Friday, Race #9: The Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
(Turf – 1 Mile) 2 YO
Purse: $1 Million
Despite the domestic home team taking two of the last four editions of the Juvenile Turf, the Europeans hold an overall 10-6 lead dominated by world-class trainers Aidan O’Brien (5 wins), Charles Appleby (3 wins), and John Gosden (2 wins). In this year’s edition, O’Brien has four entrants, and they all deserve a strong look to take home the winner’s share of the $1 million dollar purse.
Three-time winner #2 River Tiber (3-1 ML) is the most accomplished of the O’Brien juvenile runners taking the Grade 2 Coventry at Ascot on June 20 and finishing third in back-to-back efforts in the Grade 1 Prix Morny and Middle Park at Newmarket. The 2-year-old colt is by Grade 1 winner Wooten Bassett (GB) and comes into Friday’s showdown making his third start of the form cycle for these top connections. He finished behind Europe’s highly regarded multiple Grade 1 winner Vandeek (GB) in both of his last two efforts and looks primed for a top try in his first stateside start.His stablemate #8 Unquestionable (Fr) (4-1 ML) finished fourth in the Grade 1 Phoenix Sprint at the Curragh before a sharp runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Prix-Jean-Luc Lagardere. That last race likely set this colt up nicely for O’Brien who is shooting for his sixth win in the BC Juvenile Turf. The Christophe Clement-trained #14 Carson’s Run (6-1 ML) looks best of the local American contingent but drew an extremely tough post. This Cupid colt was an impressive two-turn winner in his Saratoga debut July 29—which is never a small feat. He went on to finish a runner-up in the Grade 2 With Anticipation and recently won the Grade 1 Summer Stakes Sept. 16 at Woodbine while earning the field’s best (80) Beyer speed figure. The Grade 2 Pilgrim run Oct. 4 at the Belmont at the Big A meet has traditionally been a major prep for this event. This year there are four domestic contenders who exit that New York prep headed by race winner #7 Agate Road (8-1 ML). The juvenile colt by Quality Road made an eye-catching five-wide sweep to the lead and held on gamely for the victory. The Todd Pletcher-trained and Repole/St Elias Stable-owned bay colt was impressive in victory despite racing greenly during that late stretch run. The local Southern California threat is the Michael McCarthy-trained #9 Endlessly (5-1 ML) who is 3-for 3 with a recent win in the Grade 3 Zuma Beach at Santa Anita. The Oscar Performance colt shows an improving Beyer pattern, is proven over the local strip, and appears to match up extremely well amongst the domestic challengers. Although the Americans look well-represented in this year’s edition, the edge still goes to the European runners, and we’ll use the highlighted American runners underneath in vertical exotics.
Recommended Wagering Strategies: Win Bet: #2-River Tiber. Exactas: #2 Over 7,8,9,14. Trifectas: #2 With 7,8,9,14 With All.
