A truly international affair became even more international this year when the Breeders’ Cup meeting attracted a record-breaking 80 international pre-entries Oct. 23, 20 more than the previous record.
Each Breeders’ Cup race has at least one international pre-entry, although the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) is the second preference for probable Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) runner Derma Sotogake . Before the fun begins Friday, read below to learn about some of the international horses you should pay attention to during the Breeders’ Cup.
Friday
$1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T)
The Archie Watson-trained Aesterius looks to be a big threat in this race with all six of his starts coming at the same distance with four wins. His only non-top two finish came at Royal Ascot where he finished fifth against fellow European entrant Shareholder , a Kentucky-bred, in the group 2 Norfolk Stakes, but he’s clearly put that behind him with three stakes victories since that race. A question mark is that he has never run on ground as firm as he’ll be facing here and his two losses both came when he ran on ground labeled “good to firm,” which is softer than he’ll find in California.
Japan is careful in what they send to the Breeders’ Cup, so any horse entered should be taken seriously. Kentucky-bred Ecoro Sieg is the country’s representative in this race and trained by Hideyuki Mori, who has plenty of experience at the Breeders’ Cup with nine entrants since 2000—though none in this race and all but one coming on dirt. Ecoro Sieg is lightly raced with only two starts, but both were impressive with a combined margin of victory of 7 1/2 lengths. He has only raced at six furlongs instead of the five here, but with his margins of victory, it doesn’t look like a shorter distance should be a problem.
A small rivalry is brewing between Whistlejacket and Shareholder with each taking away a win from their two head-to-head meetings. Shareholder won the first match up when he won the Norfolk in June and Whistlejacket finished fourth. The duo met up in the six-furlong group 1 Prix Morny in August with Whistlejacket taking home the win and Shareholder finishing ninth. Whistlejacket has much more experience with seven starts to Shareholder’s three, though both have run just twice at five furlongs—Shareholder won both of those and Whistlejacket has a win and a fourth at the distance. Firmer turf shouldn’t be a problem for Shareholder, but Whistlejacket’s only two runs on good to firm ground have results in losses.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)
American Bikini represents Japan here, but her sire is a name most fans will recognize—2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah . The Japan-bred filly is coming into the race off a 2 1/2-length stakes victory in September going seven furlongs. That win came one start after winning by seven lengths in a five-furlong maiden race. She will be stretching out an extra furlong and a half in this race, but with American Pharoah as her sire, the distance shouldn’t be a problem.
Kentucky-bred Otomena Shacho also has shipped in from Japan after breaking her maiden by five lengths in September going six furlongs. She has the same distance questions herself, but her pedigree shows that she should be able to handle it. Her dam (mother) is by Curlin , a two-time Horse of the Year who won the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and leads all sires in Breeders’ Cup winners.
$1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T)
If you’re looking for a horse to finish second at this year’s Breeders’ Cup, Fiery Lucy may be your girl. The filly broke her maiden back in June and has been consistent in her races since then, but possibly frustrating for her owners as well. She comes into the Breeders’ Cup off of three straight runner-up finishes, including at the one-mile distance that she’ll run here. In fact, Fiery Lucy has finished second in four of her six starts overall and is rarely far behind the winner as she’s been within 1 1/2 lengths of the winner in those four runner-up finishes.
Undefeated Lake Victoria is looking to give Aidan O’Brien his second win in this race after he won in 2022 with Meditate. It won’t be a surprise if Lake Victoria ends up in the winner’s circle here. She hasn’t taken a step wrong with a pair of group 1 victories on her record in her past two starts. The one question circling her past performances is if the one-mile distance will work for her. She hasn’t given any signs that an additional furlong from the seven furlongs she’s already tackled would be a problem, but that extra furlong between sprint distances and the mile has proved a challenge for other successful sprinters.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1)
Japan has a strong contingent headed to the Breeders’ Cup this year and fields two runners in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Kentucky-bred Ecoro Azel is the more experienced of the two with two starts. He does come into this race off a fifth-place finish in which he finished behind Juvenile Fillies entrant American Bikini, but he won his career debut in July by 2 1/2 lengths. He is by a Breeders’ Cup runner-up in 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) second Shancelot , so the distance may be a problem, but his dam did win at just over a mile, so she gives him some stamina.
Shin Believe will be the most inexperienced runner in the World Championships with just one start, but that one race was an impressive one. The colt bred in Kentucky broke his maiden at an even farther distance than this race, and he did it winning by five lengths. Shin Believe is the only horse pre-entered in this race to stretch past the Juvenile distance.
$1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T)
Aomori City is one of two pre-entries for Godolphin in this race as they look for their fourth Juvenile Turf victory, the most recent coming with Modern Games in 2021. This Oasis Dream colt will be stretching out to a mile for the first time, but he did win a grade 2 at seven furlongs two starts ago. His first attempt at a group 1 win came last out when he was fourth, but Godolphin seems to be willing to put that behind him and entered him alongside Al Qudra , who was second in the grade 1 Summer Stakes going a mile last out at Woodbine.
Highly regarded in Europe, Henri Matisse wasn’t a fan of soft ground last out when he finished outside the top two for the first time in his fifth race. The colt finished second in his first group 1 attempt before that but had registered wins in each of his first three starts to kick off his campaign. This will be his first attempt at a mile, but that shouldn’t be a worry as his sire won this race last year with Unquestionable .
New Century comes into this race with an advantage over other European runners. He won the Summer Stakes in Canada last out to get both experience and a victory in a North American race. If he’d been targeted here even without that start, he would have been an interesting prospect because he already had a win at a mile on firmer turf in Europe. This also is the next installment of a budding rivalry between this runner and Al Qudra. Al Qudra finished second in the Summer, but had defeated him both times they faced each other in England.
Noriyuki Hori-trained Satono Carnaval is the Japanese representative in this race and comes into it off a four-month break. He is an interesting entrant because he will be going past seven furlongs for the first time. He showed plenty in his debut going seven furlongs with a seven-length win in June before winning by 1 1/4 lengths in the grade 3 Hakodate Nisai Stakes July 13, prevailing as the favorite in both starts.
Saturday
$1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1)
The consistent Believing is still searching for her first grade 1/group 1 victory and is hoping to find it here. The George Boughey trainee has had plenty of chances to break through at the top level this year with six group 1 runs and has been second in two of her past three attempts but just hasn’t been able to break through. Unfortunately for her, the horse who beat her both times that she was second, Bradsell , is also running here.
Another horse who beat Believing this year is Big Evs , who is looking to win his second Breeders’ Cup race after a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last year. If he pulls off the double, he’ll be the second Juvenile Turf Sprint-Turf Sprint winner after Golden Pal in 2020 and 2021. Big Evs has made four starts this year with two victories and a third-place finish. His only unplaced finish came last out when he was eighth behind fellow Bradsell, Believing, and Starlust .
This race will be the swansong for Bradsell, who will retire to stud after the Breeders’ Cup. Bradsell has been one of the best sprinters in Europe this year with two group 1 victories in three group 1 starts and three wins from four starts overall. He’s coming into this race off a second-place finish in a French group 1, but that was on soft turf—something he almost certainly won’t see in California—so can be easily forgiven.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1)
Japan is a perfect one-for-one on winners to starters in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and this year their Awesome Result appears formidable. A Kentucky-bred daughter of Justify , Awesome Result is following her sire’s lead by staying undefeated and is aiming to keep that record intact Saturday. Awesome Result has raced exclusively in stakes since last November and won all four of those—including a five-length victory in the Breeders’ Gold Cup to round out her Breeders’ Cup prep.
Japan also has Alice Verite holding second preference here and first in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1T). The 4-year-old filly has made all her starts on turf and comes into the Breeders’ Cup with three wins and two seconds in six starts this year—including a two-length victory in the grade 3 Mermaid Stakes two starts ago.
$5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T)
Emily Upjohn isn’t a stranger to the 1 1/2 miles she’ll be tackling, she’s raced at the distance in nine of her 15 career starts with five top-three finishes at it. Taking on males also won’t be a concern for the 5-year-old Sea The Stars mare, who won against them in a group 1 at this distance in Europe.
Luxembourg is one of those horses who can show up with a big win … when he’s in the mood. But even if he’s not, you can usually count on him to finish well. The 5-year-old has finished in the top three in 11 of 18 starts and has won a group 1 in each of his four seasons on the track, with his win this year coming at the same distance as the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Luxembourg has a trainer with plenty of experience in this race: Aidan O’Brien has won seven editions of the Breeders’ Cup Turf, including last year with Auguste Rodin .
After missing the Turf last year, 2022 winner Rebel’s Romance returns looking for another win. Now a 6-year-old, the Dubawi gelding has been just as good as ever in 2024 with group 1 wins coming in three different countries and a third-place finish coming in a fourth for his only 2024 defeat. Rebel’s Romance will be making his fourth U.S. start but will be tackling California turf for the first time, although that shouldn’t be a problem.
$7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)
Aidan O’Brien has sent 17 different horses to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and come close to winning it with a few of them, but still has yet to visit the winner’s circle in this race. The trainer is taking another shot at with City of Troy . He’s last year’s European champion 2-year-old colt and has raced exclusively on turf, but the Kentucky-bred colt is by 2018 U.S. Triple Crown winner Justify. He hails from a family that is full of turf runners, though it does include 2008 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Heatseeker , who ironically is by the O’Brien-trained Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Giant’s Causeway.
O’Brien Chases Elusive Breeders’ Cup Classic Win
Forever Young ‘s only career defeat came in the grade 1 Kentucky Derby a few months ago when he was third and he’s back to avenge that loss. Only a head away from winning the Derby, Forever Young received a long break after the race and came back Oct. 2 to knock off the rust. That race was a victory with Forever Young winning the Japan Dirt Classic by 1 1/4 lengths. Japan has had five Breeders’ Cup Classic starters but has yet to secure a win in the race, however, they continue to bring horses better and better suited to this race and Forever Young fits the mold
Ushba Tesoro is another Japanese runner and has raced all over the world this year. He’s taken on some of the biggest dirt races in the world in the Saudi Cup, Dubai World Cup (G1), and most recently the Nippon TV Hai, finishing second in all three. He was also a Breeders’ Cup Classic runner last year, finishing fifth by 3 1/4 lengths after taking a similar path with a win in the Nippon TV Hai as his final prep after winning the 2023 Dubai World Cup.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T)
Cinderella’s Dream is one of the racehorses Charles Appleby had based in the United States this summer and that campaign has worked out well. The Shamardal filly wintered in Dubai, where she continued a four-race win streak that started in May of 2023 in England, before aiming for the group 1 One Thousand Guineas in England. That race was the first defeat for Cinderella’s Dream, who finished seventh. She then headed to the U.S, where she proved to be a force against her own age group with wins in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G2T) and Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T). She’ll be going farther than she ever has before in this race, but that shouldn’t be too much of a worry with what she’s shown already.
The first race in the U.S. for Soprano was a second in the grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II last month at Keeneland, although she did finish six lengths behind the winner. The filly was third by just 1 1/2 lengths in her previous start in Ireland before coming here, but a big worry may be that the Queen Elizabeth was her first start past a mile and she’ll be going an extra quarter-mile than that race in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Aidan O’Brien’s entries in this race include Wingspan , who is looking for her first group 1/grade 1 victory. She isn’t the strongest runner O’Brien has brought to the Filly & Mare Turf, but she always runs a solid race. Her record includes a pair of seconds in two tough races her past two starts to tie up a record that has seen her finish off the board just once in six races. O’Brien has run 19 horses in this race but has only won it with one: Tuesday in 2022.
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1)
Don Frankie (JPN) enters the Sprint off a half-length victory in the Cluster Cup in August as one of three starts in 2024. The 5-year-old by Daiwa Major started his season stretching out to a mile for the first time in an experiment that didn’t go well with a ninth-place finish before shipping to Dubai. There, he finished second in the grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1); granted, it was 6 1/2 lengths behind the winner. He then had a nearly five-month break. At the six-furlong distance of the Sprint, he has three wins and two seconds in five starts.
Lani became a fan favorite when he came over from Japan for the 2016 Triple Crown. Eight years later, his son Remake is making his U.S. debut in the Sprint. A consistent runner with 14 top-three finishes in 18 starts, Remake has won two of his three starts this year and was fourth in his only loss. This will be the fourth country he’s traveled to in 2024 with wins coming in grade 3 races in Saudi Arabia and Korea and a fourth in Dubai.
$2 million Fanduel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T)
After two off-the-board finishes in his past three starts, this year’s (English) Two Thousand Guineas (G1) winner Notable Speech is looking to get back to his winning ways in this race. Despite those two off-form performances, Notable Speech is a strong contender for Godolphin as the winner of five of his seven career starts. Those starts even included a Road to the Kentucky Derby points race earlier this year, but his connections opted for the aforementioned British classic instead of Kentucky. The 3-year-old has raced exclusively at a mile in various conditions, so whatever surface he faces in California shouldn’t be an issue.
One of the best 3-year-old fillies in Europe is Porta Fortuna , whose only misstep this year was a second by a neck in the (English) One Thousand Guineas (G1) to start her year. That runner-up performance came in her first start after finishing second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and since the One Thousand Guineas she’s been perfect. Trainer Donnacha O’Brien has run her exclusively in group 1 races since August of last year and the filly has never finished worse than third with three straight victories coming into the Breeders’ Cup MIle.
Japanese grade 1 winner Ten Happy Rose looks to get her second group 1 win in her past three starts. The 6-year-old mare’s connections dropped her down to six furlongs for her final Breeders’ Cup prep in a race that can probably be viewed as a true prep because of the distance and the fact that she lost by only three lengths in her first start in 17 weeks. Ten Happy Rose only has one win at a mile, but she has finished in the top three in four of her eight tries at the distance, so it wouldn’t be too big of a surprise to see her finish in the top three.
