The 36th Breeders' Cup World Championships kicked off on Friday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, California with "Future Stars Friday" with all the 2-year-old championship races on the first day. Conditions were typical for early November, with the 41,243 fans enjoying the cloudless sky, low humidity, and temperatures in the mid 80's. As expected the main track was fast and the turf course firm. A new record for all-sources handle of $56.5 million was bet on the 10 race card, a 5.4% increase over the handle last year at Churchill Downs.
Full results with several photos per race are available at the link below the pay-off chart.
The $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) features 2-year-old colts and geldings going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Iroquois Stakes (G3) winner Dennis' Moment was sent off as the 9-10 favorite in the field of 8 over 3-2 Eight Rings and 11-2 Scabbard. Dennis' Moment stumbled badly at the start and leaving 6 lengths behind as 46-1 Storm the Court set the pace of 23.49, 47.07, and 1:11.60 while pressed by Eight Rings and stalked by 28-1 Anneau d'Or. In the stretch Eight Rings tired while Anneau d'Or moved up to challenge through 1 mile in 1:37.99. However, Storm the Court held him off over the final 1/16 to win by a neck in 1:44.93. It was another 3 1/4 lengths back to 39-1 Wrecking Crew third, while Dennis' Moment was last.
Winning jockey Flavien Prat said, "I got to ride him the entire race today. I wanted to be on the lead today. He relaxed for me nicely. I think the blinkers helped him a lot. He really battled all through the stretch. I always thought he was going to win."
The $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) presented by Coolmore America featured a full field of 14 2-year-olds going 1 mile on the turf. Dewhurst Stakes (G1) runner-up Arizona was the 2-1 favorite over 3-1 Decorated Invader and 5-1 Structor. 19-1 Graceful Kitten set the pace of 23.14, 47.55, and 1:11.68 while pressed by 116-1 Proven Strategies and 55-1 Billy Batts. Turning for home, Proven Strategies gained a short lead through 7f in 1:23.46 before tiring. Structor, 6th early, came out for room and outfinished Billy Batts to win by 3/4 lengths in 1:35.11. It was a neck back to 67-1 Gear Jockey third, while Arizona checked in 10th.
Winning jockey Jose Ortiz said, "He broke alertly and I was able to save ground all the way around. I wanted to ask him to run sooner, but I had nowhere to go at the three-eighths pole. Once we got into the clear, he really finished strong. He's a very nice horse." Trainer Chad Brown added, "I'm going to try this horse on dirt at some point. He trains very well on it. He deserves it and he's got the right running style to potentially run on both surfaces."
The $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) features the best 2-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Debut winner Donna Veloce was sent off as the 2-1 favorite over 5-2 British Idiom and 7-2 Wicked Whisper. 19-1 Two Sixty set the pace of 22.71 and 46.02 while pressed by Bast and stalked by Wicked Whisper. On the far turn Two Sixty tired allowing Bast to lead through 3/4 in 1:11.93. At the 3/16 Donna Veloce took over the front through 1 mile in 1:39.65, but British Idiom, 7th early, wore her down late to win by a neck in 1:47.07. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to Bast third.
Winning trainer Brad Cox said, "I'm not so sure she liked the racetrack. It looked like she was struggling a bit to me down the backside. She's a tough horse, she's 3 for 3. I liked where we were. But I thought Javier was kind of knuckling down on her as opposed to Keeneland when she was kind of taking him there a little bit easier. She was fit. She was ready to go today."
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
Purse: $2,000,000 Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
4 British Idiom Castellano 7.40 3.80 2.80
1 Donna Veloce Prat 4.00 3.00
6 Bast Velazquez 3.40
Winning Time: 1:47.07
$1 Exacta 4-1 13.00
$1 Trifecta 4-1-6 54.60
$1 Superfecta 4-1-6-3 290.10
The $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) featured 14 two-year-old fillies going 1 mile on the turf. Rockfel Stakes (G2) winner Daahyeh was sent off as the 7-2 favorite over 9-2 Sweet Melania and 5-1 Albigna. 42-1 Living in the Past, 15-1 Abscond, and Sweet Melania battled for the early lead through fractions of 22.74, 47.02, and 1:11.33 while stalked by 14-1 Sharing. Sweet Melania led to midstretch through 7f in 1:22.96 but Sharing rallied by to win by 1 1/4 lengths over late-running favorite Daahyeh in 1:34.59. It was a neck back to Sweet Melania third.
Winning jockey Manny Franco said, "She broke so nice out of the gate and got the position behind the speed I wanted. Down the backside, she settled pretty nicely. By the three-eighths pole, I waited for the right moment to make my move and she was there for me."
Kicking off the World Championships, the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) featured 12 two-year-olds going 5 furlongs around one turn of the turf. Futurity Stakes (G3) winner Four Wheel Drive was sent off as the 3-2 favorite over 5-2 Kimari and 6-1 A'Ali. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. sent Four Wheel Drive to lead through fractions of 21.55 and 44.03 while pressed by 12-1 Chimney Rock and stalked by 51-1 Dream Shot. Four Wheel Drive opened a 1 1/2 length lead midstretch and easily held off the steadily closing Chimney Rock by 3/4 length in 55.66. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to 19-1 Another Miracle third.
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said, "I got a good trip. He broke good and put me on the lead. He was relaxed and turning for home when I asked him, he responded. He ran really well. He's a nice horse." Trainer Wesley Ward added, |He is a real cool dude. He takes it all in. He popped right out like a real professional horse will and he kind of settled. When Irad called upon him, away he went."
The Juvenile Turf Sprint
Purse: $1,000,000 Distance: 5 1/2 furlongs turf
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
9 Four Wheel Drive Ortiz Jr. 5.00 3.40 3.00
1 Chimney Rock Ortiz 8.20 5.40
3 Another Miracle Franco 7.80
Winning Time: :55.66
$1 Exacta 9-1 23.10
$1 Trifecta 9-1-3 207.70
$1 Superfecta 9-1-3-7 802.00
The $200,000 Golden State Juvenile featured 11 California-bred or sired 2-year-olds sprinting 7 furlongs on the main track. 14-1 Been Studying Her set the pace of 22.13 and 44.98 while pressed by 3-1 favorite Cali Dude and stalked by 31-10 second choice Square Deal. Turning for home Tap Back left the field in his wake, opening a 5 1/2 length lead through 3/4 in 1:10.75 and cruising to a 6 length win over Cali Dude in 1:24.98. It was another 1/2 length back to 44-1 Papster third.
Left: Tap Back heads to the winner's circle. Winning trainer Jeff Bonde said, "He's got a lot of natural speed and we've been really working hard to break off behind horses and get him to relax. He was just a little too keen in his early races, and in between them, we had time to really work with him and he responded. I just told Victor (Espinoza), ‘Don't let him do too much early. Try to get him into a rhythm. I know we're going to be in front; just don't let him burn himself up.' It was a great race."
Right: Second place finisher and beaten favorite Cali Dude in the post parade.
The $200,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies featured 11 California-bred or sired 2-year-old fillies sprinting 7 furlongs on the main track. 3-1 second choice Bulletproof One set the pace of 22.02 and 45.66 while pressed by 13-2 Cholula Lips and stalked by 34-1 Mandy. Turning for home, 3-2 favorite Been Studying Her swept 3 wide to the lead through 3/4 in 1:11.42, and drew off to win by 3 3/4 lengths over 5-1 Smiling Shirlee in 1:25.25. It was another 3/4 length back to 11-1 Warren's Showtime third.
Left: Been Studying Her heads to the winner's circle. Winning jockey Mike Smith said, "She absolutely cruised. I don't think she took a breath. We left the gate well and relaxed and got into her rhythm. I stayed out of her way. I tickled her on the turn and she took off. It got me to thinking maybe we should have run her later in the day."
Right: Been Studying Her. Winning trainer Dan Ward said, "She's out of a great mare (Maddie's Odyssey by Kitten's Joy) that's produced Grecian Fire and Sneaking Out. She got a perfect ride, a Hall of Fame ride. Mike kept her in the clear and she ran great. She'd trained great and she ran great."
Kicking off the Friday card at 10:45AM, the $200,000 Marathon Stakes (G2) is a 1 3/4 mile test for older horses. Jockey Joe Talamo sent 5-1 third choice Zestful to the front first time by through fractions of 25.07, 50.80, 1:17.03, and 1:43.00 while pressed by 6-1 third choice American Tattoo and stalked by 7-2 second choice Itsinthepost. Turning for home, Itsinthepost took over the lead 3 wide and held off Zestful the rest of the way to win by 3/4 length in 3:03.95. It was another 3/4 length back to American Tattoo third, while 3-5 favorite Campaign trailed throughout and was eased late.
Left: Itsinthepost returns after the race.
Right: Last place finisher and beaten favorite Campaign in the post parade. Winnng owner Tim Cohen said, “I was just hoping everyone had enough energy to finish! Drayden (Van Dyke) rode a really good race. Jeff (Mullins) told him to take it easy early and make sure he had company. This horse tends to pull himself up when he makes the lead too early and that’s what happened last time. It looks like it’s going to be a great day and it’s nice to win the first one.”
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita
Review: Crushing the Cup 2019 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita.
2018 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by Accelerate. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2018 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Juvenile won by Game Winner. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 5 races here.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track since the change.