Mike Curry offers 10 takeaways from the 43^rd edition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland Race Course.

Sovereignty races into history. (Eclipse Sportswire)

PURPLE REIGN: Sovereignty won the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year in 2025 after a season that included wins in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, and DraftKings Travers Stakes. But he missed a planned start in last year’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic after he spiked a fever, and there were some critics who felt a 3-year-old needed to face older horses to claim Horse of the Year. Those voices became amplified when Sovereignty lost his first two starts of his 4-year-old season, but a dominant win in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes and a 1 ¾-length victory Saturday in the $7 million Classic at Keeneland send Sovereignty off to stud with Hall of Fame-worthy credentials: eight wins from 13 starts and more than $10.5 million in earnings for owner-breeder Godolphin.

“You know what? This is a relief because I know how good the horse is,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said after the Classic victory. “This was big today because there were some doubters. I think we proved our position. We proved what we needed to prove.”

A COOL CAT: The Puma missed a planned start in the Kentucky Derby due to inflammation caused by a skin infection after looking like one of the best 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail. He took some time upon returning to regain his top form but earned his first Grade 1 win in the Sept. 19 Pennsylvania Derby and followed with a gallant second against older horses in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. The chestnut Essential Quality colt is the real deal.

"I’m so proud of the horse,” assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. “Just want to make sure he comes back in good shape and regroup. We’re looking forward to a 4-year-old campaign because that’s the plan. We got beat, but we are in really good shape for next year.”

IT AIN’T OVER UNTIL: Elvis sings! Perhaps the signature moment of the entire 2026 Breeders’ Cup will be Japan star sprinter T O Elvis closing through the Keeneland stretch with ground-devouring strides to reel in multiple Grade 1 winner Englishman, who opened a three-length lead in early stretch of the $2 million Cygames Sprint. Englishman appeared to have the race won, but T O Elvis completed his final quarter-mile in :22.80, a remarkable clocking for a dirt race despite racing five-to-six paths wide. He streaked past odds-on favorite Englishman to prevail by 1 ¼ lengths for his second U.S. Grade 1 win in as many starts in 2026 and newfound star status. Truly an unforgettable performance.

O'Brien during training week at Keeneland. (Eclipse Sportswire)

THE MAESTRO: Legendary Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien moved out of a tie with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert into sole possession of the title of winningest trainer in Breeders’ Cup history with two wins on Friday and another on Saturday. Sun Goddess was a three-length winner of the John Deere Juvenile Fillies Turf and stated her case as the best female 2-year-old Thoroughbred on the planet, while Haffner struck two races later by 1 ¾ lengths in the Brown Advisory Juvenile Turf to give O’Brien a “Future Stars Friday” double. O’Brien has won three of the last five editions of the Juvenile Fillies Turf and the last five editions of the Juvenile Turf among a record nine overall wins in that race.

Benvenuto Cellini gave O’Brien his third win of the weekend with a three-quarter-length score in the $5 million Longines Turf for his 24^th career win at the World Championships. As the trainer for the powerful associates of Coolmore, O’Brien no doubt trains some of the finest Thoroughbreds in the world, but it’s worth appreciating the work of a true maestro of his craft who has dominated a U.S. event from abroad for decades. O’Brien is always quick to credit his team, but let us recognize arguably the greatest trainer in the history of the sport.

Nitrogen: a future Hall of Famer? (Eclipse Sportswire)

BELLE OF THE BALL: One of the most popular victories of the weekend came from star filly Nitrogen, who wrapped up another division championship with a two-length victory in the $2 million Longines Distaff while drifting out to the center of the track in the stretch.

“That’s her,” winning trainer Mark Casse said. “She does that every race. I think she loves the crowd.”

The 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro filly is a multiple graded stakes winner on turf and dirt. She was named the Sovereign Award winner as Canadian champion 2-year-old filly in 2024, won the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly last year, and cemented her credentials as champion older female in the 2026 Distaff. And there is another chapter on the horizon for Nitrogen, who is expected to return to compete as a 5-year-old.

Bacio much the best. (Eclipse Sportswire)

BOLD CLAIM, BACKED UP: Trainer Wesley Ward and the connections of 3-year-old turf sprinter Bacio boldly labeled him the “Fastest Horse on the World” entering the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint after he was a dominant winner at Royal Ascot and then defeated top European turf sprinters in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York. Facing 13 challengers in the Turf Sprint, Bacio lived up to his billing as he ran the opposition off its feet with pure speed to give U.S.-based runners their first turf win at the 2026 Breeders’ Cup. He blitzed the opening quarter-mile in :21.23, opened a commanding lead in the stretch, and dominated by two lengths under jockey Juan Hernandez, who earned his first Breeders’ Cup win after six seconds in previous editions of the event.

“This is a special horse, and there was a lot to the whole story behind him. He was kind of a sought-after horse for a lot of people who were trying to come in,” Wesley Ward said. “My daughter-in-law brought me one of the greatest gifts ever, my grandson Killian, and she put an ownership group together with MyRacehorse in order to keep him here in our stable. It's so nice to have thousands of owners in this horse and win the Breeders' Cup.”

NOT SO FAST: After the European contingent clobbered the U.S. runners in all three turf races on Future Stars Friday, a clean sweep from the international invaders appeared possible, if not likely. But after Bacio’s breakthrough earlier on Saturday’s card, elite U.S. turf trainer Chad Brown followed suit with determined Kathynmarissa in the Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf and rising star U.S. turf trainer Miguel Clement gave the home team a third grass win with Deterministic in the FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF two races later. Both Kathynmarissa and Deterministic have won four of five starts in 2026, with the former winning a pair of Grade 1 races and the latter the owner of three Grade 1 wins. They are strong candidates for Eclipse Awards in the turf female and turf male divisions, respectively.

Hughes extends perfection in the Juvenile. (Eclipse Sportswire)

HUGHES GRABS GOLD: Named after 2026 Olympic Gold Medal winner Jack Hughes, who potted the game-winning goal when the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated Canada, the colt Hughes no doubt wrapped up a title of his own by improving to 5-for-5 with three Grade 1 wins including a 2 ¼-length score in the $2 million FanDuel Juvenile Presented by TAA. Hughes should be an open-net slam dunk to win the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male after victories in the Del Mar Futurity, American Pharoah Stakes Presented by DK Horse, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

“He’s so light on his feet. Everyone who gets off him says he’s like a cheetah,” said winning trainer Bob Baffert, who won the Juvenile for a record seventh time. “He skips over the ground and he comes back and he never takes a deep breath. Today we saw something we were hoping to see, but you knew he was going to have to take it to the next level.”

Another Keeneland Grade 1 for Emphatic. (Eclipse Sportswire)

UNEQUIVOCALLY EMPHATIC: Trainer Brendan Walsh was winless with 13 previous Breeders’ Cup starters, but his 14^th runner proved much the best as Emphatic opened a four-length lead in early stretch of the $2 million Juvenile Fillies and cruised to a 1 ½-length victory. The Darley Alcibiades winner at the same track and distance Oct. 2 improved to 4-for-4 on the year and very likely secured the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly.

“Keeneland's been very good to me,” Walsh said. “I've had a lot of luck here. It's our home base, so it's extra special to win one here for sure.”

Co-owner Andrew Rosen, who races Emphatic in partnership with Gainesway Stable, was 28 years old when his family's Star Crown Stable won the very first World Championships race at the inaugural 1984 Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park with Chief's Crown in the Juvenile. Forty-two years later, he added a second win with Pennsylvania-bred Emphatic.

FORMIDABLE FAVORITES: Seven horses who were favored in the betting won from the 14 Breeders’ Cup races over the two-day event Oct. 30-31, and the highest-priced winner from the World Championships races was Kathynmarissa at 5.62-1 odds in the Filly & Mare Turf. Kathynmarissa paid $13.24 for a $2 win bet and Deterministic paid $12.10 for his win in the Mile, but none of the other 12 winners cracked double-figures ($10) to win. It was a tough weekend to be a longshot bettor.