It’s been a big year for trainer Cherie DeVaux, who became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner when Golden Tempo won nearly six months ago. Now, the trainer and colt are vying to make more history this weekend as the 43rd Breeders’ Cup takes place at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.
However, that duo is not the only one trying to get into the record books.
Golden Tempo, who also won the Belmont Stakes in June, will try to become just the fifth 3-year-old to claim both the Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the $7 million, 1-1/4 mile showcase on Saturday that caps two days of championship racing, in the same year. Authentic was the last to do it in 2020.
While Golden Tempo seeks a rare double, a Japanese-bred horse is out to become just the second horse to win the Classic twice. Forever Young won it last year at Del Mar, edging Sierra Leone by a half-length. Tiznow pulled off the double in 2000 and ’01.
Forever Young, who is the morning-line favorite at 2-1, ran a half-mile in 50.2 seconds Wednesday on the training track. It was an effort that left his trainer Yoshito Yahagi happy as the 5-year-old returned to his barn sound.
“Everything has gone according to plan, and that’s one of the remarkable things about this horse,” Yahagi said.
The Classic features only a field of seven, but there is a lot of talent. So much so that even after Magnitude, who beat Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup this spring, was scratched Thursday, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner is only the fourth choice on the morning line at 5-1.
Golden Tempo last raced on Aug. 29, when he finished third in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga in upstate New York. That was his first race since the Belmont, as an illness sidelined him for a few weeks in the summer.
Between Golden Tempo and Forever Young are a pair of Bill Mott-trained horses, 2025 Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (5-2) and Knightsbridge (9-2). Sovereignty last ran on Aug. 8, when he won the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga for his only victory in three races this year.
Mott thought about putting Knightsbridge in the Dirt Mile but opted to have two chances for the Classic.
“We had to make the decision Monday,” Mott said about his entry that won the Pacific Classic at Del Mar by 6 1/4 lengths two months ago. “Maybe there would be a different decision if we had to wait until Friday or Saturday.”
The top four contenders feature different racing styles. Knightsbridge tends to be a front-runner, while Forever Young prefers to stay just behind the leader before making his move. Meanwhile, Golden Tempo and Sovereignty come from the back of the pack and make their charges out of the final turn.
Keeneland will host 14 championship races, each with a purse of at least $1 million. The five races on Friday are billed as the future stars card as 2-year-old fillies, colts and geldings contend on the dirt and turf. The main event Friday will be the Juvenile, a 1 1/16-mile race that could feature runners in next year’s Kentucky Derby.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has two entries in the Juvenile, with Hughes the even-money morning-line favorite and Salahudin at 6-1. Coach Pope, trained by Kenny McPeek and named after Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach Mark Pope, is the second choice at 4-1, and American History, trained by Todd Pletcher, is next at 9-2.
The nine-race Saturday card will feature older horses on both surfaces with distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/2 miles.
Besides Golden Tempo, DeVaux has two other entries on Saturday. Brilliant Berti is a 30-1 longshot in the Mile on turf, while Englishman is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the six-furlong Sprint. Englishman has run five times in his career, recording four wins and a second-place finish.
–Field Level Media
