Ben Linfoot's Breeders' Cup Diary 2024 | Big-time Charlie

By Ben Linfoot

20:50 · TUE October 29, 2024

Ben Linfoot is our man at the Breeders' Cup this week and he caught up with three trainers down at the barns on Tuesday.

Appleby out to extend Cup record

Charlie Appleby is 10 from 20 at the Breeders’ Cup. Ten from twenty. It’s an incredible statistic and one that will surely not be enhanced this weekend. That would mean he’d have four or more winners from his seven runners.

But it’s a strong team again. Big chances and it’s clear the Breeders’ Cup has become an annual target for Appleby, unlike say, QIPCO British Champions Day, where he did not have one representative at Ascot earlier in the month.

So it was great to bump into him in a typically jovial mood on my first morning at the Breeders’ Cup. After trains, planes and rom-coms filling my world for the previous 24 hours, it was good to finally chat racing ahead of this weekend’s Del Mar shindig.

“It’s a meeting that we plan for the day after this weekend,” Appleby said, when I mentioned his extraordinary record. “I always think we come here with the right horses and you need a bit of lady luck on your side, as well, but we bring the right horses to be competitive.”

Asked to pick his favourite big gun on Saturday, out of Rebel’s Romance in the Turf and Notable Speech in the Mile, Appleby was diplomatic, like he had been asked to pick between his children.

“My heart is ruling my head with Rebel’s, he’s done it for us on so many occasions and of course I’ll be willing him to do it.

“Notable Speech is the best three-year-old we’ve come to the Breeders’ Cup with and he’s a 2000 Guineas winner and a Sussex winner. It’s hard to split them but I am pleased with the pair of them and they look great.

“I’m very confident [that we’ll see the Notable Speech that turned up at Newmarket and Goodwood]. I think track conditions will suit him. I still to this day don’t know what happened at Ascot and then the ground was pure and simple just too soft in France.

“Even looking back to his last start at Kempton in the spring it was mooted by quite a lot of people that he might have the potential to be a Breeders’ Cup Mile horse.

“To be fair Rebel’s Romance, he’s ticked every box. His last win here came off the back of a win in Germany which he’s gone and done again.

“The improvement we’ve seen from Germany to date we’ve been very pleased with him, so he’s the horse I would – there’s never a banker bet at this meeting – but the one who has had the perfect run into it, it’s Rebel’s Romance.”

Bankers. We’ll get on to those later in the week. It feels like Appleby has a couple of them up his sleeve once again – after all, it is the Breeders’ Cup.

Join SL+ to watch the full Charlie Appleby interview

Ram raid aiming to uphold family honour

Christopher Head is a man out to make Breeders’ Cup history of his own.

The Breeders’ Cup Mile is synonymous with the Head family after his father, Freddy, won the race twice as a jockey on Miesque and three times as a trainer with the legendary mare Goldikova.

And now Head jr, on the back of a tumultuous year which saw Big Rock and Blue Rose Cen move on from his yard, has an opportunity to win the same race with his own star mare, Ramatuelle.

“This filly is incredible, she has been doing incredible things all season,” Head said on Tuesday. “She’s travelled over well. She’s very easy and I’m very optimistic for the next race.

“She has quite a change of speed. She is capable of waiting, capable of going in front, she’s an interesting and versatile filly.

“It’s a mile but not really a mile. If we were capable of nearly winning a Guineas in a straight line we will be fine on the two turns.

“We can win by any draw, it’s just a matter of taking a good position and I’m sure Aurelian [Lemaitre] will do the best job with the plan we have for the race.

“I just hope that everything goes right for Ramatuelle, she deserves a win at the Breeders’ Cup.”

The daughter of Justify – yes, him again – could be one of the stars of the weekend. Either way, she’s a fascinating contender from the one box in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Join SL+ to watch the Christopher Head interview

Knight going for a touch with Frost

City Of Troy isn’t the only European-trained runner going for glory on the dirt this weekend.

William Knight runs Frost At Dawn in the PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Saturday with a certain Frankie Dettori booked to take the ride on the 33/1 chance.

Watching her canter on Tuesday morning Knight said: “She’s been training really well. She’s been over in Keeneland where she ran in the Franklin Stakes and she ran in that race very well.

“She shipped in here last Wednesday and has taken to her training lovely, we couldn’t be happier with her.

“At Meydan she ran well on the dirt and she trained on it well over there, while she’s really taken to it here, moving really well off it.

“The pace of the race will be slightly different, but she’s raced two races on the dirt out in Meydan which gives you a little bit of confidence.

“I’m quite happy to be the outsider. She could run a big race, she’s got a nice draw, a top jockey on board in Frankie Dettori, I think she can go well.”

After running over five-and-a-half lengths on turf at Keeneland last time, things will be a bit different for Frost At Dawn on Saturday.

But she ran well over seven furlongs on the dirt at Meydan and she’s an interesting outsider in against the well-fancied American hopefuls Ways And Means and Society.

Click here for the latest on City Of Troy

Join Sporting Life Plus for exclusive Breeders’ Cup coverage

Combining Sporting Life’s instinctive eye for profit with Timeform’s unrivalled racing data and analysis, Sporting Life Plus is now available to all logged-in readers.

To access all the content on these pages, readers simply have to log in to the Sporting Life website and click on the Sporting Life Plus icon at the top of the Racing page.

If you're yet to create an account, you can sign up for FREE and gain access not only to the Sporting Life Plus features and cards, but also some exclusive content throughout a huge week in racing.

We’ll have insight from Oisin Murphy, Aidan O’Brien, Charlie Appleby and more, tips from our man in Del Mar, Ben Linfoot, and plenty of additional coverage of the Breeders’ Cup.

In addition, you can use the same log-in details to access ITV7, Super6, and Sky Bet.

Click here to access Sporting Life Plus for FREE!

Sporting Life Plus: Gain access for free by simply logging in

Breeders’ Cup 2024 race times (GMT) and schedule

Friday, November 1

9.45pm: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint
10:25pm: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
11:05pm: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf
11.45pm: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
12:25am: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

Saturday, November 2

7:00pm: Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
7:41pm: Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint
8:21pm: Breeders' Cup Distaff
9:01pm: Breeders’ Cup Turf
9:41pm: Breeders’ Cup Classic
10:25pm: Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf
11:05pm: Breeders’ Cup Sprint
11:45pm: Breeders’ Cup Mile
12:25am: Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

British and Irish Breeders’ Cup winners in last six years

2023 (Santa Anita): Auguste Rodin, Inspiral, Master Of The Seas, Unquestionable, Big Evs

2022 (Keeneland): Meditate, Mischief Magic, Victoria Road, Tuesday, Modern Games, Rebel’s Romance

2021 (Del Mar): Modern Games, Space Blues, Yibir

2020 (Keeneland): Glass Slippers, Audarya, Order Of Australia, Tarnawa

2019 (Santa Anita): Iridessa

2018 (Churchill Downs): Line Of Duty, Expert Eye, Enable

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org