Over the next three weeks the fields for the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships will come into focus, and the key Southern California steppingstone to the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic will be held opening weekend at the Santa Anita Park fall meet with the 45^th running of the Goodwood Stakes.

The “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series races offers the victor an expenses-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Oct. 31 at Keeneland, and the 1 1/8-mile Goodwood drew a field of nine entrants.

The Goodwood has been run at Santa Anita Park annually since 1982. It began as the Goodwood Handicap before being run as the Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap from 1996 through 2006. In 2007, the race was switched from a handicap race – a race in which the track handicapper assigns the weight each entrant carries – to stakes conditions and contested as the Goodwood Stakes through 2011. In 2012, the race was renamed the Awesome Again Stakes in honor of the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, it was briefly rebranded the California Crown Stakes, and then Santa Anita reinstated the name Goodwood Stakes for 2025.

Five winners of this race went on to capture the Breeders’ Cup Classic: Ferdinand in 1987, Tiznow in 2000, Pleasantly Perfect in 2003, Mucho Macho Man in 2013, and Accelerate in 2018. 

Read on to learn more about each of the entrants for the 2026 Goodwood Stakes, which has a post time of 7:30 p.m. ET as Race 8 on Saturday’s Santa Anita card and will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV.

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1. Taif

Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner: Zedan Racing Stables

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $69,800

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 96

Pedigree: Arrogate – Destine, by War Front

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: He’s one of two entrants along with last year’s Goodwood winner Nevada Beach for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won this race a record nine times, including four of the last six editions. The 5-year-old by Arrogate was sidelined for more than 13 months after running second in his 2024 debut, returning in January with another runner-up finish while pressing the pace on dirt. Following a layoff of 7 ½ months, Taif rallied from off the pace to win a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden special weight race Sept. 7 at Del Mar. His connections clearly think very highly of him because switching back to dirt while making his stakes debut in a Grade 1 race feels like an extremely ambitious assignment. Owner Zedan Racing Stables won this race in 2021 with Medina Spirit.

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2. Vodka Vodka

Jockey: Kent Desormeaux

Trainer: Aggie Ordonez

Owners: Baker Stables, McLean Racing Stables, William Gorman, Aggie Ordonez, Anthony Parsons, Rachel Parsons, and Delbert Williams

Career record: 14 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $570,450

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Stay Thirsty – Margie's Minute, by Hard Spun

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: He took a nice step forward earlier this year when opening his 5-year-old campaign with his first stakes win in a 1 1/8-mile turf race. He built on that success with a second-place finish in the Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava' Resort & Casino at San Manuel followed by a 2 ¼-length win in the 1 1/8-mile Casa Ford Sunland Park Stakes April 5. Vodka Vodka returned from a 4 ½-month layoff with an unplaced finish in the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien Stakes but is eligible to improve in his second start while stretching back out to his preferred 1 1/8 miles under four-time Goodwood Stakes-winning jockey Kent Desormeaux. Vodka Vodka should be near the lead approaching the stretch and is worth strong consideration for exacta and trifecta tickets.

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3. McAfee

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: George Weaver

Owners: Black Type Thoroughbreds, Campeche Stables, Swinbank Stables, and Judy Hicks

Career record: 10 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $423,086

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Cloud Computing – Sataves, by Uncle Mo

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Cross-entered in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs, McAfee earned a career-best Equibase (107) and Beyer (98) Speed Figure for a 6 ¼-length romp at this 1 1/8-mile distance in his most recent start in a July 3 allowance race at Saratoga Race Course. He showed class as a 3-year-old when he finished in the top three in a trio of graded stakes – the Peter Pan Stakes, Ohio Derby, and West Virginia Derby – and returns to stakes competition for the first time in 2026 well-rested off a peak performance. A graded stakes win would go a long way toward justifying a second-career as a stallion for this half-brother (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. Whether he starts in the Lukas Classic or the Goodwood, it’s an important weekend for McAfee.

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4. Original Sin

Jockey: Kazushi Kimura

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owner: Calumet Farm

Career record: 10 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $590,235

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Curlin – Beauty and Light, by Unbridled's Song

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Original Sin enjoyed a mini-breakout this spring when dominating a 1 1/8-mile allowance-optional claiming race at Keeneland in April before winning the Grade 3 Blame Stakes by a half-length May 30 at Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old Curlin colt took a step back when well-beaten in the July 4 Suburban Stakes Presented by Subourbon Life at Saratoga but looked much better when second behind favorite Knightsbridge in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes Aug. 22 at Del Mar. Like McAfee, Original Sin is cross-entered in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes Saturday at Churchill, where he has two wins and a third in three starts, and a win in either race would be a terrific addition to his résumé. Original Sin profiles as a win candidate at his best, and there is enough speed entered to set up his closing rally.

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5. Midnight Mammoth

Jockey: Tyler Baze

Trainer: Craig Dollase

Owner: Jeffrey Sengara

Career record: 44 starts – 9 wins – 6 seconds – 8 thirds

Career earnings: $487,970

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Midnight Lute – Taker Home, by Vindication

Age: 7

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Analysis: Midnight Mammoth won the 1 ½-mile Cougar II Stakes by 10 ¼ lengths in July 2024 for his lone stakes victory to date, and since then he’s winless in seven stakes starts with the best result a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup in May 2025. His best three starts this year have come when facing lesser competition, but Midnight Mammoth should be a significant pace factor in this race as a 7-year-old whose success has primarily come when setting or pressing the pace. Expect jockey Tyler Baze, who won the 2015 Goodwood aboard Smooth Roller, to be aggressive and send Midnight Mammoth early to try and control the pace, but holding on for a minor award appears to be the ceiling.

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6. Mr. A. P.

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Vladimir Cerin

Owners: Holly Wilson and David Wilson

Career record: 7 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $484,670

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106

Pedigree: American Pharoah – Trenchtown Cat, by Discreet Cat

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Last year’s FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance runner-up, Mr. A. P. missed the 2026 Triple Crown series with an injury and then shifted from dirt to turf for trainer Vladimir Cerin to start his 3-year-old season. The American Pharoah ridgling finished third in the Oceanside Stakes July 17 at Del Mar before a win in a 1 1/16-mile allowance-optional claiming race at the seaside track in August. Following Mr. A. P.’s unplaced finish in the KTDF Gun Runner Stakes at Kentucky Downs, Cerin will move him back to the main track where he won his prep race for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup. Mr. A. P. worked five furlongs in :58.80, the fastest of 75 timed workouts at that distance Sept. 20 at Santa Anita, and enters the race as a bit of a wild card stretching out in distance to 1 1/8 miles while facing older horses for the first time. Jockey Joel Rosario won this race in 2018 on Accelerate.

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7. Forged Steel

Jockey: Edwin Gonzalez

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owners: C2 Racing Stable, Mathis Stables, and TCC Stables

Career record: 20 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $436,630

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Vekoma – Scorecard, by Tale of the Cat

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Forged Steel put together a terrific four-race stretch earlier this year when he posted three wins and a third from Feb. 6 through May 25, capped by a career-best performance on this main track via a 9 ½-length runaway victory in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes. He earned a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure and matched his career-top 107 Equibase Speed Figure with the front-running win in the 1 ¼-mile Hollywood Gold Cup. In two subsequent starts, Forged Steel was well-beaten and unplaced in the July 4 Suburban Stakes Presented by Subourbon Life and Pacific Classic Stakes Aug. 22. In both defeats, Forged Steel dropped back to a stalking position and showed little punch late, but he should improve while cutting back in distance to 1 1/8 miles, especially if allowed to control the pace.

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8. Caldera

Jockey: Paco Lopez

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owner: MyRacehorse

Career record: 9 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $343,016

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Liam's Map – Send Me On My Way, by Tiznow

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: He joins Forged Steel to his inside to form a solid one-two punch from the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. While Forged Steel is the more accomplished of the duo, Caldera enters the Goodwood in better form. The Liam’s Map colt is 3-for-3 this year by winning margins ranging from 2 ¾ length to six lengths, with all three victories coming in allowance-optional claiming races at one mile. Caldera finished second in the 2025 Sunland Park Derby as a 3-year-old before an unplaced finish in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby for previous trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who died June 28, 2025, and he looks like he’s ready to make the jump back up to stakes competition. A legitimate win threat.

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9. Nevada Beach

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $466,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Omaha Beach – Morrow Cove, by Yes It's True

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Nevada Beach joins Taif from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, a nine-time winner of this race, among the nine Goodwood entrants. Nevada Beach enjoyed a terrific 3-year-old season in 2025 that included stakes wins at Los Alamitos, Del Mar, and Santa Anita Park as he amassed four wins and two seconds in seven starts. His signature win a year ago was a victory over older males in the Goodwood Stakes, pulling clear to a 1 ½-length margin over Full Serrano. The lone unplaced finish came when he ran seventh behind Forever Young in the $7 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Nevada Beach has not raced since he finished 12^th in his season debut in the $20 million Saudi Cup, also won by Forever Young, after stumbling at the start on Feb. 14. Last year’s winner very likely will vie for favoritism in the Goodwood, but he has not raced in more than seven months so it’s fair to wonder if he’ll be close to 100% fit for the race. Owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman also won the race in 2022 with Defunded; Baffert’s first of nine wins in the Goodwood came in 1998 with Silver Charm.