That concludes the first day of the action at the Breeders’ Cup, with no shortage of drama and a couple of outstanding performances in the saddle.
Today’s four races got off to the best possible start for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore with the victory of Hit It A Bomb in the Juvenile Turf, while Javier Castellano was immense on Liam’s Map as he overcame a troubled passage to win the Dirt Mile with ease. Mark Casse finally got on the board at a Breeders’ Cup in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf thanks to Catch A Glimpse, while Stopchargingmaria was a brave and worthy winner of the Distaff.
I hope you enjoyed the live blog on the day’s action, and I’ll be back again tomorrow to blog nine races on the main Saturday card, culminating in the final starts of both Golden Horn, the Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, and American Pharoah, who ended 37 years of hurt for American racing back in June when he completed the Triple Crown. It is going to be quite an afternoon (or night, or even morning, depending on where you are around the racing world).
This is Greg Wood signing off in Keeneland, but not for long...
Javier Castellano drives Stopchargingmaria (centre) to victory over Stellar Wind (Victor Espinoza) in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Thanks to Jay Hovdey of Daily Racing Form for pointing out that Gary Barber has had a very successful week. He’s also the CEO of MGM, and launched the new Bond movie a few days ago.
I’m not sure why Channel 4 Racing’s Nick Luck seems so taken aback by this man-hug between Florent Geroux and Gary Barber, one of the owners of Catch A Glimpse, after the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.
Jockey Florent Geroux hugs horse owner Gary Barber in the Winner’s Circle after riding Catch a Glimpse to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf horse race at Keeneland race track Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP
Some stewards’ room drama to end the first day at the Breeders’ Cup 2015, but even in the much pickier environment of US racing officialdom, most observers felt that Stopchargingmaria would hang on to the race.
Todd Pletcher and Javier Castellano both now have doubles on the day. The winner paid just over $16 for a $2 stake, or a fraction over 7-1.
Official attendance on day one of the Breeders’ Cup was 44, 947, a new record for the Friday card.
The result stands in the Distaff.
Stopchargingmaria and Stellar Wind had it between them from near the top of the stretch, and hard though Victor Espinoza tried to force Stellar Wind into the lead, it looked as though he was always being held by Javier Castellano on the winner.
In addition to the stewards’ inquiry, though, Espinoza has also lodged an objection.
There is an inquiry into the outcome of the Distaff, looking at possible interference between the first two home. Feeling here though is that the winner will keep it.
Breeders’ Cup Distaff result: 1. Stopchargingmaria, 2. Stellar Wind, 3. Curalina.
The sun is out here at Keeneland and it is a beautiful evening now. They will be off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in about four minutes, place those last-minute bets now.
Florent Geroux and Catch A Glimpse on the way to victory in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, with Alice Springs/Ryan Moore in vain pursuit.
30 Oct 2015, Lexington, Kentucky, USA --- Oct. 30, 2015 - Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. - October 30, 2015 : Catch a Glimpse, ridden by Florent Geroux, wins the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Grade I) at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky October 30, 2015. Sue Kawczynski/ESW/CSM(Credit Image: © Sue Kawczynski/Cal Sport Media) --- Image by © Sue Kawczynski/ZUMA Press/Corbis Photograph: Sue Kawczynski/ZUMA Press/Corbis
And so we move towards the feature event of the day, the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The field is not the strongest ever assembled for this race, but it is very competitive, with Wedding Toast the current favourite at 3-1, closely followed by I’m A Chatterbox at 7-2.
I can see why Wedding Toast is favourite, as she has proven winning form at Grade One level, but at the same time, I wouldn’t personally be rushing to back her at that price. She got a soft lead on the way to victory last time and that is unlikely to happen again today, and she has also done most of her winning at Belmont, where the dirt is a different beast to the surface she will be racing on today.
My money will take a chance on the closer Got Lucky, currently showing at 6-1 on the tote and available at around 8-1 with the British books. Don’t expect to see her anywhere near the lead in the early stages, but if the pace is as furious as it promises to be, she should be charging home under Irad Ortiz jnr in the final furlong.
Mark Casse, who is based in Canada, is in the interview room.
This sport is about dreams, and when you buy a horse, the dream is always races like this. I really started to think she could win the Breeders’ Cup after she was so impressive in the Natalma.
I’d say she will get a bit of a break for a while and we’ll figure out where we go from there.
A couple of interesting stats ...
That is trainer Mark Casse’s first winner at the Breeders’ Cup, at the 24th attempt.
Catch A Glimpse had an ideal trip, just off the pace and made the best of her way home from the top of the stretch under Florent Geroux. Ryan Moore had less happy a time of it in the stretch having stuck tight to the inside rail and could do no more than force Alice Springs into second place and keep her there as Joel Rosario and Nemoriala launched a late challenge on their outside. The best horse on the day was the winner though.
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Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf result: 1. Catch A Glimpse, 2.Alice Springs, 3. Nemoralia.
Liam’s Map, out on his own in the closing stages of the Dirt Mile and galloping towards his new life as a stallion.
Liam’s Map, with Javier Castellano up, wins the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile horse race at Keeneland race track Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP
The runners are coming onto the track for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. Post time is six minutes away, though they are running a little late. Alice Springs is the narrow favourite on the local tote at 5-2, with Harmonize and Illuminate - the mount of Frankie Dettori - at 9-2.
A great shot of the last-second lunge that got Ryan Moore and Hit It A Bomb (left) across the line in the Juvenile Turf, ahead of Aeroforce (middle) and Birchwood.
30 Oct 2015, Lexington, Kentucky, USA --- Oct. 30, 2015 - Lexington, KY, U.S. - October 30, 2015: Hit It A Bomb with Ryan Moore (left) wins the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky. Evers/ESW/CSM(Credit Image: © Evers/Cal Sport Media) --- Image by © Evers/ZUMA Press/Corbis Photograph: Evers/ZUMA Press/Corbis
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Next up on the track is the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, and another big opportunity for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore with Alice Springs. She has strong form behind her stablemates Minding and Ballydoyle in the Moyglare Stud Stakes to bring to the table, and also ran fourth in the Cheveley Park Stakes (in which Richard Hannon’s Illuminate, a runner here, was second). Today’s trip of a mile may suit Alice Springs rather more than it does Illuminate, while Jeremy Noseda’s Nemoralia is also a live contender. The best of the home runners look to be Harmonize and Catch A Glimpse, who represent Bill Mott and Mark Casse respectively.
We have enjoyed two memorable races at the start of this year’s Breeders’ Cup, both of which featured excellent performances in the saddle. Ryan Moore’s perfectly-timed challenge on Hit It A Bomb was followed by Javier Castellano’s coolness under pressure aboard the hot favourite Liam’s Map. Plan A went out of the window at the start, but he stayed patient and just flicked through the playbook until he found one that worked.
Liam’s Map is just one of several outstanding performers who will be racing for the last time at this Breeders’ Cup. He moves into his new home this weekend.
Liam’s Map did not get the smoothest of starts and you could hear a few punters getting a little jumpy towards the end of the back stretch when Javier Castellano was on the rail behind horses. Lea got first run at the top of the stretch and opened up a lead, but Liam’s Map ran him down without a second thought as soon as JC opened the throttle. Another Breeders’ Cup winner - his eighth in all - for Todd Pletcher.
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Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile result: 1. Liam’s Map, 2. Lea, 3. Red Vine.
Approaching the gates in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, won’t be long now.
Here’s Liam’s Map, the favourite, in the paddock before the race.
Liam’s Map has eased slightly on the PMU here, now showing at 2-5. Aidan O’Brien’s runner War Envoy, with Moore in the saddle, is a big outsider at 40-1, though a few punters may be tempted to throw some spare cash at him just in case after his epic performance in the Juvenile Turf. Lea, who ran third in the Dubai World Cup earlier this year, is the only runner apart from the favourite at single-figure odds, and is 6-1 on the machine.
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Twitter is reacting to Moore’s ride on Hit It A Bomb, meanwhile the runners are on the track for the Dirt Mile. Liam’s Map, who was even-money on the morning line, is currently showing at 1-5, I kid you not, on the local pari-mutuel. You can get 4-5 in the UK...
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Aidan O’Brien is in the interview room, discussing the win of Hit It A Bomb and that ride by Ryan Moore.
We always thought a lot of him. Mrs Stockwell came to the races the first day he ran, at 92 she came and led him in. He couldn’t have ben drawn wider and we were worried about the ground, he’s a fast ground horse [but] Ryan gave him a marvellous ride.
We discussed it before and Ryan said he was going to leave him relaxed for the first half of the race and work it out from there. It was whether he was going to get there or not but we’ve seen it so many times, he let him relax and came with a long smooth run.
The colours on Hit It A Bomb, incidentally, belong to Mrs Evelyn Stockwell, the mother of John Magnier, the main man in the Coolmore Stud syndicate.
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There was a great overhead shot on NBC TV showing the route Ryan Moore took the line. He looked to be in all kinds of bother on the turn for home but had little chance of being more prominent from his draw and still managed to turn it into a win. Masterful stuff.
The Breeders’ Cup opens with an exceptional ride by Ryan Moore, who timed his late run on Aidan O’Brien’s Hit It A Bomb to perfection. He came out of the widest stall of all and turned for home with more opponents in front of him than behind. He then opted for a direct route to the line rather than switching wide and it was a winning decision. Aeroforce hit the front inside the final furlong but Moore and Hit It A Bomb ran him down with a couple of strides to spare.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf result: 1. Hit It A Bomb, 2. Aeroforce, 3. Birchwood.
I have a little something on Camelot Kitten here. He came from miles back behind Aeroforce last time. Will need a little luck in running for sure but not the worst proposition in the world at around 14-1 (11-1 on track).
The runners are on the track for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Eyes down, place your bets, good luck to all etc. etc. Above all, though, come back safe.
LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 30: The call to the post is played before an undercard race during Day 1 of the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland Racecourse on October 30, 2015 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) Photograph: Rob Carr/Getty Images
It’s 15 minutes to post time for the first of 13 Breeders’ Cup races this weekend, the Juvenile Turf. Plenty of European interest here, including Birchwood, Richard Fahey’s first runner at a Breeders’ Cup, John Gosden’s Cymric and two from the Aidan O’Brien stable in Hit It A Bomb and Shogun. The local punters make Mark Casse’s Airoforce their favourite in the early betting at 7-2.
Jockey Lanfranco Dettori jumps off of Pablo Del Monte in the winner’s circle after winning the first race of the day at Keeneland race track Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Lexington, Ky. The Breeders’ Cup horse races begin later on Friday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP
Frankie Dettori just finished third in the first race on the turf track this weekend. He told me afterwards that the ground has dried noticeably since he exercised Golden Horn around a circuit yesterday, though it is still “good-to-soft” in his view. Well on the way to being good by the time of the Turf tomorrow night though, assuming there is no more rain.
Hello from the Bluegrass State of Kentucky, and welcome to live coverage of this year’s Breeders’ Cup meeting, which travels to Keeneland – in Lexington, the beating heart of America’s thoroughbred breeding industry – for the first time.
For the locals, this has been a moment many years in the making. Some of the most famous stud farms in the country, like Calumet, Gainesway and Lanes End, are based in Lexington, while Ashford Stud, soon to be home to American Pharoah, the Triple Crown winner, is just down the road in Versailles (which Kentuckians insist on pronouncing “Ver-sales”). Streets in Lexington are named after Triple Crown winners and stallions. Unlike, say, Los Angeles or New York, where this meeting can get overshadowed by everything else that is going on, this is very much a place where the Breeders’ Cup matters.
For the moment at least, the weather is holding too, following a couple of days earlier in the week which had echoes of the washout at Monmouth Park eight years ago. It has now been dry here for two days, whereas in New Jersey is started raining on Tuesday and did not stop until the last race had been run. The turf course is slowly edging towards good ground, and the dirt has been officially fast since halfway through Thursday’s card.
There is little point in pretending that the four-race Friday schedule at the Cup stands comparison to the nine-race main card on Saturday, not least in a year when today’s Distaff will be run without the season’s best mare, Beholder, who was being aimed at Saturday’s Classic before injury ruled her out of the meeting yesterday.
But it does give Aidan O’Brien a chance to hit the ground running, and the man from Ballydoyle can expect both Alice Springs, in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, and Hit It A Bomb, in the Juvenile Turf, to set off as favourites. He also has War Envoy, the Britannia Handicap winner, in the Dirt Mile, though it will be a big surprise if he is any match for Liam’s Map, the Woodward Stakes winner.
The racing has been underway here for nearly two hours already, and Frankie Dettori – who rides Richard Hannon’s Illuminate in the JFT - got a winner under his belt earlier in the day. The first Breeders’ Cup race, the Juvenile Turf, is due off at 19.30GMT, and a tipping preview of today’s four races is here. Good luck to all!
Welcome to live coverage of the opening night’s action at the Breeders’ Cup 2015! I’m trackside at Keeneland, where the support card is already under way. Our first Grade One race, due off at 7.30pm GMT (3.30pm local time), is the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, in which the familiar combination of Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore are hoping that Hit It A Bomb can defy the widest draw in stall 14.
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