Forever Young won the Breeders’ Cup Classic against Sierra Leone

Japanese horse racing is about to break into the US scene. It seemed to be almost there in 2021 when it won three Breeders’ Cup races. But after that the level decreased.

Through 10 races in this year’s Breeders’ Cup, Japanese horses underperformed. But in the 11th, the most important race in the two-day event, success was made official when Forever Young outlasted last year’s winner, Sierra Leone, to win the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by half a length.

The last time we saw Forever Young in this country was a year ago when the 4-year-old finished third in the Classic. Before that, he was third in the Kentucky Derby by Whisker while on the receiving end of some hurdles by Sierra Leone. Except that he might have won the race won by Mystic Dawn.

The commonality between the 2021 and 2025 Breeders’ Cup dates was that both were run at Del Mar.

Forever Young was almost the victim of some legal chicanery on Saturday as trainer Chad Brown entered a horse – nicknamed Rabbit – with little chance of winning to set a fast pace. The Sierra Leone, also trained by Brown, needs a quick pace to outrun other horses, which favors the Sierra Leone’s late running style.

But this time, the forever young man cleared all the obstacles in front of him. He ran a very tactical race, placing close to the lead and never being further back than third.

Forever Young paid $9.00 to win. He was followed by Sierra Leone, Fear, Journalism, Mindframe, Bayza, Nevada Beach, Ancient and Reverse Thinking, who was the rabbit in the 1 1/4-mile race.

It was the Breeders’ third win for coach Yoshito Yahagi. When asked if this was his most satisfying victory, Yahgi said through an interpreter: “I will never be satisfied, until I retire as a coach.

“We plan to go to Saudi Arabia next year, which will be his last year. I want to win big tournaments around the world. And I want to win them all.”

Forever Young was the third foreign horse to win the Classic, joining Argentine-bred Invader in 2006 and Irish-bred Black Tie Affair in 1991.

“So last time here, the horse was in 75% condition,” Yahgi said. “And this time we are making 100% condition. Forever Young is an amazing horse.”

The winning jockey was Ryusei Sakai.

“It was a great run,” said Brown of Sierra Leone. “Look, the winner ran a great race. He was on the pace and he hit the lot. I think the track played against us. [Saturday]. Not to take anything away from the winner, but it was speed all day.

Journalism’s trainer, Michael McCarthy, was pleased with the horse’s fourth-place finish and how he stayed engaged in the field.

“[We were] Chosen by 2-year-old champion [Fierceness]a 3-year-old champion [Sierra Leone] And a Japanese hero, McCarthy said. “We’ll pick it up again and see what we’ve got for next year.”

Bayza was the fifth-choice player by Batters but appeared to have picked up an injury at the break.

“I think starting cost us a lot,” coach John Sheriffs said. “[Jockey Hector Berrios] He said he wasn’t standing at the door and when they opened it, he shook a little. I would say that he missed the whole opportunity in the beginning.

The Classic was lost very clearly when the favorite, Sovereign, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, was scratched earlier in the week when he developed a fever. Reign was the highest ranked horse in the country and a possible Horse of the Year winner. Many expected a rematch with Journalism, which finished second in both of those races and won the Preakness, which was not the dominant one.

Trainer Bill Mott brings only two horses to the Breeders’ Cup, Sovereign and Scylla. While Sovereign didn’t make the starting gate Saturday, Scylla ($17.20 to win) was assured, winning the $2-million Distaff, the biggest race of the year for female horses.

“It’s certainly difficult to see what happened with the rule,” Mott said. “I think everyone is connected [with this sport] It’s been through and we know when it happens, he won’t be able to compete and not at the level he needs to. And it seems like he’s getting better but he’s not really the story here.

“I mean it’s about Scylla and Junior [Alvarado, his jockey] and Judemont’s connections.

Alvarado took her to the front and never looked back, winning the 1 1/8-mile race by 5 1/2 lengths. Nitrogen took the second place and Regalide took the third place. Favorite Seismic Beauty struggled early but then dropped to 12th in a field of 13 horses.

Trainer Bob Baffert won two Breeders’ Cups Saturday, first in the $1-million Filly and Mare Sprint with Splendora ($7.80) and then in the $1-million Dirt Mile with Nysos ($3.40). Baffert now has 21 Breeders’ Cup wins, which ties him with Aidan O’Brien for all time.

The filly and mare’s sprint became less exciting when two of the favorites, Sweet Azteca (2-1 morning line) and Tamara (7-2), were scratched by the vets. There was a third scratch that reduced the field to seven.

Splendora won in dominant fashion by 4 3/4 lengths. He was in the middle until the end of the seven-furlong race, before jockey Flavin Prat dropped him.

Baffert was accurate in the Dirt Mile as Nessus and Citizen Bull battled down the stretch with Nessus edging his stablemate by a head.

“I think very important [than the record] That’s the passion that showed the horses, made them run, made them show,” Baffert said. “Coming down the stretch, I knew I was going to win it. Nysos has a lot of heart. It was the first time he had to fall on his stomach and be exposed, and that’s why he dropped the championship.

“It was fun to watch. I’d love to see the dead heats, to see them split. You hate to see one of them beat, but it was a really great race.”

The second richest race on the card, the $5 million Turf, pitted two-time winners Rebel Romance and Minihawk, who had five wins and two seconds in seven starts. They ran together for most of the 1 1/2-mile race but longshot Ethical Diamond started to roll at the top of the stretch and cruised to a 1 1/4-length victory. Rebel Romance was the second.

Irish-bred Ethical Diamond, trained by William Mullins and ridden by Dylan Brown McMonagle, paid $57.40 to win.

Shesospicy ($12.60) broke on the lead and eventually took the lead to win the $1 million turf sprint, which was stopped at five furlongs. The 3-year-old filly was trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo and ridden by Erad Ortiz Jr. to his 22nd Cup victory.

Her quality was slightly eased out of the gate in a turf sprint by jockey Colin Keane and headed for Equitation Ambulance. She was taken to Masapro Hospital and is back at home under observation.

Ortiz picked up his 23rd win in the next race when he won the $2 Million Sprint at Bentonnato. It was also the second straight win for Angelo. Bentornato broke in the lead and never led in the six-furlong race. It was just his second race of the year for the 4-year-old. Bentornato finished second in last year’s sprint, beating Street No Chaser, who finished seventh on Saturday.

Charlie Appleby won for the fourth time in five years with Remarkable Speech ($7.20) in the 2 million mile field, with William Buick in the saddle. The 4-year-old colt won head-to-head over Sahlan. This year’s final Breeders’ Cup race, the $2 million filly and mare Turf, was won by a half-length by French-bred Gezura ($20.20) over 1 3/8 miles for trainer Francis Henry Graffard and jockey Michael Barzalona.