The two-day Breeders' Cup world championships opened Friday at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky, with five races for 2-year-olds before Saturday's nine-race card culminates in the $7 million Classic. Friday's juvenile contests are considered especially difficult for handicappers because the horses are lightly raced and still developing, with a strong contingent of European shippers adding further complexity.
In the Juvenile Turf Sprint, nine of 12 runners came from Europe. British filly Libertango is the 5-2 morning-line favorite after finishing first or second in all five starts and securing jockey Flavien Prat. Irish colt Force Noir is 8-1 after a strong second in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes, while U.S.-based Brickyard Belle sits at 3-1.
The Juvenile Fillies features unbeaten 9-5 favorite Emphatic, who earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure winning the Alcibiades Stakes at this distance over the Keeneland track. Bob Baffert-trained Miss Monica is 5-2 after two sprint wins, and Domain Expansion is a 6-1 price play after winning the Oak Leaf Stakes in her dirt debut for trainer Leonard Powell.
Aidan O'Brien-trained Sun Goddess is the 6-5 favorite in the Fillies and Mares Turf after five straight wins, including three Group 1 races in England and Ireland, with Ryan Moore aboard. Main threats include Europeans Amusingly at 7-2 and Alwaysanangel at 15-1, plus Chad Brown-trained Domestic Agenda at 8-1. Brown has won this race a record seven times.
In the Juvenile, Baffert-trained Hughes is the even-money favorite at 4-for-4 with a significant speed-figure advantage and two-turn experience, with Prat riding. Todd Pletcher-trained American History at 9-2 is seen as the primary upset threat after winning the Breeders' Futurity.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
English (US)·