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The last of five warm-up events before the Breeders’ Cup starts in earnest has just been run here at Del Mar, and a market is starting to form for the Juvenile Turf Sprint in just under half-an-hour.
As expected, True Love is just about top of the list on 5-2, with George Weaver’s Cy Fair on 4-1 and Schwarzenegger at 5-1. Brussels, the mount of Christophe Soumillon from stall one, is 11-1, though this is a PMU betting system and the pool will be fairly modest at present.
Preview: Juvenile Turf Sprint
Aidan O’Brien’s True Love, the winner of the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes, was the early favourite for this race and still heads the market despite picking up a distinctly sub-optimal draw in stall nine. She beat Havana Anna, trained by O’Brien’s younger son, Donnacha, by three-quarters of a length there and it looks like the strongest form on offer, although O’Brien also fields Brussels, second in both the Middle Park Stakes and then the Cornwallis, as useful backup. Brussels also has a decent draw in one, though he has had six races already this season including four since 8 August. Other interesting runners include Frankie Dettori’s mount, Aspect Island, from the burgeoning dual-purpose James Owen stable, who was just behind Brussels in the Cornwallis, while the front-running Schwarzenegger is the shortest-priced US-trained runner. Wesley Ward’s colt posted some very warm fractions at Keeneland last time out and is an interesting each-way chance, even from a tricky draw in stall 11.
KEY FORM:
G1 Cheveley Park Stakes, Newmarket, 27 Sep 25 (True Love, Havana Anna).
G3 Cornwallis Stakes, Newmarket, 10 Oct 25 (Brussels, Aspect Island)
Indian Summer Stakes, Keeneland, 5 Oct 25 (Schwarzenegger, Obliteration)
SELECTION: SCHWARZENEGGER (e/w)
Preamble
Hello from the wonderful Del Mar racetrack 20 miles north of San Diego, where Bing Crosby, no less, was a founding member of the board – and also sold the first ticket on opening day in 1937. The walls of the magnificent main stand are covered with photographs and memorabilia from nearly a century of racing here – famous names to have won here include Seabiscuit, Bill ‘The Shoe” Shoemaker, Zenyatta and many more – and there will be more racing history to be made later today on the first afternoon of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup.
The five Breeders’ Cup races on the Friday card are all for two-year-olds – two on the dirt and three on the turf – but the early news here is of disappointing late scratches from the European team, with both Aidan O’Brien’s Precise, the warm favourite for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, and Military Code, a leading fancy for the Juvenile Turf Sprint (21.45 GMT) both now out of their respective races.
Precise’s absence is blow for the meeting, but it does leave the locally-trained Imaginationthelady, ridden by a certain, soon-to-be-retired jockey called Frankie Dettori, as one of the favourites for the Grade One event at 23.45 GMT.
Even with Military Code out, though, the European challenge for the Juvenile Turf Sprint remains strong, with runners trained by various members of the O’Brien family filling four of the top five spots in the betting.
Previews of the five Breeders’ Cup events, including video form to assist in the finalising of selections, will be along soon, and the 2025 Breeders’ Cup will be underway in just under an hour, so stay tuned - or keep refreshing – for all the news, betting moves, results, post-race comments and more as one of the world’s most exciting and valuable race meetings goes through the gears.
