Breeders' Cup memories from Arazi to Zenyatta
David Ord, Ben Linfoot and Matt Brocklebank take a trip down memory lane and pick out 10 of their favourite Breeders' Cup memories ahead of this year's extravaganza at Keeneland.
1990: Dayjur denied by Safely Kept
The best sprinter I’ve seen who conquered everything thrown at him.
From Royal Ascot to York, Paris to New York. Apart from the shadows cast by the Belmont Park grandstand 100 yards from the finish on the dirt track. The fastest racehorse in the world, doing what he was bred to do, jumped not once, but twice.
Spooked and startled by what he thought was in front of him, he hurdled thin air. Willie Carson sat still, somehow keeping the partnership intact, but through came Safely Kept to deny Dick Hern and Hamdan Al Maktoum a famous victory.
It hurt then, it hurts still.
But for the first six furlongs Dayjur overcame a strong field, an alien surface and a wide draw to stamp his class on proceedings. Moments later he went into Breeders’ Cup folklore. He’d have gone into it had remained grounded too. (David Ord)
1990: Piggott stars on Royal Academy
But even the Dayjur story was to be eclipsed on that unforgettable New York evening.
For a few hours later Lester Piggott jumped aboard Royal Academy for his old ally Vincent O’Brien and rolled the years back to win the Mile. He had retired in 1985 after a glittering career that would never be matched and took up training.
But that venture was brought to a shuddering halt by a prison sentence for tax fraud and in the October of 1990 he announced he was returning to race-riding. Two weeks into arguably the most surprising comeback in the history of the sport, here he was being cheered into the winners’ enclosure.
Forget Nijinsky, Sir Ivor, the Ballydoyle golden era, the irresistible partnership with a young Henry Cecil, the whip-stealing in France, in fact everything else.
His finest hour came with the rhythmical drive that carried Royal Academy to the front 50 yards from the post in front of a disbelieving worldwide audience. (DO)
1991: Arazi dazzles at Churchill Downs
Even watching it now the hairs of the back of the neck stand up.
What Arazi does down the backstretch of Churchill Downs is the stuff of fiction, George Formby black and white films. It doesn’t happen in horse racing – let alone at the world thoroughbred championships. But it did.
From second last to first, under a motionless rider, making up a dozen lengths on a star American colt in Bertrando and then sailing clear of him. It doesn’t matter what happened afterwards.
Arazi in the fall of 1991 stunned the sporting world. (DO)
1993 & 2008: Europe crack the Classic
In 1993 Arcangues landed the Breeders’ Cup Classic for Andre Fabre at odds of 133/1, the Prix D’ispahan winner and Coral-Eclipse sixth causing one of the biggest shocks in racing history on his first ever go on the dirt.
It would be 15 years before a European-trained horse would win the Classic again - and that was on the brief experiment with the Pro-Ride surface - Raven’s Pass seeing off old rival Henrythenavigator on what was a first go at 10 furlongs for both horses.
Curlin had won the Classic the previous year on the Monmouth Park dirt by four-and-a-half lengths, but could only manage fourth on the synthetic track at Santa Anita as a couple of European milers dominated.
The Pro-Ride was ripped up after Zenyatta danced to victory on it a year later (this is un-be-lieve-able) and Europe remain winless in the Classic post-Raven’s Pass.
It could be a while before they prevail once again. (Ben Linfoot)
1994: Durkin’s One Dreamer call
This one is all about Tom Durkin’s sensational commentary and we make no apologies for that.
One Dreamer caused an almighty shock by landing the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at odds of 47/1, with Gary Stevens executing a superb front-running ride aboard the Thomas Proctor-trained filly. As the grey daughter of Relaunch crossed the line in front at Churchill Downs, Durkin exclaimed:
“One Dreamer wins and scores a huge front-running upset. You have just witnessed a felony, for jockey Gary Stevens has just stolen a one million dollar horse race and, Tom Hammond, we got it on videotape!" (BL)
2000: Tiznow and Giant’s Causeway dust up
What a horse race.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic, Churchill Downs, November 4, 2000. You couldn’t forget the date. Tiznow and Giant’s Causeway.
Two fantastic horses, going head to head, in a sustained duel down the stretch. Tiznow was a slow burner, unraced at two, but firmly on the up by the time he reached Kentucky.
Aidan O’Brien’s Giant’s Causeway had already earned his ‘Iron Horse’ nickname and with good reason – he’d won six from nine that season including the Eclipse, Sussex Stakes, Juddmonte International and Irish Champion, by a combined margin of just over a length.
You didn’t want to get in a battle with him. Tiznow did and prevailed, by a rallying neck, ensuring a finish for the ages and planting the seed for O’Brien’s obsession with the BC highlight.
The following year, Tiznow became the first and only horse to win the race twice. (BL)
2008: Goldikova’s back-to-back-to-back Miles
Freddy Head is steeped in Breeders’ Cup history and made waves in some of the early meetings when he rode Miesque to victory in the Mile in 1987 and 1988.
There was a certain symmetry about Goldikova’s emergence some 20 years later, a sensational mare trained by Head who pointed her at the Breeders’ Cup Mile four times in her career.
She couldn’t quite make it a magnificent four on the trot in 2011, but her victories in 2008, 2009 and 2010 under Olivier Peslier will live long in the memory, her hat-trick win under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs the one that stands out both in terms of style of victory and historic achievement. (BL)
2009: Conduit the King of California
Conduit doesn’t pop up too often in discussions of Sir Michael Stoute-trained greats but his efforts in California should be lauded.
The 2008 St Leger winner became only the second horse in the history of the race to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf twice and, unlike High Chaparral before him, there was no need to share the prize on either occasion.
First time around – both wins came at the iconic Santa Anita - it was smooth and straightforward, but he had to show another side in 2009 when almost losing his footing after bursting between rivals into the straight
Ryan Moore was strong in the saddle and the likeable chestnut responded in kind, entering the history books and securing the fourth top-level success of a fairy, underrated career. (Matt Brocklebank)
2010: Zenyatta plays the Blame game
Under the Churchill Downs lights in the autumn of 2010 I saw a horse race I’ll never forget.
The year before at Santa Anita Zenyatta came from a seemingly impossible position to cut down her rivals and win the Classic. 12 months previously, she had done the same in against her own sex in the Distaff.
She was remarkable, incredible – or as Trevor Denman roared – unbelievable. But here in Kentucky, far away from her home comforts of the west coast, and dead last turning for home, she was asked her sternest question yet.
Again detached early before being hooked to the outside of the field by Mike Smith at the top of the stretch, she began to close, relentlessly getting to the leader Blame with every stride. But the line came a stride too soon for her. She went down by a nose.
Smith was in tears at the post-race press conference: “She ranks up there with the greatest of all time and if I’d have won this you could arguably say she was. To come up a nose short is so hard. I truly believe I was on the best horse today. If I had to blame anyone, it would be me,” he said, staring blankly into the distance.
The truth was Zenyatta’s quirks had finally caught her out, not jockey error. It didn’t prevent it from being a night – in more ways than one – when Blame was the name of the game though. (DO)
2011: St Nic's star shines under Joseph
You don’t really associate Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore operation with a genuine outpouring of emotion, but the scenes which followed St Nicholas Abbey’s Turf success in 2011 reminded us that this extraordinary family was indeed human.
Joseph O’Brien had been going to the Breeders’ Cup ever since he could walk and it clearly meant a lot to his father that this teenager was able to ride into the record books as the youngest ever BC-winning jockey.
O’Brien junior’s exploits in the training ranks will ultimately see his riding achievements pale into insignificance, but he clearly came a long way - and won a lot of races - in a relatively short space of time in the saddle
He won the Guineas, the Derby (twice), the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and the St Leger, but no doubt this moment of glory in the States will hold a special place for Joseph O’Brien, who opened his Breeders’ Cup account as a trainer courtesy of Irisessa in the 2019 Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita. (MB)