The first Championship race on Saturday was the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), a 1 mile test around 2 turns of the 7 furlong infield oval at Santa Anita, and was run under the new Breeders' Cup rules prohibiting race-day medications in the 2-year-old divisions. Noble Tune was sent off as the 7-2 favorite in the full field of 14 off his Pilgrim (G3) win at Belmont Park. In to challenge him included 9-2 second choice Dundonnell, second in the Champagne (G2) after winning the Acomb (G3), and 6-1 third choice Artigiano, second in both the Vintage (G2) and Royal Lodge (G2).
George Vancouver takes the lead in the stretch
Jockey Corey Nakatani sent 56-1 longest shot Summit County to the front and he set fractions of 22.48 and 46.47 while pressed by 43-1 I'm Boundtoscore. On the turn, the pacesetters tired as 18-1 Brown Almighty gained the lead at the top of the lane through 3/4 in 1:10.26 before tiring as well. 9-1 George Vancouver, 7th early, came through between horses to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Noble Tune in 1:33.78. It was just a neck back to 10-1 Balance the Books third.
George Vancouver wins the Juvenile Turf
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
3 George Vancouver Moore 20.60 11.00 7.20
9 Noble Tune Dominguez 6.00 3.80
8 Balance the Books Leparoux 6.00
Winning Time: 1:33.78
$1 Exacta 3-9 62.80
$1 Trifecta 3-9-8 553.10
$1 Superfecta 3-9-8-6 2,352.60
Right: Co-owner Derrick Smith leads George Vancouver to the winner's circle. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said, "Yes, we always thought he was a very good horse. His first two runs were on bad ground and we took him to the fast ground and he went there and won very easy. We were always thinking it would be fine for him, the ground was always what we were hoping would make the difference and obviously Ryan had rode him with great confidence from Deauville and he thought that this track and this ground and race would suit him."
Left: George Vancouver heads out for the post parade. Jockey Ryan Moore said, "He traveled very easy and he had a small gap. But that much horse he had plenty to go through there and I was in front a little bit too soon on him. It was a little longer than people give the short straight credit for and when he got there he gave a look and hung out to the right, so I think there is a bit more in the locker room. I had a smooth race and that's what you need in these sort of races. You need a bit of luck and things to work out for you and we had that today."
Second place finisher and beaten favorite Noble Tune (right) and third place finisher Balance the Books return after the race. Trainer Chad Brown, who trains them both, said, "They ran great. They ran into a really good horse today. One beat the other for second (by a neck). They trained close. Everyone has watched them breeze in New York, and they all know they are noses apart and they ran that way. They beat the rest of the horses in the field, which was a deep field. They clearly have identified themselves as the two top 2-year-old turf colts in the country coming into their 3-year-old year."
Noble Tune's jockey Ramon Dominguez said, "I was very happy with the way the horse performed. We had a good trip. Of course you hate to see the winner getting through while your horse is running on the outside. But that's what happens in a 14-horse field."
Balance the Books' jockey Julien Leparoux said, "He's a good horse. He'll move up with a little more distance. I had a very smooth trip, not really any trouble except for the usual bumping. We started to move leaving the far turn and there was no traffic at all, but then at the head of the lane I had to wait a little bit, and that was it."
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where American Pharoah was an impressive winner in his final start before retiring to stud. Also on the card, Found won the Turf, Nyquist won the Juvenile, and Tepin won the Mile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here. Get more photos and comments for each race here.
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 4 races Friday highlighted by the Distaff where Stopchargingmaria won by a neck over Stellar Wind and the Dirt Mile won by Liam's Map. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Thursday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 38 horses out on Thursday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including American Pharoah. Beholder was also out, but was found to have bled when scoped and is scratched from the Classic.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 46 horses out on a very rainy Wednesday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including Keen Ice, Frosted, and Golden Horn. No American Pharoah yet, hopefully he comes out tomorrow.
2015 Breeders' Cup Entries - Check out the entries, post postitions, and morning line odds for the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races to be held at Keeneland on October 30 and 31.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 31 horses out on a rainy Tuesday morning at Keeneland including Stephanie's Kitten, Grand Arch, and Private Zone.
Monday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 28 horses out Monday morning at Keeneland including Rachel's Valentina and a timed work by Beholder.
Sunday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 10 horses out Sunday morning at Keeneland including Liam's Map and Lea
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland
Review: Crushing the Cup 2015 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland updated for 2015.
2014 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by Bayern. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2014 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Untapable. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
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.
TV Schedule - for all the preps and other programming leading up to the big day
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track now.
Right: Co-owner Derrick Smith leads George Vancouver to the winner's circle. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said, "Yes, we always thought he was a very good horse. His first two runs were on bad ground and we took him to the fast ground and he went there and won very easy. We were always thinking it would be fine for him, the ground was always what we were hoping would make the difference and obviously Ryan had rode him with great confidence from Deauville and he thought that this track and this ground and race would suit him."
Second place finisher and beaten favorite Noble Tune (right) and third place finisher Balance the Books return after the race. Trainer Chad Brown, who trains them both, said, "They ran great. They ran into a really good horse today. One beat the other for second (by a neck). They trained close. Everyone has watched them breeze in New York, and they all know they are noses apart and they ran that way. They beat the rest of the horses in the field, which was a deep field. They clearly have identified themselves as the two top 2-year-old turf colts in the country coming into their 3-year-old year."
