Forever Young – the narrow conqueror of Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior in February’s G1 Saudi Cup (1800m, dirt) – is one of the leading chances in Sunday’s (2 November) US$7 million (approx. HK$54.5 million) G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic (2000m, dirt), North America’s richest race.
In two previous US runs, Forever Young – trained by Yoshito Yahagi and to be ridden by Ryusei Sakai – almost became the first Japanese-trained G1 Kentucky Derby (2000m, dirt) winner and, a year ago, finished third in this race after sitting close to the ferocious pace.
In this weekend’s nine-runner encounter, Forever Young will again face late-surging Sierra Leone – who was ideally suited by electric fractions last year to deliver the race of his life and run down Fierceness, who also reopposes.
Sierra Leone’s trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat are hoping that Florent Geroux will galvanise pacemaker Contrary Thinking to deliver a repeat of last year’s frantic tempo.
Sierra Leone finished second to Antiquarian – another rival on Sunday – in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup (2000m, dirt) at Saratoga, but only after early drama in which Mindframe, another Breeders’ Cup Classic rival, unseated his rider Irad Ortiz Jr.
“Sierra Leone had to jump over Ortiz and then spot the field many lengths but still came back and almost won. I think that sums up what this horse is made of,” says Brown, who described the four-year-old’s final piece of work prior to the Breeders’ Cup Classic as “exceptional.”
Besides Fierceness (John Velazquez) and Mindframe, trainer Todd Pletcher also fields Antiquarian. And Pletcher – the all-time winning-most US trainer in terms of prizemoney – certainly doesn’t dismiss the prospects of the four-year-old mount of Luis Saez, who comes off a career-best performance when winning that contentious Jockey Club Gold Cup.
“It has been all about physical and mental maturity with him. He has kept on showing more talent than he did as a three-year-old,” Pletcher said.
The concluding Breeders’ Cup race is the highly competitive G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (2200m). The Europeans look strong even though two of their most obvious candidates – See The Fire (Oisin Murphy) and William Buick’s mount Cinderella’s Dream – have drawn stalls 14 and nine, respectively.
But those wide gates might not be such a disadvantage with both fillies having a closing profile.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic is carded as S2-2 and will be run at 6.25am (Hong Kong time) on Sunday, 2 November; the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf is carded as S2-5 and will be run at 8.25am (Hong Kong time).
