Breeder's Cup 2026 - Results and Thoughts
Back in 2023, Ryan Moore delivered one of the most sensational rides ever seen in the Breeders’ Cup Turf since its inception in 1984, guiding Auguste Rodin to victory at Santa Anita.
He stayed buried in the pack, locked to the rail through the first ten furlongs. Turning for home, Balladeer swung slightly wide and Moore pounced, bursting through the tightest gap between the pace-setter and the fence.
It was a fearless, gutsy, masterclass move - the type of precise, high-risk maneuvering rarely executed with such perfection.
It was one of the best jockey performances I had personally ever seen...
Until yesterday...
When Ryan Moore climbed aboard Benvenuto Cellini for the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, who would have thought he could top that Auguste Rodin ride?
Watching it back numerous times, what stands out is the sheer patience and nerve.
Moore let Benvenuto Cellini settle well back and save ground, never forcing the issue even as he got shuffled further out of it turning for home. In the stretch he was still blocked in the back tier, still waiting, until a narrow seam opened and he produced the colt with perfect timing.
The acceleration was instantaneous - Moore barely asked and Benvenuto Cellini exploded through to win by three-quarters of a length. It was the kind of ride that looks simple in replay only because the decision-making was so precise.
We have some outstanding jockeys in the States, no question. But Ryan Moore operates in a different realm. This was Michelangelo territory - an artist who sees the whole canvas, trusts the brushstrokes, and makes the nearly impossible look inevitable.
And none of it happens without Aidan O’Brien.
The trainer’s ability to keep producing these horses, to read when one is ready to peak, and to put Moore in the right saddle has become one of the greatest ongoing collaborations in the sport. Together they keep rewriting what excellence looks like.
If that was the masterpiece of the weekend, the opposite end of the spectrum came in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with Johnny Velazquez aboard Napoleon Solo.
The front running Preakness winner, who had run second in both the Haskell and Travers, finished dead last in a seven-horse field.
Johnny had him back in fourth position, mid-pack, ran him three wide into the first turn, four wide all the way down the backstretch, and finally let him tire in the three path down the lane.
It was terrible riding for a bona fide front-runner with the kind of speed that should have been used, not wasted.
Napoleon Solo never got the chance to run his race.
We have outstanding jockeys in the States, and Johnny V has been one of the greats for a long time. But this was a poor effort in a Grade 1 yet again, the kind of ride that costs a horse any chance, even if just for a board-hit purse. Napoleon Solo deserved much better handling.
Then there was Forever Young. He went off as the late favorite to defend his Classic title and finished a well-beaten fifth. After the race, Ryusei Sakai said there were moments in the workouts where the horse felt a little different than usual - small signs that something wasn’t quite right. He also mentioned some unease during saddling and in the gate.
That’s the kind of information the betting public should have had before post time, not after the horse has already run. The public works looked fine and the barn stayed positive all week. When the jockey who rides him every day later admits he wasn’t feeling himself in the mornings, it changes how you look at the result. Forever Young has been a very special and talented competitor who maybe should not have seen a gate yesterday.
And then there was Sovereignty. A year after a fever forced him out of the Classic as the favorite, the 2025 Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers winner returned and ran the race of his life. Those earlier performances had already shown he belonged among the very best and wagered as the top pick for the race.
Junior Alvarado had him sitting just off the pace, and when he turned for home the response was immediate and decisive. He surged clear and won by 1¾ lengths in 2:00.36, closing his career the way a true champion should. Bill Mott and Godolphin kept him in training when they didn’t have to, and he rewarded them by retiring on the biggest stage with the biggest win of his life.
Clean, powerful, and final. That’s how you close the book.
In the end, though, the weekend belonged to Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore. Mr. O’Brien is now the all-time leading trainer in Breeder's Cup history with 24 career wins after a dominant performance at Keeneland, and Moore delivered the rides that defined it. The greatest trainer and the greatest jockey of our lifetime.
It is always amazing to hear Aiden O Brien being interviewed.He always deflects attention from himself and gives the credit to the people who work with the horses every day.He mentions all of these people by name which only highlights the attention to detail that puts him in a class of his own.
I was also frustrated by the decisions JV made with Napoleon Solo. Sovereignty was much the best though. Really thrilled by the gutsy and talented Hughes!
I was very proud of the race that The Puma ran. Still think he would have won the Derby if able to run.
I was also impressed in the nightcap on Friday. HAFFNER, the Justify 2yr old on turf had the highest Beyer Speed Figure (96) of the day.
Libertango 94, Hughes 93, Emphatic 93, Avec Toi 92, Folsom Blues 92, Sun Goddess 92, Miss Monica 91, American History 90.