Japanese horse racing was on the verge of breaking into the US arena. He seemed almost there in 2021 when he won three Breeders' Cup races. But after that the situation leveled off.
In 10 Breeders' Cup races this year, horses from Japan performed the worst. But in the 11th, the most important race of the two-day event, the breakthrough became official when Forever Young held off Sierra Leone, last year's winner, to win the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic by half a length.
The last time we saw Forever Young in this country was a year ago when the 4-year-old colt finished third in the Classic. Prior to that, he was third in the Kentucky Derby by a small margin, although he suffered some blows from Sierra Leone. Without it, he could have won the race that Mystic Dan won.
The common thread between the 2021 and 2025 Breeders' Cup days was that both were held in Del Mar.
Forever Young nearly fell victim to some legal machinations Saturday when trainer Chad Brown mounted a horse called Rabbit with little chance of winning so he could set a fast pace. Sierra Leone, also trained by Brown, needs a fast pace to weaken the other horses, which will benefit Sierra Leone's late running style.
But this time, Forever Young overcame all the obstacles thrown at him. He ran a very tactical race, staying close to the leader and never falling back further than third.
Forever Young paid $9 to win. He was followed in order by Sierra Leone, Cruelty, Journalism, Mindset, Baeza, Nevada Beach, Antiquarian and Contrarian Mindset, who was the rabbit in the 1 1/4 mile race.
This was the third Breeders Cup victory for trainer Yoshito Yahagi. When asked if this was his most satisfying victory, Yahagi said through a translator: “I will never, ever be satisfied until I retire as a coach.
“We're planning to go to Saudi Arabia maybe next year, which will be his last. I love doing big races around the world. And I'd like to win it all.”
Forever Young became the third foreign horse to win the Classic, joining Argentina's Invasor in 2006 and Ireland's Black Tie Affair in 1991.
“So last time the horse was 75% prepared,” Yahagi said. “And this time we are creating 100% condition. Forever Young is an amazing horse.”
Therefore, at the ceremony, the food courtyard is Rsal.
“It was a huge run,” said Brown, from Sierra Leone. “Look, the winner ran an amazing race. He picked up the pace and kicked. I think the course played against us. [Saturday]. I don’t want to take anything away from the winner, but it was speed all day.”
Journalism trainer Michael McCarthy was pleased with the horse's fourth place finish and the way he continued to compete.
“[We were] defeated by two-year-old champion [Fierceness]3 year old champion [Sierra Leone] and Japanese champion,” McCarthy said. “We’ll reboot and see what we can do next year.”
Baeza was picked fifth by the players but appeared to be injured at half-time.
“I think the start cost us a lot,” coach John Shirreffs said. “[Jockey Hector Berrios] said that he did not stand still at the gate and when it was opened, he jumped a little. I would say he lost all chances at the start.”
Classic lost a lot of luster when favorite Sovereignty, a Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, was scratched earlier in the week when he developed a fever. Sovereignty was the most popular horse in the country and a possible Horse of the Year winner. Many were hoping for a rematch with Journalist, who finished second in both of those races and won the Preakness, which Sovereignty did not compete in.
Trainer Bill Mott brought only two horses to the Breeders' Cup: Sovereignty and Scylla. While Sovereignty missed the starting gate on Saturday, Scylla ($17.20 to win) certainly did, winning the biggest female race of the year, the $2 million Distaff.
“It’s certainly difficult to understand what happened to Sovereignty,” Mott said. “I think that everyone who is connected [with this sport] went through that, and we knew that when that happened, he wouldn't be able to compete, and not at the level he needed to compete. And he seems to be getting better, but he's not really in the story.
“I mean, it's about Scylla and Junior. [Alvarado, his jockey] and connections with Juddmonte.”
Alvarado took her to the lead and never looked back, winning the 1 1/8-mile race by 5 1/2 lengths. Azoth was second and Regaled was third. The favorite Seismic Beauty struggled early but then dropped to 12th in the 13-horse field.
Trainer Bob Baffert scored two Breeders' Cup victories on Saturday, first in the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint with Splendora ($7.80) and then again in the $1 million Dirt Mile with Nysos ($3.40). Baffert now has 21 Breeders' Cup victories, tied with Aidan O'Brien.
The Filly & Mare sprint became less interesting when the two favorites, Sweet Azteca (2-1 morning line) and Tamara (7-2), were scratched by the vet. There was a third scratch that brought the score down to seven.
Splendora won by 4 3/4 lengths. He was in the middle of the pack until the far turn of the seven-furlong race before jockey Flavien Prat allowed him to cut loose in the stretch.
Baffert had a clear lead in the Dirt Mile as Nisos and Citizen Bull battled down the stretch, with Nisos leading his stablemate by a head.
“I think it's more important [than the record] “It's the excitement of seeing the horses show up, run, put on a show,” Baffert said. “Going into the descent I knew I was going to win. Nisos has a big heart. It was the first time he had to get on his stomach and show up and that's why he knocked the champion down.
“It was fun to watch. I would have liked to have seen a draw, to have seen them split. I hate to see one of them lose, but it was a really great race.”
The second richest race on the card, the $5 million Turf, was set to be a match between two-time winner Rebel's Romance and Minnie Hawk, who had five wins and two seconds from seven starts. They ran together for most of the 1 1/2-mile race, but Ethical Diamond, with a long shot, began rolling at the top of the stretch and cruised to a 1 1/4-length victory. “Rebel's Romance” took second place.
Irish Ethical Diamond, trained by William Mullins and ridden by Dylan Brown McMonagle, paid $57.40 to win.
Shisospisi ($12.60) jumped out to first and held the lead until the finish, winning the $1 million turf sprint that ran over five furlongs. The 3-year-old filly is trained by Jose Francisco D'Angelo and was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. to his 22nd Cup win.
Jockey Colin Keane soon took her quality out of the gate during a sprint across the turf and into the equine ambulance. She was taken to the equine hospital and is back in the stables under observation.
Ortiz took his 23rd win in the next race, winning the $2 million Sprint aboard Bentornato. It was also D'Angelo's second win in a row. Bentornato raced to first and never led in the six-furlong race. It was only 4-year-old Riggle's second race of the year. Bentornato finished second in last year's sprint, beaten by Straight No Chaser, who finished seventh on Saturday.
Charlie Appleby won the $2 million Mila for the fourth time in five years with Outstanding Speech ($7.20), ridden by William Buick. The 4-year-old colt defeated Sahlan by a head. The final Breeders' Cup race of the year, the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf, was won by Frenchman Gezora ($20.20) over 1 3/8 miles over a half-length for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard and jockey Michael Barzalona.
