The field for the Oct. 31 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course was as good and accomplished as one could expect for a $7 million Grade 1 stakes. However, there was still one horse who just simply stood above the rest: Sovereignty.
Jockey Ryan Moore seemingly conjured open space in the stretch of the $5 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, and Benvenuto Cellini surged late to claim victory in the Grade 1 1/2-mile centerpiece grass race of Breeders' Cup weekend at
Experience pays off, and that was the case Oct. 31 as Emphatic utilized her experience on the Keeneland main track to pull off a victory in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
There have now been 43 runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. For more than four decades, the race has showcased some dazzling 2-year-olds and crowned the division champion 34 times. But then, in the spring, when the Kentucky Derby rolls around on the first Saturday in May and precocious 2-year-olds turn into maturing 3-year-olds, the Juvenile winner is usually an afterthought.
Only two winners of the race (Street Sense in 2006 and Nyquist in 2015) have been able to win the Juvenile and then the Kentucky Derby.
