Forever Young wins the Breeders Cup Classic over

Japanese horse racing has been on the precipice of breaking through on the U.S. scene. It appeared prefer it was nearly there in 2021 when it received three Breeders’ Cup races. But after that it leveled off.

Through 10 races at this 12 months’s Breeders’ Cup, horses from Japan underperformed. But in the eleventh, the most important race in the two-day event, the breakthrough turned official when Forever Young held off Sierra Leone, last 12 months’s winner, to win the $7-million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a half-length.

The last time we noticed Forever Young in this nation was a 12 months in the past when the 4-year-old colt completed third in the Classic. Before that, he was third in the Kentucky Derby by a whisker while being on the receiving end of some bumping down the stretch by Sierra Leone. Without that he might need been victorious in a race that was received by Mystik Dan.

The commonality between the 2021 and 2025 Breeders’ Cup days was that both had been run at Del Mar.

Forever Young was nearly the sufferer of some legal chicanery on Saturday as coach Chad Brown entered a horse — called a rabbit — with little likelihood to win so that he might set a fast tempo. Sierra Leone, also educated by Brown, wants a fast tempo to weaken the other horses, which might benefit Sierra Leone’s late operating type.

But this time, Forever Young overcame all the obstacles thrown at him. He ran a very tactical race being positioned close to the lead and never farther back than third.

Forever Young paid $9.00 to win. He was adopted in order by Sierra Leone, Fierceness, Journalism, Mindframe, Baeza, Nevada Beach, Antiquarian and Contrary Thinking, who was the rabbit in the 1 1/4- mile race.

It was the third Breeders’ Cup win for coach Yoshito Yahagi. When requested if this was his most satisfying win, Yahagi said, through a translator: “I will never, ever get satisfied until I get retired as a trainer.”

Forever Young was the third international horse to win the Classic, becoming a member of Argentine-bred Invasor in 2006 and Irish-bred Black Tie Affair in 1991.

“So last time here, the horse was 75% conditioned,” Yahagi said. “And this time we create 100% condition. Forever Young is an amazing horse.”

The profitable jockey was Ryusei Sakai.

“We got the No. 1 in America,” Yahagi said to NBC.

The Classic misplaced a lot of luster when the favourite, Sovereignty, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, was scratched earlier in the week when he spiked a fever. Sovereignty was the top-rated horse in the nation and a doable horse-of-the-year winner. Many had been hoping for a rematch with Journalism, who completed second in both those races and received the Preakness, which Sovereignty didn’t run in.

Trainer Bill Mott only introduced two horses to the Breeders’ Cup, Sovereignty and Scylla. While Sovereignty didn’t make the beginning gate on Saturday, Scylla ($17.20 to win) sure did, profitable the greatest race of the 12 months for feminine horses, the $2-million Distaff.

“It’s certainly difficult to see what happened to Sovereignty,” Mott said. “I think everybody that’s connected [with this sport] has been through it and we knew when it happened, he wouldn’t be able to compete and not at the level that he would need to. And it seems as though he’s recovering well but he’s really not the story here.

“I mean this one is about Scylla and about Junior [Alvarado, his jockey] and the Juddmonte connections.”

Alvarado took her to the entrance and never regarded back, profitable the 1 1/8-mile race by 5 1/2 lengths. Nitrogen was second and Regaled completed third. Favorite Seismic Beauty contended early but then light to twelfth in the 13-horse area.

The second richest race on the card, the $5-million Turf, was supposed be a matchup of two-time winner Rebel’s Romance and Minnie Hauk, who had 5 wins and two seconds in seven begins. They ran together for most of the 1 1/2-mile race but long shot Ethical Diamond began rolling in the top of the stretch and cruised to a 1 1/4-length win. Rebel’s Romance was second.

The Irish-bred Ethical Diamond, educated by William Mullins and ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, paid $57.40 to win.

The first Breeders’ Cup race of the day, the $1-million Filly & Mare Sprint, turned less fascinating when two of the favorites, Sweet Azteca (2-1 morning line) and Tamara (7-2), had been scratched by the veterinarian. There was a third scratch that took the area down to seven.

Bob Baffert had three of the horses in the race, including Splendora, who received in dominating fashion by 4 3/4 lengths and paid $7.80. He was midpack until the far flip of the seven-furlong race before jockey Flavien Prat let him unfastened in the stretch.

It was Baffert’s twentieth Breeders’ Cup win, tying him for second with the late Wayne Lukas. Aidan O’Brien received his twenty first Breeders’ Cup race on Friday.

“[Lukas] changed every industry for the better,” Baffert said. “He brought elegance to the game. … To be part of it and then to tie him, it’s an honor for me. … I still miss him. I loved having conversations with him. It’s an honor to tie him.”

Shisospicy ($12.60) broke on top and held the lead to the end to win the $1-million Turf Sprint, which was ran at 5 furlongs. The 3-year-old filly is educated by Jose Francisco D’Angelo and was ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., who picked up his twenty second Cup victory.

She’s Quality was eased shortly out of the gate in the Turf Sprint by jockey Colin Keane and walked onto the equine ambulance. She was transported to an equine hospital and is back in her barn being monitored.

Ortiz picked up his twenty third win in the next race when he received the $2-million Sprint aboard Bentornato. It was also the second straight victory for D’Angelo. Bentornato broke on top and was never headed in the six-furlong race. It was only his second race of the 12 months for the 4-year-old ridgling. Bentornato completed second in last 12 months’s Sprint, dropping to Straight No Chaser, who completed seventh on Saturday.

There had been three further Breeders’ Cup races after the Classic, the turf Mile, Dirt Mile and Filly & Mare Turf.