A review of the pick of the action from Future Stars Friday at the Breeders' Cup, featuring a scintillating display from Lake Victoria.
Victoria the undisputed queen in Fillies Turf
Aidan O'Brien's Lake Victoria proved a class apart in the John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Sent off the odds-on favourite on the back of an unbeaten European campaign which featured Group 1 wins at the Curragh and Newmarket, the daughter of Frankel didn't get a perfect trip from the inside stall under Ryan Moore but she had the requisite gears in the home straight to run out a ready winner on her first try at the one mile trip.
Lake Victoria was already heading the antepost markets for the 1000 Guineas next spring and she hardened in the betting following the impressive Del Mar triumph, Paddy Power making her 11/4 favourite for the 2025 Classic. Sky Bet go 5/2 from 3/1.
Nitrogen and Correto, both 40/1 chances, filled the places for the home team but the race was all about the wildly impressive winner.
O'Brien said: “Whether she got crowded or was bumped I’m not sure, but Ryan was further back than he wanted to be. He was in a terrible position but he gave her a brilliant ride.
“The lads (Coolmore) decided to give her a bit more time (after the Cheveley Park) and come here and Ryan was very confident. Ryan says she will be a miler and we will train her for the Guineas. Hopefully she will get a mile and a quarter.
“We will let her thrive over the winter with the colts and then we will map out plans for all of them into the new year.”
Moore was in no doubt about Lake Victoria’s class before the race and felt she had stamped her authority in style.
He said: “She had very strong form, all she needed was normal racing luck she had her share of that and she was much the best.
“I had no concerns about the distance she had won over seven at the Curragh and to me there was no doubt that she would get the mile she was way too good for them.
“Going forward she’s more of a miler and probably a Guineas filly.”
Reflecting on the incident on the first turn, Moore added: “She got pushed into the fence and that was that. They had gone pretty quick and by the end of the back (straight) most of them were done.
“She jumped very well but there were quite a lot of them wanted to lead, there wasn’t much space.”
The filly is owned by the Coolmore triumvirate but runs in the colours of Michael Tabor, who is eager to see what the filly achieves in the future.
He said: “Something happened that I couldn’t quite see but she showed she is special under a great ride.
“She ranks very highly with some of our best fillies, only time will tell how good she is.”
O'Brien and Moore double up with Matisse
The final race of Future Stars Friday - the Prevagen Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf - once again went the way of the Europeans as Henri Matisse gave O'Brien and Moore a big-race double on the day and a seventh victory together in the Grade 1 event.
The son of Wootton Bassett had disappointed at the Curragh and Longchamp on his last two starts after winning his first three races in good style, but bounced back in style to show an electric turn of foot in the closing stages.
Forced to wait for a run from well off the pace having been posted out wide in stall 13, Moore brought his mount with a scintillating run to get up and beat 33/1 chance Iron Man Cal. Third home was Charlie Appleby's fast-finishing Aomori City (12/1), who didn't enjoy an ideal preparation having broken through the stalls before the start and had to be reloaded.
O'Brien was saddling his 20th career Breeders' Cup winner, a record that sees him tied with legendary D. Wayne Lukas as the most prolific trainer in the history of the meeting.
“It’s incredible, we all know what a special man he (Lukas) is. I’m honoured to be anywhere close to his record,” said O’Brien.
“I’m delighted for everybody. What can you say about Wayne? He rang me earlier in the week and he told me about this track, how to ride it and what to do and what not to do.
“He was saying about the Classic and how he thought we should ride our horse (City Of Troy). We feel very grateful and really privileged that he was so good to tell us everything – honoured really.
“I remember Wayne came down and told us what to do about the pony (when Giant’s Causeway ran in the 2000 Classic), then he said ‘I’ll come down and I’ll do it for you’.
“That was the Giant’s Causeway time and ever since he’s been such a help to us, we’re just so grateful to him. What a special man.”
Henri Matisse won his first three starts and then finished second in the National Stakes, prompting O’Brien to try him in blinkers in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.
The trainer said: “He went to the front in the National Stakes and dinked a bit. Then he had another legitimate excuse when I put blinkers on him.
“Ryan thought in France we did the wrong thing in putting blinkers on him, he was a little bit shy and he got a bad bump early and got a bit of a fright.
“He had to come through the bad ground and Ryan said to put a line through the run, there were a good few things went wrong. We always thought he was a very good horse, he’s another Wootton Bassett, an unbelievable talent.
“He’s not finished article yet but Ryan gave him a brilliant ride, he’s a beautiful horse, a very well bred horse. It’s so special and one thing about them is they get better every week. Ryan thinks he’ll be a miler, which means he’ll be a Guineas horse.”
Moore was impressed with the manner of Henri Matisse’s victory over Iron Man Cal, with Aomori City having made up late ground to take third.
The rider said: “He won that very easily, he showed us ability right from the start but things didn’t go his way in the National Stakes.
“A couple came out today and he was drawn 12 but he was easily the best. It was a very good performance.”
Lyons opens Breeders' Cup account
Magnum Force came with a withering late run to provide trainer Ger Lyons with a maiden Breeders' Cup triumph in Friday's Juvenile Turf Sprint.
The consistent Mehmas colt hadn't been out of the first three in four starts earlier in the year, his sole win coming in a five-furlong Cork maiden, and he stepped up on the form shown when third to Aesterius in the Flying Childers Stakes to land the big-money contest at odds of 12/1.
Drawn in stall four, Magnum Force was initially taken back but jockey Colin Keane played a patient game and held his position towards the inside rail.
Governor Sam and Jet Sweep Joe led the field on the sharp turn for home as Aesterius and Big Mojo gave chase, but their efforts petered out a little as Magnum Force burst between rivals to lead in the final furlong.
The Adrian Murray-trained Arizona Blaze came from even further back with a strong late run to take second in a one-two for Ireland, but Magnum Force had enough in the locker to score a shade cosily from the 20/1 runner-up, with front-running Governor Sam (9/1) hanging on for third.
Lyons said: “My horse had a late start to the season, he loves fast ground and when he ran at Doncaster, I vowed that if the horses that beat him were going to the Breeders’ Cup then we should.
“Hopefully we will get him home safe and sound, we’ll let him down and the sky will be the limit next year.”
The trainer was eager to praise Keane, who is set to be crowned Irish champion jockey for sixth time on Sunday.
He added: “Colin is the most underrated champion jockey on planet earth and I would like to see him on the big stage more.
“He’s had maybe three rides at the Breeders’ Cup and he’s won two. It’s about the time the world woke up to him.
“It’s fantastic, it’s a huge credit to the horse, a huge credit to my team. Big thanks to my owner, there’s plenty of us guys at home who can do this if we get the horses.
“The secret to training winners is getting the horses, it’s a simple as that. If a clown like me can train a winner at the Breeders’ Cup, anybody can!”
It was a second career winner at the championships for multiple champion jockey Keane following his famous triumph aboard Tarnawa in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Turf.
He said in the post-race interview: "That's the way he likes to be ridden. He needs a bit of luck in running and he got it. His last two runs in Britain were very good despite being beaten, as things didn't go to plan.
"We were very hopeful here going over five furlongs around a bend on quick ground. We knew it would bring out the best in him. I didn't think we'd seen the best of him in Ireland or Britain."
The Mick Appleby-trained Big Mojo had finished a length and a quarter ahead of Magnum Force in the Flying Childers at Doncaster last time, but was beaten into fourth.
Appleby said: “He had to go very hard to get a position but he battled away. The ground was a bit quick for him.”
Jockey Tom Marquand added: “He really needs six furlongs on a track like that."
Archie Watson’s Flying Childers winner Aesterius was also in the line-up but after racing prominently under James Doyle, he dropped back to finish sixth.
The rider said: “We got into a good position on the turn but he weakened in the straight.”
Aidan O’Brien’s pair of Whistlejacket and Ides Of March finished fifth and seventh respectively, with Shareholder coming home 12th for Karl Burke.
Cox bags 10th BC winner
Immersive became Kentucky-based trainer Brad Cox's 10th Breeders' Cup winner after a dominant display in the Juvenile Fillies.
The Godolphin-owned daughter of Nyquist found plenty for pressure in the home straight to justify 5/2 favouritism under jockey Manny Franco, ultimately beating Vodka With A Twist (12/1) and Quickick (8/1) who had duelled on the home turn.
Immersive was winning her fourth straight start and remains unbeaten with three top-level wins on the CV after Grade 1 victories at Saratoga and Keeneland earlier in the year.
Baffert on the board
Bob Baffert claimed a record sixth career win in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile, surpassing D. Wayne Lukas' five victories in the race, as apparent second-string Citizen Bull claimed top spot under rider Martin Garcia.
The jockey and trainer teamed up to win the same race with New Year's Day 11 years ago and Citizen Bull was a relatively unconsidered 12/1 chance having finished behind stablemate Gaming - the mount of Irad Ortiz Jr - at the same track in September.
He had subsequently claimed G1 honours at Santa Anita and reversed form with Gaming after sitting in a prominent position from the outset. There was a couple of lengths between them at the line, with a wider gap back to Adrian Murray's 25/1 outsider Hill Road, who came from the back of the pack to grab third.
The 2/1 favourite East Avenue was never able to mount a serious challenge having appeared to stumble on leaving the stalls.
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Breeders’ Cup 2024 race times (GMT) and schedule
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
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