Once a year, the great Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien sends a talented collection of horses across the Atlantic to take on the best of America and the rest of the world at the Breeders’ Cup.
For bettors, a wager on an O’Brien entry usually means going with a favorite and hoping an exacta or trifecta that includes a longshot comes through for a generous payoff.
As the 42nd Breeders’ Cup begins at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club with five races for 2-year-olds, also known as Future Stars Friday, O’Brien and his team are ready to go again.
The 56-year-old O’Brien saddles two favorites in the five races on Friday – both on the turf. He had three favorites before Precise (6-5) was a morning scratch out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) by state veterinarians. If you want to have the most recent information, you can check our live updates report for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Races.
His favorites are True Love at 7-2 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1), plus 8-1 Brussels and 20-1 Mission Control as well as Gstaad (8-5) in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1).
Some of the competition includes entries from his sons, Joseph and Donnacha. But bet against the elder O’Brien at your own risk.
As the two-day, 14-race Breeders’ Cup gets underway today, O’Brien is tied with the late D. Wayne Lukas for most wins at these World Championships at 20. By early evening, don’t bet against him adding to his victory total.
Most of O’Brien’s Breeders’ Cup wins have been in turf races since that’s the surface of choice in Europe. As the longtime trainer for the Coolmore operation headed by John Magnier, O’Brien has saddled champion after champion.
Last year at Del Mar, he won the BC Juvenile Turf with Henri Matisse and the BC Juvenile Turf Fillies with Lake Victoria.
True Love comes into the opening BC Juvenile Turf Sprint (post time 5:45 p.m. ET, USA Network, Peacock TV) off a victory in the Cheveley Park Stakes (G1). The filly defeated males in the Railway Stakes (G2).
Precise was coming into the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf (post time 7:05 p.m.) off victories in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) and the Fillies Mile (G1).
Gstaad drew the outside post for the BC Juvenile Turf (post time 8:25 p.m., Peacock TV). He comes into the race off three runner-up finishes in Group 1 competition.
The other two races Friday are the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). Both have a mostly American flavor since the winners are likely to be voted 2-year-old champions and stamped as early favorites for the 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1) for fillies.
The 1 1/16-mile BC Juvenile has a field of seven – the smallest in the 42-year history of the race – but two stand out: 4-5 favorite Ted Noffey, 3-0 for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and 5-2 second choice Brant, 2-0 for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
The field is now down to six from an already record low seven runners after the Friday morning scratch of Blackout Time, trained by Kenny McPeek.
McPeek told drf.com: “Two days ago, they (the attending veterinarians) flexed him up, they didn't like his left front ankle, we X-rayed it on their request, perfectly clean nothing there.
“This morning at 5:30 I jogged him up and back five times and he was fine. The horse jogged beautifully. The state vets come back and say they don't like his left hind ankle. I said, ‘I thought we were looking at his left front ankle.’ They made the decision to scratch him. We X-rayed him and the X-rays were clean.
“I think we're in the age of paralysis analysis,” he added.
The 1 1/16-mile BC Juvenile Fillies also features a Pletcher-Baffert matchup – 5-2 favorite Explora for Baffert against 7-2 second choice Tommy Jo for Pletcher.
Aidan O’Brien also has three starters in Saturday races, including the filly Minnie Hauk (8-5) taking on the boys in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) three weeks after finishing second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) at Paris Longchamp. Two-time BC Turf winner Rebel’s Romance is 5-2.
O’Brien’s other entries Saturday are The Lion in Winter (6-1) in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and Bedtime Story (12-1) in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).
While O’Brien stands at 20 Breeders’ Cup wins, Baffert and Chad Brown are at 19. Baffert has 13 runners, Brown has seven, including defending Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) champ Sierra Leone.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
