The $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) features 2-year-old colts and geldings going 1 1/16 miles, one complete lap of Keeneland's main track starting and finishing at the 1/16 pole, in a race that generally determines the 2-year-old champion and the early Kentucky Derby favorite. Greenpointcrusader was sent off as the 7-2 favorite in the field of 14 off his win in the Champagne Stakes (G1), over 9-2 second choice Nyquist, winner of the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and FrontRunner (G1), and 5-1 third choice Exaggerator, winner of the Saratoga Special (G2) before second in the Breeders' Futurity (G1).
Nyquist leads in the stretch.
Jockey Jesse Campbell sent 24-1 Riker to the lead first time by and he set fractions of 23.49, 47.62, and 1:12.14 while pressed by 7-1 Unbridled Outlaw and stalked by 14-1 Conquest Big E. Rounding the bend into the straight, Riker tired as Nyqist, 7th early, came out 6 wide to sweep to the front through 1 mile in 1:37.26. 29-1 Swipe put in a strong late rally from 12th but Nyquist held him off by 1/2 a length in 1:43.79. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to 6-1 Brody's Cause third, while faovorite Greenpointcrusader was 12th early and only managed to salvage 7th beaten 4 1/4 lengths.
Left: Nyquist in the winner's circle. Winning jockey Mario Gutierrez said, "I had a little trouble getting over from my outside post (13), but except for the first turn I had good position. Being wide wasn't a problem. I didn't want to get to the rail and get covered up. He was running fine on the outside and so we just stayed there. I've always had confidence in this horse. He's a good one."
Right: Nyquist heads back to the barn. Owner Paul Reddam said, "The early Kentucky Derby favorite thing doesn't work out too often. So I think what we're going to do is just absorb what happened today and we'll worry about the Derby in a few months."
The trophy presentation with trainer Doug O'Neill's brother Dennis holding the trophy. Doug said, "If you get lucky enough and have a horse that can run in the Triple Crown races, you really need a lot of energy and a lot of gas in the tank, if you will. So I think we're probably all on the same page that he'll get a little bit of rest here, but Paul, Jamie, Dennis, Zilla, and Mario, we'll put our heads together and figure out what the plan will be. Again, just he's an amazing horse."
Left: Second place finisher Swipe after the finish. Trainer Keith Desormeaux said, "How could you not be thrilled with Swipe's race? He was a $5,000 yearling and he's making good money every time he loads the gates and running on the top level. Being that he's by Birdstone, he should get better as he gets older and want to go longer. The way that he's relaxing into these races and finishing strong, more distance for him can only be an advantage.
Right: Third place finisher Brody's Cause returns after the race. Jockey Corey Lanerie said, "We got a good break and he settled nice. There was lots of traffic on the second turn. I knew I had a lot to do coming down the stretch, but I was still hopeful and he gave me a big run."
Left: Seventh place finisher and beaten favorite Greenpointcrusader in the post parade. Jockey Joe Bravo said, "It's tough in a 1 1/16 type of race. They shuffled us back a little further. He really never leveled off until the last 1/16. He's a little funny with horses around him and with fourteen there's going to be horses around him. He's a very good horse, he just needs a chance."
Right: The horses break from the gate for the Juvenile. Victor Espinoza aboard runner-up Swipe (12) said, "It was a little bit slow up front, but I broke well and I got my position and I can't do anything. I had to be patient. It kind of hurt me a little bit that the stretch. It was hard for me to ride him really hard in the turn because I had to keep a little patience. I didn't want to do too much with him because he's such a young horse."
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.
Left: Nyquist in the winner's circle. Winning jockey Mario Gutierrez said, "I had a little trouble getting over from my outside post (13), but except for the first turn I had good position. Being wide wasn't a problem. I didn't want to get to the rail and get covered up. He was running fine on the outside and so we just stayed there. I've always had confidence in this horse. He's a good one."
Left: Second place finisher Swipe after the finish. Trainer Keith Desormeaux said, "How could you not be thrilled with Swipe's race? He was a $5,000 yearling and he's making good money every time he loads the gates and running on the top level. Being that he's by Birdstone, he should get better as he gets older and want to go longer. The way that he's relaxing into these races and finishing strong, more distance for him can only be an advantage.
Left: Seventh place finisher and beaten favorite Greenpointcrusader in the post parade. Jockey Joe Bravo said, "It's tough in a 1 1/16 type of race. They shuffled us back a little further. He really never leveled off until the last 1/16. He's a little funny with horses around him and with fourteen there's going to be horses around him. He's a very good horse, he just needs a chance."
