The first turf event of the 2013 Championships 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. Bobby's Kitten, winner of the Pilgrim Stakes (G3) at Belmont, was sent off as the 6-5 favorite over 4-1 Giovanni Boldini, winner of the Star Appeal at Dundalk after finish second in the National (G1) at the Curragh, and 6-1 Outstrip, third in the Dewhurst (G1) at Newmarket after winning the Champagne (G1) at Doncaster.
Bobby's Kitten and jockey Javier Castellano set fractions of 22.27, 45.70, and 1:09.53 while stalked by 50-1 All Cash with Luis Saez, and 49-1 Home School under Rafael Bejarano. Bobby's Kitten continued to lead to midstretch through 7/8 in 1:21.45, but Outstrip and jockey Mike Smith, 11th early, closed on the outside to win by 1/2 a length over Giovanni Boldini in 1:33.20. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to pacesetting favorite Bobby's Kitten third.
Outstrip wins the Juvenile Turf
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
4 Outstrip Smith 20.60 11.00 7.20
2 Giovanni Boldini Moore 6.00 3.80
5 Bobby's Kitten Castellano 6.00
Winning Time: 1:33.20
$1 Exacta 4-2 23.10
$1 Trifecta 4-2-5 71.90
$1 Superfecta 4-2-5-8 1,204.10
Right: Outstrip in the winner's circle. Simon Crisford of Godolphin said, "He was top rated coming into the race today, so anything less than a win we might have been scratching our heads a little bit, although obviously when you travel to California from Newmarket, it's very different set of circumstances. But we felt he belonged in the race for certain.The plan at the moment would be he would winter in Newmarket and be prepared for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas, and then all of the features sort of champion mile races throughout the European campaign, including the St. James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot."
Left: Outstrip was a bit fractious in the post parade.
The trophy presentation for the Juvenile Turf with Simon Crisford of Godolphin (center) and trainer Charlie Appleby (right). Appleby said, "We broke a bit slower than we'd probably like to have done. Thankfully we went a good clip early on. When you're going down the far side, I knew we were making ground, but we had a lot of ground to make. Once Ryan (Moore aboard Giovanni Boldini) made his move, I just thought he might have put it to bed there because it was a bold move and it was a good move. In hindsight, it wasn't a bad move for us because this horse likes to have something to run at, and Mike (Smith) said when he came down to the last furlong there, he was always confident he was going to get there. He felt like once he got there, he could have gone away a little bit longer. But it was a great ride, and he's a brave horse."
Left: Second place finisher Giovanni Boldini return after the race. Jockey Ryan Moore said, "We had a great trip. We were able to save ground. He ran a little green. Maybe a little more experience would have helped today. I saw (Outstrip) coming for a long way, I didn't think I had the race won after I put (Bobby's Kitten) away." Trainer Aidan O'Brien added, "He's run a great race. I have no complaints. He was just run out of it again."
Right: Third place finisher and beaten favorite Bobby's Kitten leads first time by. Trainer Chad Brown said, "I'm very disappointed. He's only two (years old) going out in 1:09 and change – that's ridiculous." Jockey Javier Castellano added, "He broke sharp out of the gate, he felt good. Unfortunately, he ran off a little bit and he never settled."
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: Outstrip in the winner's circle. Simon Crisford of Godolphin said, "He was top rated coming into the race today, so anything less than a win we might have been scratching our heads a little bit, although obviously when you travel to California from Newmarket, it's very different set of circumstances. But we felt he belonged in the race for certain.The plan at the moment would be he would winter in Newmarket and be prepared for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas, and then all of the features sort of champion mile races throughout the European campaign, including the St. James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot."
The trophy presentation for the Juvenile Turf with Simon Crisford of Godolphin (center) and trainer Charlie Appleby (right). Appleby said, "We broke a bit slower than we'd probably like to have done. Thankfully we went a good clip early on. When you're going down the far side, I knew we were making ground, but we had a lot of ground to make. Once Ryan (Moore aboard Giovanni Boldini) made his move, I just thought he might have put it to bed there because it was a bold move and it was a good move. In hindsight, it wasn't a bad move for us because this horse likes to have something to run at, and Mike (Smith) said when he came down to the last furlong there, he was always confident he was going to get there. He felt like once he got there, he could have gone away a little bit longer. But it was a great ride, and he's a brave horse."
Left: Second place finisher Giovanni Boldini return after the race. Jockey Ryan Moore said, "We had a great trip. We were able to save ground. He ran a little green. Maybe a little more experience would have helped today. I saw (Outstrip) coming for a long way, I didn't think I had the race won after I put (Bobby's Kitten) away." Trainer Aidan O'Brien added, "He's run a great race. I have no complaints. He was just run out of it again."
