The Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge comes to an end this weekend – later than expected, after two top-class races at Ascot’s showpiece Qipco British Champions Day meeting on Saturday were added to the schedule.
As a result, the Qipco Champion Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes will offer guaranteed fees-paid slots to the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf and FanDuel Mile respectively at Del Mar on November 6, the second day of the 2-day championships.
Superstar duels are promised in both races, with Saudi Cup hero Mishriff facing Derby/KIng George hero Adayar in the Champion Stakes, and Palace Pier set to meet rising star Baaeed in the QEII.
Each is worth at least £1 million and the clue to their addition to the ranks of contests worldwide offering linked to the Breeders’ Cup lies in the name of their sponsor. Earlier this week a multi-year partnership was announced designating Qatar Racing as the official title partner of the $2m Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
“The Breeders’ Cup is one of the most famous race meetings in the world,” commented Qatar Racing chairman Sheikh Fahad. “To have the Qipco Champion Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes as ‘Win and You’re In’ races on Qipco British Champions Day will only help to evolve the prestige of the day.
“Qatar Racing is also delighted to be sponsoring the Breeders’ Cup Sprint as we continue to raise the profile of Qatar Racing as an international brand and off the back of our growing success in America with the likes of Shedaresthedevil winning the [Kentucky] Oaks last year.”
Frankly, it’s a win-win situation as now the Breeders’ Cup also has a presence as the British season reaches its climax akin to the raft of ‘Win and You’re In’ races at Irish Champions Weekend and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meetjng in France.
The downside, of course, is that the Breeders’ Cup itself comes only three weeks after Ascot, which might well deter potential runners in California. And that’s to say nothing of the vastly different conditions awaiting at Del Mar, even if this year’s Ascot card might not be quite as soggy as usual after a dry spell in England.
Either way, what is abundantly clear is the exalted standard of racing throughout Champions Day, which again brooks no dissent as unquestionably the best card of the year in Britain featuring four G1s plus a G2 that ought to be a G1. (That’s the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, by the way, which would have scant relevance to the Breeders’ Cup even if it was part of the ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge.)
A total of 22 individual G1 winners have been declared for a meeting that represents the culmination of the seasonal British Champions Series – yep, sponsored by Qipco – showcasing the finest flat racing has to offer on turf via a series of 35 top races across the summer months. With more than £4 million up for grabs, Saturday’s card is the nation’s richest raceday, purses up again 61 percent after last year’s Covid cost-cutting.
The Champion Stakes is worth £1.2 million, while the QEII also hits the 7-figure mark at £1 million. Rest assured, if the winners are given the green light for Del Mar, they would automatically become massive contenders for Breeders’ Cup success.
There have, though, already been ten other ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge races in 2021 for both the Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Mile. So let’s have a look where we stand.
Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf – $4m, 1m4f
Already qualified: Cool Day (GP Carlos Pellegrini), Love (Prince of Wales’s Stakes), Chrono Genesis (Takarazuka Kinen), Adayar (King George), Astronaut (Del Mar Handicap), Gufo (Sword Dancer), St Mark’s Basilica (Irish Champion), Imperador (Calumet Turf Cup), Yibir (Jockey Club Derby Invitational), Torquator Tasso (Arc)
Although there have been ten BC Challenge races so far linked to the Turf, at least half of those to have earned a guaranteed spot will definitely not be running at Del Mar, headed by world #1 St Mark’s Basilica, retired after a setback, and shock 72/1 Arc winner Torquator Tasso, put away for next year’s 5-year-old campaign with a defence of his ParisLongchamp crown the priority.
Godolphin’s Derby winner Adayar, who earned his BC Turf place via the King George, would also be a massive longshot to show up after running in the Champion Stakes, though his globe-trotting rival Mishriff remains a possible.
“We’ve been happy with Mishriff since York and we are looking forward to running him again,” said trainer John Gosden. “It’s always one race at a time, but we wanted to space his races in case we go on to run later in the year, possibly at the Breeders’ Cup.”
Europe’s number one contender, however, looks to be Torquator Tasso’s Arc victim Tarnawa, who suffered such an agonising defeat in the Paris mud. That said, it was interesting to hear Dermot Weld muse that last year’s Turf heroine might also be considered for the Filly & Mare Turf. Tarnawa’s potent turn of foot would be a weapon in either race. One proviso, though: Del Mar will be even faster than it was at Keeneland when she won the Turf last year.
Arc fifth Sealiway keeps running well and was mentioned in dispatches after another decent effort at Longchamp, where he made ground easily from the rear before stamina petered out. Yet, while he also wasn’t disgraced at Keeneland last year in the Juvenile Turf, the ground remains a serious question mark about a colt whose best form has come with plenty of give. He runs at Ascot.
Arc non-runner Love would be another interesting contender, though the ailment that kept her on the sidelines in Paris was still enough of an issue to keep her away from Ascot. Who knows what Ballydoyle will field otherwise? Japan has hardly been pulling up any trees in New York, while Bolshoi Ballet is unreliable.
Although Godolphin’s probables are headed by runaway Canadian International winner Walton Street, Charlie Appleby-trained stablemate Yibir enjoyed himself in the Jockey Club Derby Invitational at Belmont on September 18. You have to wonder if Del Mar’s tight turns will suit such a long-striding strong-staying type, but then again, Yibir is a gelding, so there isn’t much to lose.
Torquator Tasso may have been ruled out, but Germany is still likely to field a runner in the shape of trainer Henk Grewe’s Deutsches Derby winner Sisfahan, a length behind the Arc hero in the Grosser Preis von Baden.
Then we get to the home team, augmented this week by Rockemperor, set to represent Chad Brown after his first G1 triumph in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Despite consistent efforts in defeat in decent U.S. company, there’s nothing in his form to suggest him as a Breeders’ Cup winner waiting to happen.
One outcome of his surprise Belmont success, however, was to put a serious dent in the hopes of leading turf performer Gufo, a beaten favourite 3½ lengths away in third. Enough to leave Christophe Clement sitting on the Del Mar fence, despite his having secured a fees-paid berth in the Sword Dancer.
Four-time stakes winner Domestic Spending, a stable companion of Rockemperor, is a son of star miler Kingman and unproven at this 1m4f trip but might be risked at Del Mar rather than cutting back. He showed his aptitude for the Californian venue in a hot renewal of the G1 Hollywood Derby in 2020.
Those even closer to home are headed by leading Cal-based turf performer United, who won the G2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita on October 3 for his third stakes win in five starts this year. Now six, he was beaten only a head by Bricks And Mortar back in 2019 at Santa Anita before a dismal effort on less firm ground (though still called ‘firm’) at Keeneland.
Astronaut, trained by John Shirreffs, is also set to run after earning his place with a 24/1 win in the G2 Del Mar Handicap over a furlong shorter in August. United was only fourth that day. Imperador, a dual G1 winner in Argentina, will also take his chance for trainer U.S.-based Brazilian Paulo Lobo, for whom he won the G2 Calumet Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs.
FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile – $2m, 1m
Already qualified: Jet Dark (Queen’s Plate), Succeso (GP Club Hipico Falabella), Smooth Like Strait (Shoemaker Mile), Danon Kingly (Yasuda Kinen), Palace Pier (Queen Anne Stakes), Alcohol Free (Sussex Stakes), Got Stormy (Fourstardave), Palace Pier (Jacques le Marois), Town Cruise (Woodbine Mile), In Love (Keeneland Turf Mile)
If only all the horses who have landed ‘Win and You’re In’ races for the BC Mile were to turn up at Del Mar. You’d end up with a race featuring horses from South Africa, Chile and Japan alongside the usual U.S. vs Europe Ryder Cup-style rivalry. We can but dream.
Indeed, even three weeks away, it is tricky to guess the likely European team with any degree of confidence. Palace Pier – qualified twice for the BC Mile – would be an obvious favourite but he’s been described as “very unlikely” by John Gosden. Equally, QEII opponent Baaeed will surely not be asked to cross the Atlantic, but while Sussex Stakes winner Alcohol Free has been on the go since April, she has had a break since failing to stay in the Juddmonte International.
Europe’s most likely top contender is Space Blues, for whom Del Mar was immediately nominated by Charlie Appleby after an impressive performance in the G1 Prix de la Foret at the Arc meeting. “He might have booked himself a ticket to Del Mar,” said the Godolphin trainer.
Ironically, that 7-furlong contest wasn’t part of the BC Challenge, but the Dubawi 5-year-old certainly possesses the necessary blend of speed coupled with the turn of foot that plays so well on the Stateside lawn. That said, he hasn’t encountered more than 7 furlongs since a 1-3 defeat in a novice event as a 2-year-old at Nottingham.
Sure, it was heavy ground in Paris, but they don’t get much of that in Riyadh, where he also won in February. Space Blues is current ante-post favourite with British bookmakers, though Godolphin themselves also have other options – among them Guineas runner-up Master Of The Seas, who runs in the QEII.
Until the last couple of years, the collective record of British- and Irish-trained was the stuff of dismal legend. Before Expert Eye in 2018, none had won since Ridgewood Pearl in 1995, which took quite some doing given the number of runners, though the French have always enjoyed themselves rather more.
Aidan O’Brien struck back last year with a 1-2-3 headed by shock 73/1 winner Order Of Australia. While he was supposedly being aimed at the race again, a last of 12 at Keeneland last weekend won’t have helped. Doubtless Ballydoyle will have other options – perhaps 1000 Guineas heroine Mother Earth, who runs nearly every week, while O’Brien’s compatriot Paddy Twomey is bullish about the chances of Foret runner-up Pearls Galore.
The 4-year-old filly is yet to score at the top level, she also suffered a narrow defeat to No Speak Alexander in the G1 Matron at Leopardstown. “I spent a summer out in Del Mar when I was a kid and I’d love to have a winner there,” said Twomey, speaking to RacingTV.
“She came out of the race last weekend fantastic and she’s in good form. She’s going to the Breeders’ Cup Mile. She wouldn’t have liked the ground last week, she wants fast ground. If she gets a low draw in Del Mar, I’d be very hopeful of her running a good race.”
With a full field of 14 hurtling around tight turns, the BC Mile can often be a bit of a crapshoot, although it took top-class U.S. turf miler World Approval to thwart the visitors in 2017 at Del Mar.
Although Canadian-trained ‘Win and You’re In’ scorer Town Cruise is set to stay in Toronto for this weekend’s Nearctic Stakes, there is no shortage of local contenders in Southern California with plenty of experience at Del Mar, an idiosyncratic venue where track knowledge might be a factor though it didn’t count for a lot in 2017.
Late-running Mo Forza, a standing dish in Californian turf races, has had the drop on front-running Smooth Like Strait in two recent meetings. While Smooth Like Strait gets a free ride owing to his Shoemaker Mile success back in May, odds-on status that day suggests a weakish contest but he was compromised by a pace battle when beaten last time by Mo Forza; clearly, there isn’t much between the pair. Kilroe Mile winner Hit The Road, always close up, will also show up in the BC Mile.
Across the country, it was a case of deja vu all over again last weekend at Keeneland, when trainer Paulo Lobo claimed the $700,000 Turf Mile with In Love – 12 months after winning the same event for the same owners with Ivar.
The winner is a 5-year-old who began his career in South America before moving north to join Brazilian trainer Lobo, who has made his name with similar types. Likewise, Ivar was a multiple G1 winner in Argentina before joining Lobo and landing the then-Shadwell-sponsored Turf Mile in 2020 at 14/1.
He was fourth this time after a layoff as In Love (much improved for blinkers) did the trick under Alex Achard, enjoying his first G1 win after scoring on the same horse in lesser grade at Arlington and Kentucky Downs.
“He's getting older but he's getting better," said the jockey. "He's like a good wine. Every race he shows up and he's even better every time.”
Both horses are heading for Del Mar and it may be worth noting that Ivar was far from disgraced 12 months ago when he was fourth – the first U.S. trainee home behind the O’Brien clean sweep. Ivar hadn’t run for five months prior to last weekend and is seriously eligible to improve for the outing. Less positively, it didn’t look a strong race with a flopping favourite in Order Of Australia.