders’ Cup Turf, Grade One, 1m 4f
It’s been a tricky evening for the Europeans so far but surely, SURELY the visitors will not be leaving this one behind. The top eight in the betting with the British bookies hail from European stables, and there are just three US-trained runners and one from Japan, all outsiders priced up at 22-1 and bigger.
Aidan O’Brien has the top two in the market in Diamond Necklace and Benvenuto Cellini, and they are drawn on opposite sides of the stalls. Diamond Necklace is the marginal favourite, despite a wide draw in 12 that persuaded Ryan Moore to jump ship to Benvenuto Cellini, but she was drawn wide with Soumillon aboard in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe too and finished a highly creditable third.
Next in the betting is my biggest fancy on tonight’s card, Bay City Roller, who was just in front of Diamond Necklace from a similarly tricky stall at Longchamp and has a string of top-quality performances to his name this season including a Group One win in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June.
The rain-softened ground may have exaggerated his winning margin but Bay City Roller does not need it soft, as he showed in the Arc. He’s drawn wide, but then he was drawn wide at Longchamp too and had little trouble getting close to the lead. Oisin Murphy is a supreme judge of pace and I can see him producing a bit of a masterclass on Bay City Roller, one of the most consistent and progressive three-year-olds in training.
Another runner to take seriously is last year’s winner, Ethical Diamond, who will set off at a much shorter price this time around. Dylan Browne McMonagle, his imperturbable rider, is perfectly suited to his hold-up style and he will be finishing best of all.
Nitrogen sat just behind the pace in the end, but Jose Ortiz was always going extremely well and once he sent her to the lead, there was going to be only one winner.
She set off as the 3-5 favourite, and we are still waiting for a winner at a double-figure price at this year’s Breeders’ Cup.
DISTAFF RESULT: NITROGEN IN HER ELEMENT
1. NITROGEN (Jose Ortiz), 2. Fully Subscribed, 3. Measure. 7 ran.
Updated
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff!
Super Corredora leads early, Nitrogen back in third.
Fully Subscribed is fifth, the first quarter was modest at 23.57sec.
It’s a steady pace to the half too, Super Corredora has enjoyed a soft lead.
Nitrogen goes outside in the stretch, Fully Subscribed in pursuit, she’s drifting to her right but Nitrogen is clear, she’s at least a length up and here’s the line …
Approaching the stalls for the Distaff, and the punters have swung behind Nitrogen at 3-5, with Fully Subscribed next in.
It will be a considerable shock if the big two are both beaten here, but the three-year-old Super Corredora may have at least a few supporters, having landed a Grade Two at Santa Anita with ease in late September.
20.58 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Grade One, 1m 1f
But first, we’re back on the dirt for the Distaff, for fillies and mares over a mile and a furlong.
Mark Casse’s four-year-old Nitrogen is likely to set off as the favourite here and boasts a highly impressive career record that includes an emphatic near-13 length success in a Grade One at Saratoga in June.
As the pace map suggests, she is happiest when she makes the running and there is every chance she will get her own way on the lead.
She has a significant market rival, though, in Chad Brown’s Fully Subscribed, who was on the wrong end of that 12 3/4-length beating at Saratoga but has reeled off handsome wins in her last three races including a nine-and-three-quarter length win in the Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga in August.
As things stand, Japan could well have more winners on the Breeders’ Cup’s main card than the Europeans, despite fielding far fewer runners. Hopes for a European winner now rest with a strong contingent of runners in the Turf in two races’ time.
A valiant effort by Notable Speech to run down the winner but the favourite came up short. William Buick had four behind him and was three wide around the final turn, and had five lengths to make on Deterministic at the top of the stretch, which proved to be too big an ask.
Deterministic was sent off at 5-1, while Notable Speech was the evens favourite on the tote.
MILE RESULT: DETERMINISTIC TURNS TABLES ON NOTABLE SPEECH
1. DETERMINISTIC (Kendrick Carmouche), 2. Notable Speech, 3. Lake Forest. 13 ran.
Puerto Rico slow away but makes rapid ground to sit second, True Love towards the rear …
Now Cabo Spirit settles on the lead, Deterministic next and Puerto Rico third …
Into the far turn, Notable Speech is a long way off the lead, …
Deterministic leads into the final furlong, Notable Speech is finishing fast from way off the pace, making ground with every stride …
Will he get there? No, he had too much ground to make up and it’s Deterministic for the win
They’re going into the gates for the Mile …
And they’re off and running!
I’m sticking with Notable Speech here but 4-5 is very short. And the Brighton fan in me would love to see the blue-and-white stripes first across the line aboard Lake Forest.
Breeders’ Cup Mile, latest betting:
4-5 Notable Speech
9-2 Deterministic
8-1 Rhetorical
9-1 Lake Forest
12-1 Ask Ikigomi
15-1 True Love
18-1 bar
Aidan O’Brien, True Love’s trainer, also has Puerto Rico in this race, although he’s drawn wide in stall 14. And there’s a couple of Japanese-trained runners too, in Ask Ikigomi and Lugal, and the former has at least an each-way chance on ratings having been edged out by a nose in a Grade One at Tokyo last time.
20.20 Breeders’ Cup Mile, Grade One, 1m
After the Euro-wobble in the first two races on the card, there could be no better trainer than Charlie Appleby to get the bandwagon rolling again, in a contest where he has a near-perfect record of four wins from five starters.
Notable Speech, last year’s winner, won with something to spare and has looked every bit as good, if not better, so far this year, including when successful in the Grade One Woodbine Mile last time with his leading US-trained rival, Deterministic, in second.
Notable Speech will set off as a short-priced and worthy favourite but faces some stern opposition, including Lake Forest, who runs in the blue-and-white colours of Tony Bloom and will bid to set the seal on a perfect day for the owner of Brighton & Hove Albion after their magnificent victory at Manchester City earlier on.
Lake Forest did not have any luck in running when second over today’s course-and-distance in the Turf Mile last time out.
And there is a Classic winner in the field too, as True Love took the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket back in May.
Updated
There’s no way Englishman was beaten by his draw there, he was just beaten by a better horse on the day. T O Elvis was at least eight lengths adrift when Englishman hit the lead two out, but he showed incredible finishing speed to stay on all the way up the stretch and grab the lead two strides from the line
Liam Smith, meanwhile, did not drop away after being passed and rewarded his each-way backers by staying on well for third.
Updated
SPRINT RESULT: T O ELVIS ROCKS FOR JAPAN
1. T O ELVIS (Ryusei Sakai), 2. Englishman, 3. Liam Smith. 13 ran.
Englishman fast away but he’s three wide …
Now Englishman settles second after a quarter, Liam Smith is leading.
Englishman takes Liam Smith and goes into the lead, he leads by two halfway down the stretch
But here’s T O Elvis for Japan, he trying to chase down the favourite, gaining all the time and YES! he’s got there, T O Elvis is a big winner on the dirt for Japan.
Updated
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint!
The local punters are unconcerned by Englishman’s wide draw and he’s 4-5 on the tote.
Sprint latest betting:
4-5 Englishman
5-2 T O Elvis
6-1 Listenupshance
14-1 Built
19-1 Liam Smith
25-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Sprint
Englishman is a clear form pick but he’s drawn in stall 13 and unlikely to get across to the lead with the speedy Mad House drawn one. T O Elvis, meanwhile, is only two stalls closer to the rail in 11, though he a more of a closer.
It’s a definite stab in the dark, but Liam Smith has posted some useful numbers while moving through the ranks and is well drawn to attack in stall three. At around 25-1 with the British bookies, I’m going to take a small each-way interest.
19.42 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Grade One, 6f
But before we get to the Mile, there’s another hot favourite looming on the horizon in the shape of Englishman, in the Sprint on the dirt.
Cherie DeVaux’s three-year-old has won three of his four starts this season including a dominant success in the H Allen Jerkens Memorial over seven furlongs at Saratoga last time.
The second-pick in the betting is the Japanese-trained T O Elvis, the winner of his last five starts but not seen out since an impressive success at Churchill Downs in May.
And there’s also an interesting outsider on an upward curve in Peter Miller’s Liam Smith, who has emerged via claimers but posted a very impressive time when successful at Santa Anita last time.
Saturday is not unfolding as European racing fans might have hoped so far, but Notable Speech is up next in the Mile in two races’ time while the Turf will surely go to a visitor – it’s just a question of which one.
Looping back to the Turf Sprint earlier on the card, Bacio is syndicate-owned and Wesley Ward was particularly pleased about that as his daughter-in-law, Caitlin, helped to keep Bacio in his yard when offers came in for him earlier in his career.
There was a lot to the whole story behind him, to me getting him, and then once he started winning, me keeping him. He was a sought after horse, a lot of people were coming in. My daughter-in-law brought me one of the greatest gifts ever, my grandson, Killian, and she put an ownership group together with MyRacehorse in order to keep him here in our stable.
It’s so nice to have thousands of owners in this horse and win the Breeders’ Cup, it’s going to really help our sport.
A big let down for the Europeans, neither Blue Bolt nor Precise was ever travelling with purpose and both were beaten before the final turn. Well done to County Kildare-based Willie McCreery though – his 25-1 outsider Jancis came through to finish third, and best of the Euro runners.
Kathynmarissa was sent off at 5-1 on the local tote, but there was 7-1 and 8-1 on offer with British firms beforehand.
FILLY & MARE TURF RESULT: KATHYNMARISSA DOMINANT AS BLUE BOLT FADES
1. KATHYNMARISSA (Jose Ortiz), 2. Gimme A Nother, 3. Jancis. 12 ran.
Kathynmarissa lands the spoils, Precise and Blue Bolt both soundly beaten.
Updated
Into the turn, it’s still Classic Q, Precise looks beaten, now Gimme A Nother goes on with a furlong to run …
But here’s Kathynmarissa, she’s making rapid ground and she’s going to get there …
Updated
Down the back, Classic Q still leads, Precise under a slight drive, Blue Bolt makes a move three wide …
Classic Q turns first, Precise three wide in mid-division and Blue Bolt has three behind her
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf!
The favourites are having a high old time of it so far at this year’s Breeders’ Cup and the local punters clearly see no reason to change a winning formula. Blue Bolt is now evens, despite her wide draw and the slight question mark over her stamina.
Latest betting: Filly & Mare Turf
6-5 Blue Bolt
7-2 Precise
5-1 Kathynmarissa
9-1 Gimme A Nother
18-1 Classic Q
25-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf
Turf races tend to be run at a steadier pace than on the dirt and there is likely to be only moderate pressure on the lead. Both Blue Bolt and Precise are drawn wide, however, and it is quite possible that one or both will end up stuck wide.
Classic Q, on the other hand, should get a perfect trip either on the lead or just behind the pace and Mark Casse’s runner is my idea of the each-way value in the race if you’re taking the current 33-1 with a British bookie.
19.04 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Grade One, 1m 1½f
Back to the turf now for what is, from a Eurocentric point-of-view, a fascinating head-to-head between Precise and Blue Bolt, although it could be a little unwise to ignore the US-trained challenge entirely.
Blue Bolt needs little introduction, having won all six of her starts this season including four Group Ones, with Precise among the beaten runners in three of those.
That list includes the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in July, when Precise was a couple of lengths away in second.
This is their first meeting at a trip beyond a mile, however, and while Blue Bolt’s stamina has yet to be tested, Precise was an excellent second behind Miss Scott when stepping up to 10 furlongs in the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp last time.
The main hope for a local success, according to the betting at least, is Chad Brown’s Kathymarissa, the winner of the Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont last time.
But I was also quite taken with the performance of Classic Q in the Grade One First Lady at Keeneland. It was a narrow win – from another of today’s rivals, Lush Lips, but she was drawn nine and caught wide, and has a much better pitch in stall three today.
She is a 12-1 shot in the early betting on the US tote, but currently a frankly insulting 40-1 with at least one British bookmaker according to Oddschecker.
It took three or four minutes for the judge to separate them there, but it was the favourite, Further Ado, that got it on the nod after a thrilling battle to the wire.
He went off at even money in the end, with Owen Almighty was a 9-1 shot. Bracket Buster, meanwhile, almost lost his jockey at the start and was adrift throughout.
DIRT MILE RESULT: FURTHER ADO BY A NOSE
1. FURTHER ADO (Flavien Prat), 2. Owen Almighty, 3. Full Serrano. 10 ran.
Bracket Buster blew the start, Full Serrano and Chunk Of Gold lead ..
A fast opening quarter, 22.67sec, Owen Almighty is also helping force a good pace …
Further Ado makes ground on the rail, going well …
Now Further Ado comes wide, he’s chasing down Owen Almighty, they’re nose-to-nose to the wire … and it’s a photo, and a very close one!
Updated
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile!
Little movement in the odds ahead of the Dirt Mile, although Further Ado is now a shade of odds-on at 4-5.
Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile latest betting:
evens Further Ado
5-1 Bracket Buster
6-1 Full Serrano
8-1 Chunk Of Gold
9-1 Coal Battle & Owen Almighty
19-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile
The map includes Forged Steel, who was moderately fancied for this but ruled out earlier in the day. He would have been on or close to the lead, but in his absence, Full Serrano, the likely third-favourite, and Chunk Of Gold should still set a decent clip.
Further Ado will be on the rail in behind, but is likely to have at least four or five ahead of him and at the likely odds, I’d rather be with Bracket Buster to get a smoother trip and take it up in the stretch.
18.26 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Grade One, 1m
If there’s a weak link on the Breeders’ Cup card, then this is probably it. The Classic is a more inviting target for any dirt horse with a fair chance of getting 10 furlongs, and it feels a little telling that only three of the 10 runners managed a win last time out.
Further Ado, the favourite, offers a line to the form of The Puma, a runner in the Classic at the end of the card, as he was a half-length behind him in the Grade One Pennsylvania Derby at Parx in mid-September.
Bracket Buster also ran at Parx last time, finishing second in the Dirt Mile in September after getting caught on the rail approaching the turn out of the back straight.
So, no greenwash on the turf for the Europeans, but Bacio simply flew home there, setting strong fractions – 21.23sec for the quarter, 43.86sec for the half – but still leaving them for dead in the straight.
Comanche Brave was a little agitated before loading and missed the kick by a length, and while he moved up to mid-division by the turn, his race was as good as over once Bacio had kicked. He ended up in a dead-heat for fourth with Time To Dazzle.
TURF SPRINT RESULT: BACIO SCORCHES TO VICTORY FOR WARD
1. BACIO (Juan J Hernandez), 2. Cy Fair, 3. Starlust. 14 ran.
Updated
Comanche Brave slow to stride, Bacio flew out and leads …
Now Loughnane moves up along the rail, he’s mid-div on Comanche Brave as Bacio still leads …
Turning in, Bacio in front, and he’s clear as Comanche Brave runs into traffic on the rail …
Bacio is clear and this is going to be one for the Americans, very easy in the end!
Updated
Comanche Brave is a little reluctant to load but he’s in now …
And they’re off and running in the Turf Sprint!
The money is coming for Comanche Brave now, the local punters can’t separate the top two and both are showing a 2-1 payout on the tote.
The locals are siding with Wesley Ward to saddle a second winner of this race (he was successful with Golden Pal five years ago). He’s opened up at 8-5 on the tote, with Comanche Brave next in at 5-2.
George Weaver’s Cy Fair is currently the only other runner at single-figure odds on 8-1, and she has a squeak on her best form too but was distinctly disappointing when odds-on for a Grade Two at Kentucky Downs in early September. Shesospicy, meanwhile, is 15-1 for a repeat success.
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint
Bacio simply burned off his rivals in his two races in Britain over the summer and is well drawn to attack in stall three. If he can get clear at the turn, it could be all over.
He is likely to face a fair bit more competition for the lead than he did in Europe, though, and Joe Shiesty could definitely apply some pressure if he breaks well from the outside. If so, Comanche Brave and Billy Loughnane, aboard his only ride on today’s card, will be poised to pounce. O’Brien’s runner travels strongly just off the pace and that could be just what’s required.
17.48 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Grade One, 5½f
We’re on to the turf next, and the most obvious barrier to a European clean sweep on the grass in the form of Wesley Ward’s Bacio. He is already familiar to European racing fans as the winner of both the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot and the Nunthorpe at York in August.
He’s a very obvious favourite back on his home turf, but Donnacha O’Brien’s Comanche Brave is an equally obvious main market rival after his wins in the July Cup and then the Flying Five at the Curragh.
Bacio and Comanche Brave are the only two runners in the field at single-figure odds, but it would be remiss not to mention last year’s winner, Shisospicy, who is back for a second go.
She’s well drawn in stall two but has not seen a track since finishing seventh at Churchill Downs in May, and has been on the wrong end of several setbacks since her win last year. She was forced to miss some juicy targets in the Saudi Arabia and Dubai in the early part of the year due to an infection, apparently as the result of a spider bite, and also had a fever shortly before her intended prep for today’s race at Belmont in September.
That pretty much unfolded entirely as expected: Kerry’s Kiss and R Disaster were forward early with Explora in pursuit, and then Ways And Means breezed through the field as if she’d just joined in. She set off as an even-money shot on the tote.
FILLY & MARE SPRINT RESULT: FAVOURITE FINDS A WAY
1. WAYS AND MEANS (Flavien Prat), 2. Foie Gras, 3. Explora. 11 ran.
R Disaster straight into the lead, but now Kerry’s Kiss leads ….
22.14sec for the first quarter, Kerry’s Kiss still in front as Ways And Means looks for room …
Ways And Means hits the front and this is all over … she powering a long way clear, what a performance to kick off the card.
Updated
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint!
Won’t be long now until the second day of the Breeders’ Cup meeting is underway … strap yourselves in, it’s always a giddy ride …
It’s around a quarter of an hour to the Filly & Mare Sprint, and Ways And Means is a very warm favourite at 4-5 on the US tote.
Latest betting (US odds):
4-5 Ways And Means
5-1 Explora
7-1 Kilwin & Sweet Azteca
8-1 R Disaster
19-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
The pace is likely to be fierce as four or five of the runners have been on or close to the lead after the first quarter-mile in the majority of their recent starts, including R Disaster and Kerry’s Kiss, drawn four and eight respectively, who are most likely to duel for the early lead. Explora too likes to be close to the lead, but may end up three or four wide from her outside stall, while Ways And Means should have a smoother time of it towards the inside.
17.10 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Grade One, 7f
The Saturday card kicks off with a sprint that isn’t, by European standards at least, as seven furlongs is past the point where a horse can simply go flat out from the start (a bit like the 400m in athletics, when compared to the 100m or 200m). And it is perhaps no co-incidence that wire-to-wire winners are a rarity.
Nor is there a standout trial event that regularly highlights the winner, although Goodnight Olive took in the Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga before her wins in 2022 and 2023. Ways And Means, the morning-line favourite, was the winner of that contest this year, by nearly six lengths, and is expected to go off favourite today.
She breezed past R Disaster, a rival again today, at the top of the stretch and it is difficult to see Saffie Joseph’s mare reversing the form.
The second-favourite, meanwhile, is the three-year-old Explora, from the Bob Baffert stable. She was beaten at odds-on last time out, but had earlier taken the Grade One Test Stakes at Saratoga, over the same seven-furlong trip as the Ballerina, by five lengths.
Another leading contender to consider is Sweet Azteca, a six-year-old who is unbeaten in four starts this year since a stable-switch to join Richard Baltas. Her latest win, in a Grade Three at Del Mar, still leaves her with something to find to trouble the favourite, though.
Ways And Means is short enough in the betting but I can see her getting a better trip through the race than Explora, who is drawn in stall 11 and could end up three or four wide.
Preamble
Welcome to the Guardian’s liveblog coverage of the main card at the 2026 Breeders’ Cup in Kentucky, where a strong team from Europe will be bidding for a first-ever clean sweep of the Cup’s turf events and, at the climax of the card, all eyes will be on the Japanese superstar, Forever Young, as he bids to become only the second horse in Breeders’ Cup history to win a second Classic.
Yesterday’s three turf events for juveniles were a complete rout for the visitors, who had the first seven home in both the Juvenile Turf Sprint and the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the 1-2-3 in the Juvenile Turf. The European team also have the favourites for three of today’s four turf races, with the only exception being the Turf Sprint at 17.48, where Wesley Ward’s Bacio is nudging even-money to follow up his wins at Royal Ascot and York earlier in the season.
The highlight of the card for European fans is surely the Turf at 21.36, where a host of the continent’s best middle-distance horses will chase a share of the $5m purse, but Notable Speech is a huge runner too in the Mile (20.20) and the latest face-off between Blue Bolt and Precise in the Filly & Mare Turf (19.04) also promises to be something to savour.
It was an evening for the form horses yesterday, which is probably why I somehow managed to find four of the five winners. That, of course, all-but guarantees a complete blank today, but my picks for the nine races are here just in case, and we will be underway on one of the great racing rollercoasters with the Filly & Mare Sprint at 17.10.
