The $100,000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf featured a maximum field size of twelve 2-year-olds go 1 mile on the turf course at Monmouth Park. European invader Achill Island, second in the Royal Lodge (G2) at Ascot, was sent off as the 3-1 favorite over 7-2 second choice Prussian, undefeated in 2 career starts including the Summer (G2) at Woodbine. 7-1 Strike the Deal, second in the Middle Park (G1) at Newmarket in his final prep, rounded out the top three on the board.
Shortly after the break with eventual last place finisher Preachin Man out front.
Prussian bobbled at the start but once into stride, jockey Kent Desormeaux sent him to the front. Battling on the pace with 12-1 The Leopard and 9-1 Domestic Fund, he set fractions of 24.33, 49.59, and 1:15.00. Favored Achill Island sat back in eleventh early, well off the pace. Turning for home, Prussian stubbornly held the lead but 13-1 Nownownow, who had trailed the field for the first five furlongs, had come out six wide into the stretch and was closing fast. Under steady urging by jockey Julien Leparoux, Nownownow got up to win by just 1/2 a length over favorite Achill Island who also put in a very strong late rally. The running time was 1:40.48 over a course rated yielding. 15-1 Cannonball, who stalked the pace in fifth, moved up to finish third.
Nownownow with his winner's flowers. His jockey Julien Leparoux, celebrating his first career Breeders' Cup win, said, “It's wonderful. It's like a dream, when I was a little boy, I was watching on TV, and so it's nice to be here today and win a race like this. I moved at the
quarter pole and I knew I was going to get it in the stretch. The turf
is not too deep, it's just wet."
Nownownow heads back to the barn. His trainer Francois Parisel said, "The weather
was an obvious worry but we knew he had the breeding on both sides to
handle the soft going. Our plan was to relax behind horses and then
make one run. It worked out today. He's a very nice colt. I'm very
happy. Mr. Biancone deserves a lot of the credit. This was a team
effort."
Nownownow in the post parade. His owner and breeder Fabian Ouaki of Fab Oak Stable said, “This is a big very big title for me. I still own (sire) Whywhywhy and still have some shares because I do believe in this horse and I own the mare from the beginning, too. So for me, it's a family victory. For me, horse racing is America. It's no more Europe. I'm sorry for the Europeans, but it means the market is here, the public is here, the horses are here, too. So for me, that's what makes the races happen.”
Second place finisher and beaten favorite Achill Island heads out for the post parade. His jockey John Murtagh side "He traveled
well in the race. I followed Garrett Gomez (Texas Fever) on the turn and
my horse quickened up. When I pulled him out, he quickened and I thought
I had it. These are very tough conditions for a 2-year-old."
His trainer Aidan O'Brien said, "He ran a
stormer. We're delighted. He came to win his race and just got nabbed on
the line. That's his race. He likes to come from behind. He doesn't like
the ground (soft), so he ran a huge race (under conditions).
He'll be a lovely horse next year."
Third place finisher Cannonball in the post parade. His jockey Elvis Trujillo said, "The grass is really soft.
There were ducks on the course around the half-mile pole, about four or
five of them. And he came running on the outside. He made a good
advance, but it was too late. I had a little traffic out there. I was
stuck in the middle of the track, but it was OK. He ran good on five
days rest. He was real strong."
Blake Heap, assistant to trainer Wesley Ward said, "It was a very good race. It looked like he had traffic trouble
down the backstretch. I saw him bobble and then he looked like he
almost clipped heels. He was getting bumped on the backstretch but
Elvis finally got him ahead of that horse."
2011 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic where Drosselmeyer was an upset winner. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2011 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic (formerly the Distaff) won by Royal Delta. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 6 races here.
Review: Crushing the Cup 2012 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita updated for 2012.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Blazing Silks, Breeders' Cup Edition- an interactive social network game that allows horse racing fans and social gamers to train and care for Thoroughbred horses.
