There were 9 races on Day 2 of the 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championships. Of these, one of the more highly anticipated was the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) for older horses going 1 mile on the turf. With 2-time winner Wise Dan out with injury, the race was wide open with a full field of 14 entered. Queen Anne (G1) winner Toronado was sent off as the 2-1 favorite after consecutive 2nd place finishes in the Sussex (G1) and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1). In to challenge him included 9-2 second choice Obviously, 4th in the Shoemaker Mile, and 7-1 third choice Mustajeeb, second in the Boomerang Mile (G2).
Karakontie rallies in the stretch while Obviously still leads.
Jockey Joe Talamo sent Obviously to the lead and he set fractions of 21.95, 45.16, and 1:08.82 over the firm course, while stalked by Toronado in second. Entering the stretch, Obviously opened up by 4 lengths, getting 7/8 in 1:20.77. However, in the final furlong he tired, as 30-1 Karakontie came through to win by 1 length over 10-1 Anodin in 1:32.88. It was another length back to 21-1 Trade Storm third, while favorite Toronado checked in 8th.
Left: Karakontie in the winner's circle. Owner Maria Niarchos said, "I can't believe it. I'm really delighted. We've always believed in the horse. He was born in Japan. He has his own story, and we're absolutely thrilled that he's come back and proved his own worth. We're going to enjoy today, and we'll think about tomorrow, tomorrow."
Right: Karakontie fights the pony in the post parade. Jockey Stephane Pasquier said, "Emotionally, this is the biggest win of my career, to win a Breeders' Cup race here in America. The trainer didn't give me any instructions. I just rode him like the quality horse he is. A mile is his distance."
The trophy presentation with trainer Jonathan Pease on the far left. Pease said, " He won the Guineas in the spring. He was a very, very good horse in the spring. So didn't need to lose faith in him. He's been training really well recently. So, you know, it all came together today. I was a bit worried about the draw, but Stephane Pasquier got him into a great position, which he held. There was a horse that took them a long way, and he was able to pick up the pieces at the end and it went well."
Left: Second place finisher Anodin in the post parade. He is a full brother to 3-time Mile winner Goldikova. Jockey Olivier Peslier said, "Good trip; very nice, unlike the last time. I'm very happy with him. He did everything right. He had a good turn of foot and finished very well. I followed the winner and decided to go out and use his good turn of foot that way and try to catch him." Trainer Freddy Head added, "He's run very well and finished very strongly."
Right: Third place finisher Trade Storm returns after the race. Trainer David Simcock said, "I'm really pleased with him. He's run a great race. He's a model of consistency and he's won a lot of prize money. Hopefully he'll stay in training next year."
Beaten favorite and eighth place finisher Toronado in the post parade. The 2-1 favorite stalked the pace in second to the 1/8 pole under Richard Hughes but tired late to finish 8th beaten 5 1/4 lengths. The Richard Hannon trainee has a record of 6 wins, 3 seconds, and 0 thirds in 12 starts, earning $1,212,812 for owner Al Shaqab Racing.
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.