Jockey Ryan Moore secured a historic victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Saturday, claiming the race for a record sixth time in Kentucky.
Breeders’ Cup Turf Triumph
The English jockey guided the 3-1 favourite Benvenuto Cellini to victory in the £3.7m ($5m) feature race. Moore executed a perfectly timed final push, powering home to finish three-quarters of a length ahead of fellow countryman James Doyle, who rode Map Of Stars to second place.
The win delivered a record-extending eighth victory in the race for Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien. Another horse trained by O’Brien, Diamond Necklace, claimed third place.
O’Brien commended the performance of the winning horse and his jockey. “He’s a horse that showed a lot of class. Ryan was calm and relaxed on him and let it happen. He was brilliant on him. He did it again, he had to come out and come round,” the trainer stated.
O’Brien added: “Time after time he produces on the day. He accepted early he let them go, but he had one bullet to fire which he executed perfectly. It’s so special that everyone is here. It’s a special day.”
Benvenuto Cellini holds notable racing lineage, as his dam Newspaperofrecord won the Breeders’ Cup herself in 2018.
Success for Sovereignty in the Classic
In the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Venezuelan jockey Junior Alvarado rode Sovereignty to a spectacular win. The four-year-old horse had missed out on competing the previous year due to a fever, but comfortably outpaced the competition on this occasion.
The field included Japan’s Forever Young, who was aiming for a second consecutive victory but ultimately finished in fifth place.
Trained by American Bill Mott, Sovereignty gave Alvarado a memorable triumph. “We really wanted to run so bad the Classic last year. I’m just so glad the Godolphin team gave us a chance to keep him in training and get to do what he did today,” Alvarado said.
