Key events
A big let down for the Europeans, neither Blue Bolt nor Precise was ever travelling with purpose and both were beaten before the final turn. Well done to County Kildare-based Willie McCreery though – his 25-1 outsider Jancis came through to finish third, and best of the Euro runners.
Kathynmarissa was sent off at 5-1 on the local tote, but there was 7-1 and 8-1 on offer with British firms beforehand.
FILLY & MARE TURF RESULT: KATHYNMARISSA DOMINANT AS BLUE BOLT FADES
1. KATHYNMARISSA (Jose Ortiz), 2. Gimme A Nother, 3. Jancis. 12 ran.
Kathynmarissa lands the spoils, Precise and Blue Bolt both soundly beaten.
Into the turn, it’s still Classic Q, Precise looks beaten, now Gimme A Nother goes on with a furlong to run …
But here’s Kathynmarissa, she’s making rapid ground and she’s going to get there …
Down the back, Classic Q still leads, Precise under a slight drive, Blue Bolt makes a move three wide …
Classic Q turns first, Precise three wide in mid-division and Blue Bolt has three behind her
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf!
The favourites are having a high old time of it so far at this year’s Breeders’ Cup and the local punters clearly see no reason to change a winning formula. Blue Bolt is now evens, despite her wide draw and the slight question mark over her stamina.
Latest betting: Filly & Mare Turf
6-5 Blue Bolt
7-2 Precise
5-1 Kathynmarissa
9-1 Gimme A Nother
18-1 Classic Q
25-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf
Turf races tend to be run at a steadier pace than on the dirt and there is likely to be only moderate pressure on the lead. Both Blue Bolt and Precise are drawn wide, however, and it is quite possible that one or both will end up stuck wide.
Classic Q, on the other hand, should get a perfect trip either on the lead or just behind the pace and Mark Casse’s runner is my idea of the each-way value in the race if you’re taking the current 33-1 with a British bookie.
19.04 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Grade One, 1m 1½f
Back to the turf now for what is, from a Eurocentric point-of-view, a fascinating head-to-head between Precise and Blue Bolt, although it could be a little unwise to ignore the US-trained challenge entirely.
Blue Bolt needs little introduction, having won all six of her starts this season including four Group Ones, with Precise among the beaten runners in three of those.
That list includes the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in July, when Precise was a couple of lengths away in second.
This is their first meeting at a trip beyond a mile, however, and while Blue Bolt’s stamina has yet to be tested, Precise was an excellent second behind Miss Scott when stepping up to 10 furlongs in the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp last time.
The main hope for a local success, according to the betting at least, is Chad Brown’s Kathymarissa, the winner of the Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont last time.
But I was also quite taken with the performance of Classic Q in the Grade One First Lady at Keeneland. It was a narrow win – from another of today’s rivals, Lush Lips, but she was drawn nine and caught wide, and has a much better pitch in stall three today.
She is a 12-1 shot in the early betting on the US tote, but currently a frankly insulting 40-1 with at least one British bookmaker according to Oddschecker.
It took three or four minutes for the judge to separate them there, but it was the favourite, Further Ado, that got it on the nod after a thrilling battle to the wire.
He went off at even money in the end, with Owen Almighty was a 9-1 shot. Bracket Buster, meanwhile, almost lost his jockey at the start and was adrift throughout.
DIRT MILE RESULT: FURTHER ADO BY A NOSE
1. FURTHER ADO (Flavien Prat), 2. Owen Almighty, 3. Full Serrano. 10 ran.
Bracket Buster blew the start, Full Serrano and Chunk Of Gold lead ..
A fast opening quarter, 22.67sec, Owen Almighty is also helping force a good pace …
Further Ado makes ground on the rail, going well …
Now Further Ado comes wide, he’s chasing down Owen Almighty, they’re nose-to-nose to the wire … and it’s a photo, and a very close one!
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile!
Little movement in the odds ahead of the Dirt Mile, although Further Ado is now a shade of odds-on at 4-5.
Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile latest betting:
evens Further Ado
5-1 Bracket Buster
6-1 Full Serrano
8-1 Chunk Of Gold
9-1 Coal Battle & Owen Almighty
19-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile
The map includes Forged Steel, who was moderately fancied for this but ruled out earlier in the day. He would have been on or close to the lead, but in his absence, Full Serrano, the likely third-favourite, and Chunk Of Gold should still set a decent clip.
Further Ado will be on the rail in behind, but is likely to have at least four or five ahead of him and at the likely odds, I’d rather be with Bracket Buster to get a smoother trip and take it up in the stretch.
18.26 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Grade One, 1m
If there’s a weak link on the Breeders’ Cup card, then this is probably it. The Classic is a more inviting target for any dirt horse with a fair chance of getting 10 furlongs, and it feels a little telling that only three of the 10 runners managed a win last time out.
Further Ado, the favourite, offers a line to the form of The Puma, a runner in the Classic at the end of the card, as he was a half-length behind him in the Grade One Pennsylvania Derby at Parx in mid-September.
Bracket Buster also ran at Parx last time, finishing second in the Dirt Mile in September after getting caught on the rail approaching the turn out of the back straight.
So, no greenwash on the turf for the Europeans, but Bacio simply flew home there, setting strong fractions – 21.23sec for the quarter, 43.86sec for the half – but still leaving them for dead in the straight.
Comanche Brave was a little agitated before loading and missed the kick by a length, and while he moved up to mid-division by the turn, his race was as good as over once Bacio had kicked. He ended up in a dead-heat for fourth with Time To Dazzle.
TURF SPRINT RESULT: BACIO SCORCHES TO VICTORY FOR WARD
1. BACIO (Juan J Hernandez), 2. Cy Fair, 3. Starlust. 14 ran.
Comanche Brave slow to stride, Bacio flew out and leads …
Now Loughnane moves up along the rail, he’s mid-div on Comanche Brave as Bacio still leads …
Turning in, Bacio in front, and he’s clear as Comanche Brave runs into traffic on the rail …
Bacio is clear and this is going to be one for the Americans, very easy in the end!
Comanche Brave is a little reluctant to load but he’s in now …
And they’re off and running in the Turf Sprint!
The money is coming for Comanche Brave now, the local punters can’t separate the top two and both are showing a 2-1 payout on the tote.
The locals are siding with Wesley Ward to saddle a second winner of this race (he was successful with Golden Pal five years ago). He’s opened up at 8-5 on the tote, with Comanche Brave next in at 5-2.
George Weaver’s Cy Fair is currently the only other runner at single-figure odds on 8-1, and she has a squeak on her best form too but was distinctly disappointing when odds-on for a Grade Two at Kentucky Downs in early September. Shesospicy, meanwhile, is 15-1 for a repeat success.
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint
Bacio simply burned off his rivals in his two races in Britain over the summer and is well drawn to attack in stall three. If he can get clear at the turn, it could be all over.
He is likely to face a fair bit more competition for the lead than he did in Europe, though, and Joe Shiesty could definitely apply some pressure if he breaks well from the outside. If so, Comanche Brave and Billy Loughnane, aboard his only ride on today’s card, will be poised to pounce. O’Brien’s runner travels strongly just off the pace and that could be just what’s required.
17.48 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Grade One, 5½f
We’re on to the turf next, and the most obvious barrier to a European clean sweep on the grass in the form of Wesley Ward’s Bacio. He is already familiar to European racing fans as the winner of both the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot and the Nunthorpe at York in August.
He’s a very obvious favourite back on his home turf, but Donnacha O’Brien’s Comanche Brave is an equally obvious main market rival after his wins in the July Cup and then the Flying Five at the Curragh.
Bacio and Comanche Brave are the only two runners in the field at single-figure odds, but it would be remiss not to mention last year’s winner, Shisospicy, who is back for a second go.
She’s well drawn in stall two but has not seen a track since finishing seventh at Churchill Downs in May, and has been on the wrong end of several setbacks since her win last year. She was forced to miss some juicy targets in the Saudi Arabia and Dubai in the early part of the year due to an infection, apparently as the result of a spider bite, and also had a fever shortly before her intended prep for today’s race at Belmont in September.
That pretty much unfolded entirely as expected: Kerry’s Kiss and R Disaster were forward early with Explora in pursuit, and then Ways And Means breezed through the field as if she’d just joined in. She set off as an even-money shot on the tote.
FILLY & MARE SPRINT RESULT: FAVOURITE FINDS A WAY
1. WAYS AND MEANS (Flavien Prat), 2. Foie Gras, 3. Explora. 11 ran.
R Disaster straight into the lead, but now Kerry’s Kiss leads ….
22.14sec for the first quarter, Kerry’s Kiss still in front as Ways And Means looks for room …
Ways And Means hits the front and this is all over … she powering a long way clear, what a performance to kick off the card.
Off and running in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint!
Won’t be long now until the second day of the Breeders’ Cup meeting is underway … strap yourselves in, it’s always a giddy ride …
It’s around a quarter of an hour to the Filly & Mare Sprint, and Ways And Means is a very warm favourite at 4-5 on the US tote.
Latest betting (US odds):
4-5 Ways And Means
5-1 Explora
7-1 Kilwin & Sweet Azteca
8-1 R Disaster
19-1 bar
Pace map: Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
The pace is likely to be fierce as four or five of the runners have been on or close to the lead after the first quarter-mile in the majority of their recent starts, including R Disaster and Kerry’s Kiss, drawn four and eight respectively, who are most likely to duel for the early lead. Explora too likes to be close to the lead, but may end up three or four wide from her outside stall, while Ways And Means should have a smoother time of it towards the inside.
17.10 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Grade One, 7f
The Saturday card kicks off with a sprint that isn’t, by European standards at least, as seven furlongs is past the point where a horse can simply go flat out from the start (a bit like the 400m in athletics, when compared to the 100m or 200m). And it is perhaps no co-incidence that wire-to-wire winners are a rarity.
Nor is there a standout trial event that regularly highlights the winner, although Goodnight Olive took in the Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga before her wins in 2022 and 2023. Ways And Means, the morning-line favourite, was the winner of that contest this year, by nearly six lengths, and is expected to go off favourite today.
She breezed past R Disaster, a rival again today, at the top of the stretch and it is difficult to see Saffie Joseph’s mare reversing the form.
The second-favourite, meanwhile, is the three-year-old Explora, from the Bob Baffert stable. She was beaten at odds-on last time out, but had earlier taken the Grade One Test Stakes at Saratoga, over the same seven-furlong trip as the Ballerina, by five lengths.
Another leading contender to consider is Sweet Azteca, a six-year-old who is unbeaten in four starts this year since a stable-switch to join Richard Baltas. Her latest win, in a Grade Three at Del Mar, still leaves her with something to find to trouble the favourite, though.
Ways And Means is short enough in the betting but I can see her getting a better trip through the race than Explora, who is drawn in stall 11 and could end up three or four wide.
Preamble
Welcome to the Guardian’s liveblog coverage of the main card at the 2026 Breeders’ Cup in Kentucky, where a strong team from Europe will be bidding for a first-ever clean sweep of the Cup’s turf events and, at the climax of the card, all eyes will be on the Japanese superstar, Forever Young, as he bids to become only the second horse in Breeders’ Cup history to win a second Classic.
Yesterday’s three turf events for juveniles were a complete rout for the visitors, who had the first seven home in both the Juvenile Turf Sprint and the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the 1-2-3 in the Juvenile Turf. The European team also have the favourites for three of today’s four turf races, with the only exception being the Turf Sprint at 17.48, where Wesley Ward’s Bacio is nudging even-money to follow up his wins at Royal Ascot and York earlier in the season.
The highlight of the card for European fans is surely the Turf at 21.36, where a host of the continent’s best middle-distance horses will chase a share of the $5m purse, but Notable Speech is a huge runner too in the Mile (20.20) and the latest face-off between Blue Bolt and Precise in the Filly & Mare Turf (19.04) also promises to be something to savour.
It was an evening for the form horses yesterday, which is probably why I somehow managed to find four of the five winners. That, of course, all-but guarantees a complete blank today, but my picks for the nine races are here just in case, and we will be underway on one of the great racing rollercoasters with the Filly & Mare Sprint at 17.10.
