The fact that a European-based horse won the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf Nov. 1 at Del Mar was hardly a surprise.

The shock was which Euro reached the wire first.

The prime candidates to win the lucrative race were Minnie Hauk, a 3-year-old filly who was second in the famed Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and was the 3-2 post-time favorite, and the gallant 7-year-old gelding Rebel’s Romance, the 2.20-1 second choice who was seeking a record third BC Turf victory.

And turning for home, it looked like the duo would decide the outcome.

Then, from out of the clouds, came a jumper who overcame every hurdle in front of him and drew clear for a decisive victory.

In the end, the sixth straight foreign winner of the Turf turned out to be an improbable 27.70-1 shot named Ethical Diamond, who broke from post 14 and was competing in hurdle races earlier in the year.

“This is huge,” said trainer Willie Mullins. “To train a horse that is 25-to-1 and to win unexpectedly at a big festival like this, they’re the fun ones. You win the ones when you’re favored in, they’re not fun. They’re just relief. So I’m really enjoying this. This is fun against the odds. What a race to win. It’s a huge improvement.”

Both of the H O S Syndicate’s 5-year-old’s last two races were victories on the flat in an Aug. 23 Handicap at York and the June 20 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot. Yet Mullins, England’s premier steeplechase trainer, said four hurdles races from December through April helped to relax the 5-year-old and set the stage for the Awtaad gelding’s initial graded or group stakes win.

William Mullins and Dylan McMonagle. (Eclipse Sportswire)

“He’s a very keen horse, and I often find jumping settles them down and teaches them not to over race,” said Mullins, the all-time leading  trainer at the Cheltenham Festival and winner of the world famous Grand National steeplechase race in England the last two years. “Hurdles just make him think. Now he jumps out and he’s waiting for a hurdle to come out on the track. Halfway down, he goes, oh, okay, this isn’t a hurdle race. We have a hood on him as well. It’s all about settling him down. That’s the jockey’s job as well.”

Ethical Diamond definitely was settled in the early stages of the Turf as he and jockey Dylan McMonagle were 13^th in the field of 14. Minnie Hauk moved from eighth to third after the field had traveled a mile, and the filly surged to the front at the top of the stretch.

Behind her, Godolphin’s Rebel Romance was third early, then lacked a clear lane on the final turn until he squeezed through horses and took aim at Minnie Hauk. The homebred son of Dubawi collared the tiring filly who fell back to sixth but no sooner did he grab a short lead than Ethical Diamond jumped into contention.

While rallying five-wide on the final turn, Ethical Diamond was still 10^th at the quarter pole, but flew home like a rocket in the stretch, flying past Rebel’s Romance late to prevail by 1 ¼ lengths in a course-record 2:25.45.

Rebel’s Romance was second by three-quarters of a length over Godolphin stablemate El Cordobes.

“Both ran well,” said Charlie Appleby, who trains both geldings. “I’m just glad Willie Mullins doesn’t train too many flat horses. A little bit of (traffic) for Rebel’s Romance, but in fairness I don’t think it made that much of a difference.”

The win was the 5^th in 15 lifetime starts as Ethical Diamond’s earnings jumped to $3,121,001.–Bob Ehalt

Appleby and Godolphin Back on Top in BC Mile with Notable Speech

Charlie Appleby was still blinking in disbelief at the result of the race run more than an hour earlier when it came time to saddle favored Notable Speech for the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF, as the autumn shadows lengthened Nov. 1 on day two of the spectacle at Del Mar.

Notable Speech wins the Mile. (Shamela Hanley/Eclipse Sportswire)

As far as Appleby was concerned, his old battler Rebel's Romance was home and dry, on his way to an unprecedented third straight victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf. The Godolphin gelding had dispatched the Coolmore filly Minnie Hauk with an efficient flourish deep in the stretch, and only his stablemate, El Cordobes, appeared to be closing with much of a run.

Then came the former hurdler, Ethical Diamond, from out of the clouds to sweep past and win going away, leaving Appleby agape and settling for second and third.

"Didn't see him at all," Appleby said. "Hard to believe. Still, I'm proud of the way Rebel's Romance ran once again."

Appleby brings nothing but aces to the Breeders' Cup Mile, and Notable Speech lives near the top of the deck. For two solid seasons, the chestnut son of Dubawi has knocked heads with many of Europe's best milers while bagging such prestigious prizes as the 2024 Group 1 English Two Thousand Guineas and Group 1 Sussex Stakes, in addition to this year's Grade 1 Rogers Woodbine Mile Stakes.

Still, the 2025 Breeders' Cup Mile stands as his finest hour, especially in light of his near miss in the 2024 version, also at Del Mar, in which he was beaten in the final strides by More Than Looks. The opposition included the salty domestic trio of Rhetorical, Johannes, and Formidable Man, plus an array of invaders that included dangerous milers from Ireland, Japan, France, South Africa, and Chile.

South African import One Stripe who set a quick pace through opening fractions of :22.59 for the quarter and :46.76 for the half.

Rhetorical, hero of the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland, was forwardly placed along with Coolmore's The Lion In Winter while Formidable Man enjoyed clear sailing behind them approaching the far turn.

Meanwhile, jockey William Buick was taking full advantage of his No. 2 post position to keep Notable Speech tucked snugly on the rail.

The ride was smooth. After holding his position around the final turn, behind a six-furlong split of 1:10.84, Buick waited until the last possible moment to ask his colt for a final burst. Farther out, Formidable Man, a daunting 6-for-6 over the Del Mar grass, was starting to get the best of Rhetorical and The Lion In Winter. They all came together at the furlong mark in 1:22.44, at which point Notable Speech left them behind to win by 1 1/2 lengths, drawing away. The final time of 1:33.66 was capped by a final furlong in :11.22.

Notable Speech paid $7.20 to win. Runner-up Formidable Man (18-1) held The Lion In Winter (4.60-1) safe by a head for second, with Rhetorical completing the superfecta.

A Godolphin runner has won the Mile for the Appleby-Buick combination for the fourth time in four years after 2021 with Space Blues, Modern Games in 2022, and in 2023 with Master of The Seas.

Notable Speech has now won seven of 14 starts and over $3.1 million. The plan, according to Hugh Anderson, managing director of Godolphin UK, is to keep Notable Speech in training next year at age 5, which means he could be defending his title in the 2026 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland. -- Jay Hovdey

Nysos Edges Citizen Bull in All-Baffert Dirt Mile Exacta

Expectations and anticipation have surrounded Nysos throughout his career, but setbacks have kept him from reaching horseracing's biggest stage. When he finally had his Breeders' Cup opportunity Nov. 1 at Del Mar, he did not disappoint, earning his first Grade 1 victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Nysos (left) won the Dirt Mile photo finish. (Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire)

The victory was not an easy one. Nysos needed to pull out every ounce of talent he had to get past his Baffert-trained stablemate Citizen Bull to win the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

"I think today was a very important race for him," Baffert said. "Everybody knows he's a superstar. He's been a superstar from the beginning."

Last year's 2-year-old champion Citizen Bull set blazing fractions of :21.74 and :44.96. Yet, once dispatching the race's defending winner Full Serrano turning for home, he still had gas left in the tank.

Nysos also was still loaded for Flavien Prat, and Nysos and Citizen Bull treated the Del Mar grandstand to one of the most thrilling stretch runs of the day. At the wire, Nysos got his head down as the clock stopped in 1:34.71. The pair was 3 1/4 lengths clear of Chancer McPatrick in third. Tumbarumba was fourth. Last year's Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano was fifth. Nysos paid $3.40 to win.

The triumph was extra rewarding for the connections, who have exhibited nothing but patience. Considered a top 3-year-old, if not the top, ahead of the 2024 Triple Crown, Nysos missed the majority of his sophomore campaign after suffering a setback in March. More recently, he was scratched from a matchup with champion Fierceness and classic winner Journalism the morning of the Aug. 30 Pacific Classic Stakes with a bruised hoof.

Following the Pacific Classic scratch, Baffert began preparing Nysos for the Dirt Mile rather than entering one tough Breeders' Cup Classic in his return from a three-month layoff.

"It was too much to ask to throw him in the Classic," Baffert said. "He would've been very competitive. We saw today, he would've been right there, but it wouldn't have been fair to the horse."

Baffert praised the owners Charlie and Susan Chu of Baoma Corp. for their love for their horses.

"They are very deserving of this, they know how tough (the business is). Today we were rewarded with patience and a great horse, Baffert said."

Baffert also praised the run of Citizen Bull, who is set to retire to Coolmore's Ashford Stud for the 2026 season.

"I saw those fractions, but it didn't seem like he was going that fast," Baffert said. "I'm just glad that he really showed up, he was champion last year. He's going out on a strong race, he got beat by a tremendous horse. I'm just proud of the fact that they showed up." – Sean Collins

France's Gezora Concludes 2025 Breeders' Cup with Win in Filly and Mare Turf

Gezora. (Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire)

Owner Peter Brant has campaigned champion horses and has captured many of the world's biggest horse races but in the closing Breeders' Cup race of 2025 he checked another box with 3-year-old Gezora.

Gezora got up to win the 1 3/8-mile Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf Nov. 1 at Del Mar, edging past a game She Feels Pretty in the Del Mar stretch to register a half-length win. Gezora completed the race in 2:12.54 on firm turf. Godolphin's Diamond Rain secured third.

Jockey Mickael Barzalona rated Gezora in sixth through a half mile in :47.43 as Be Your Best showed the way. She Feels Pretty launched a sustained run in the turn that saw her put away the front-runner and open a 1 1/2-length advantage in the stretch, but Gezora would prove to have the winning late move as she rallied from fifth in the final three furlongs to edge past She Feels Pretty in deep stretch.

"We got a good draw and we were able to get in a good spot," said Barzalona. "I thought I just had to maintain my filly's concentration to be in the race. She was very tough, and when the leaders started coming to me, I knew I was going to get to the front."

Trainer Cherie DeVaux was proud of She Feels Pretty, who earned her second Breeders' Cup placing after finishing third in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

"She ran awesome," DeVaux said. "(Jockey John Velazquez) got her over beautifully from a tough spot (post 13). Just to be beat in the last jump, basically, is disheartening but I'm super proud of her. She continues to put in her best effort every single race."

The victory marked the first Breeders' Cup win for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, who this season also captured the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with Daryz and the Group 1 Champion Stakes with Calandagan.

"This season has been pretty much incredible. We've had very nice horses, but it's a lot of work but everything went really well with us through the season," Graffard said. "We've been able to win these amazing races, and it's created a lot of emotion, and we've enjoyed that very much."

Brant said he'll talk things over with his trainer about where to campaign Gezora next season.

"This is a very special filly," Brant said. "She has great temperament and great heart. All her races have been good. She drew badly in the Arc. She has such a good heart, she tries everything." -- Frank Angst

Bentornato Gives Trainer D’Angelo Back-to-Back BC Wins in Sprint

Bentornato blazes in Sprint. (Eclipse Sportswire)

In the space of 50 minutes, trainer Jose D’Angelo cemented his place in the history of the Breeders’ Cup and Thoroughbred racing, as Bentornato followed Shisospicy’s win in the Prevagen Turf Sprint (see below) with a rousing victory in the $1 million Cygames Sprint.

“I don’t know what’s going on here,” said an amazed D’Angelo. “In two days, when I wake up, I’m going to feel everything.”

Bentornato had telegraphed his readiness with a spectacular comeback race in the Sept. 13 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes at Churchill Downs. It impressed a host of handicappers, who picked him to win the Sprint despite the presence of last year’s winner, Straight No Chaser, and several with much more seasoning during the year.

The handicappers and the bettors were not wrong. They backed Bentornato down to 17-10 favoritism in the field of 14, and he performed up to all expectations.

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With Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle, Bentornato broke in second and went right to the front in the 6-furlong Sprint. He blazed through a first quarter-mile in :21.48 and a half-mile in :44.14, with last year’s Sprint winner Straight No Chaser a half-length behind at both markers. Those fractions might have looked like fodder for closers, and a few certainly tried. But they couldn’t get close to Bentornato.

By the stretch, Bentornato had a two-length lead over Japanese-raced American Stage as Imagination and longshot Dr. Venkman came running. They couldn’t close the gap, though, and Bentornato hit the wire 2 ¼ lengths in front in 1:08.20. Imagination finished a nose ahead of Dr. Venkman in second.

Leon King Stable Corp. owned 100% of Bentornato until three days before the race. At the Keeneland Championship Sale Oct. 29 at Del Mar, Michael and Jules Iavarone paid $1 million for a 25% interest in the 4-year-old.

“I’d liked this horse for a while,” Michael Iavarone said. “I did reach out to Jose to try to buy him privately. We weren’t able to make a deal then, but he came back and said the horse was going to go through the sale for a fractional ownership.”

This wasn’t the first time Bentornato had impressed people in the Breeders’ Cup. Last year as a 3-year-old, he finished second to Straight No Chaser by only a half-length.

D’Angelo, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, has plenty of experience. His father, Francisco, was a three-time champion trainer in Venezuela and switched to training in Florida in 2015. Jose’s grandfather was a turf writer and handicapper. Jose attended the racing school in Venezuela required of aspiring trainers, and in 2014 he won Venezuela’s Clasico Simon Bolivar with Dreaming of Gold . He continues to work with his father in this country, saying, “He helps me with my horses and I help him with his horses because we’re a team.”–Tracy Gantz

Shisospicy Overpowers Field in Turf Sprint

Shisospicy dominates. (Eclipse Sportswire)

In the spring, Morplay Racing’s Rich Mendez was sitting in the airport with Jose D’Angelo asking what the plans were for their and Qatar Racing’s speedy 3-year-old filly, Shisospicy. D’Angelo confidently said the end-of-the-year goal was the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

The goal was bold, given no 3-year-old filly had ever won the $1 million race, but the daughter of Mitole made the decision look like a no-brainer as she blitzed her older rivals and defeated males with ease by 2 ½ lengths at Del Mar Nov. 1.

“I was very confident in her since day one, she was special since day one,” D’Angelo said. “We wanted to use her speed, which comes naturally to her.”

That speed was too much to handle as she opened a clear advantage beneath Irad Ortiz Jr. into the far turn through opening fractions of :21.75 for two furlongs and :43.86 for a half-mile. Entering the stretch, she showed no sign of stopping as she cruised to the wire with a final five-furlong time of :55.24.

“The plan was to let her be where she wanted to be,” Ortiz said. “She broke so good, and after that, it made everything easier. I had a lot of horse turning for home and never felt anyone was close to me. I kept waiting and no one was able to get close. That was the key.”

Ag Bullet, who played the role of stalker Saturday while a few lengths back, finished second to hit the board in the race for a second straight year. Deep-closing Khaadem finished third.

The victory was a dream come true for D’Angelo, a native of Venezuela. Successful in his home country, he moved to the United States in 2019 dreaming of being on a stage like the Breeders’ Cup.

“It was always was the ultimate goal,” D’Angelo said. “I came from Venezuela, we watch Breeders’ Cup like a fan. We pray and work hard all year to be in the Kentucky Derby or Breeders’ Cup. We did it. Now we are here, not like a fan. It feels amazing, I can’t describe it.”

That feeling got even more indescribable when, in the next race, D’Angelo and Ortiz teamed up to win the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint (see above).

The feeling was also hard to describe for Mendez, a prominent music mogul through his company Rich Records. He compared the feeling to reaching the top of the billboard charts or winning a Grammy.

“That’s an amazing experience, but (winning the Breeders’ Cup) is extra special,” Mendez said. “To do it here with my family and a special horse like Shisospicy and a team like Jose D’Angelo has been amazing.”–Sean Collins

Splendora Pounces in Filly & Mare Sprint

Splendora all alone at the finish in F&M Sprint. (Eclipse Sportswire)

In four prior starts in graded stakes, Splendora had been competitive but settled for secondary prizes, finishing as the runner-up three times and fourth once. But none of those outings came over the main track at Del Mar, a surface over which she is unbeaten.

Her affinity for the Del Mar strip was on full display Nov. 1 in the $1 million PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, when the blossoming 4-year-old Audible filly romped to 4 ¾-length victory over Vahva, kicking off nine Championship Saturday races. Her breakthrough graded stakes triumph improved her local record to 4-for-4.

Though she was in fifth early in the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint, Splendora always looked loaded under Flavien Prat, comfortably tracking the leaders. She kept her two Bob Baffert-trained stablemates Hope Road and Richi within reach, as the former carved out fast early fractions with Richi and Haulin Ice also part of the early scrum.

Once on the turn, Splendora began to advance on the leaders, moving to fourth after a half-mile and taking over and running up a 1 ½-length advantage with a furlong remaining. She opened up through the final eighth of a mile, and not even the rallying Vahva could get anywhere close to her. The latter passed Hope Road, who finished 1 ¼ lengths back in third.

Splendora was clocked in a final time of 1:21.79. She gave Baffert a 20^th Breeders’ Cup victory, tying him with the late D. Wayne Lukas for second all-time among trainers.

“I still miss him. I loved having conversations with him,” Baffert said. “It’s an honor to tie him.”

Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien entered Breeders’ Cup racing Saturday in first with 21 wins.

Owned by Mike Talla, Splendora is now 5-4-0 in 10 starts, and 3-2-0 in six races this year. She earned $520,000 Saturday, elevating her career bankroll to $860,800.–Byron King