Zipse: Try to repeat like Rebel’s Romance in Breeders’ Cup
In the 41-year history of the Breeders’ Cup there have been 29 horses to win at the world championships more than once. I expect that number to grow in 2025.
Rebel’s Romance is one horse who cannot add to the total of 29, because he already is on the list. Trainer Charlie Appleby has the grand gelding pointing for the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct on Saturday. The winner of the Grosser Preis von Berlin (G1) last month is going as good as ever, and the 7-year-old will have a big shot to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf for a third time after victories at Keeneland in 2022 and at Del Mar last year.
Rebel’s Romance races Saturday in Turf Classic.
Where Rebel’s Romance already has turned the trick, there are several other horses who look to be in good shape as they approach the opportunity of winning for a second time at the Breeders’ Cup.
The Distaff has been a relatively fertile ground for repeat winners. This year Thorpedo Anna will look to join the likes of Bayakoa, Royal Delta, Beholder and Monomoy Girl, all two-time winners of the rich and prestigious race for females. Coming off an ultra-game win in the Personal Ensign (G1) at Saratoga, the 2024 horse of the year will have one final prep at either Keeneland or Delaware Park before taking her shot at a repeat victory.
The richest race in American racing, the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic is the crown jewel of the championships, and it has proven to be very difficult to win more than once. Tiznow did it with a pair of gutsy efforts, but he remains the only one. Last year’s winner Sierra Leone is in good form to make a run at it this year. A troubled trip led to a second-place finish last time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), but it will send the late-running son of Gun Runner to Del Mar in with a solid chance against a loaded field.
White Abarrio, the 2023 winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, would be only a long shot this year, so his connections wisely decided to go for the Dirt Mile instead. The winner of the Pegasus World Cup (G1) early this season should not be ignored when he cuts back in distance and drops into the easier spot.
Surprisingly, no Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner ever has gone on to win another race at the championships. That could change this year.
Fierceness, who won the 2023 edition on his way to an Eclipse Award, was a game second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar last season and will be a strong contender again this year after his impressive win over the track in last month’s Pacific Classic (G1).
Bob Baffert-trained Citizen Bull, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile a year ago and then was named the champion 2-year-old male, has had an up and down season. He announced himself a contender for the Dirt Mile on Nov. 1, however, with an easy victory in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 31.
The Dirt Mile may have three former Breeders’ Cup winners in the race this year. Although I already have mentioned White Abarrio and Citizen Bull, it may be Full Serrano who is the one to beat. The defending race winner looked great in cruising away from his competition in a recent allowance race at Del Mar in his first start of the year. He is expected to start in the Goodwood Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita on Saturday as a final prep for the Dirt Mile or possibly the Classic.
Although he has yet to run in the U.S. yet this year, do not forget about Straight No Chaser. The 2024 champion sprinter won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2) in Saudi Arabia in February but finished eighth in the Golden Shaheen (G1) in Dubai after that. Owned by the MyRacehorse syndicate and trained by Dan Blacker, the winner of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Sprint is working well in advance of next Sunday’s Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2), which would serve as a prep for a chance to repeat at Del Mar.
Last but not least, the winner of last year’s Juvenile Turf is likely to return this year in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Aidan O’Brien-trained Henri Matisse has not won a race since the France guineas (G1) in May but continues to run solid races against the world’s best milers. The classy son of Wootton Bassett seems well suited for the U.S. style of turf racing and should be a big threat to win a second time at Del Mar.
Winning at the Breeders’ Cup once is tough enough. Doing it a second or even third time places you in rarified air. Here is a complete list of those special 29 horses.
Bayakoa: Distaff, 1989, 1990
Beholder: Juvenile Fillies 2012; Distaff 2013, 2016
Cody’s Wish: Dirt Mile 2022, 2023
Conduit: Turf 2008, 2009
Da Hoss: Mile 1996, 1998
Elite Power: Sprint 2022, 2023
Goldencents: Dirt Mile 2013, 2014
Golden Pal: Juvenile Turf Sprint 2020, Turf Sprint 2021
Goldikova: Mile 2008, 2009, 2010
Goodnight Olive: Filly & Mare Sprint 2022, 2023
Groupie Doll: Filly & Mare Sprint 2012, 2013
High Chaparral: Turf 2002, 2003
Knicks Go: Dirt Mile 2020, Classic 2021
Lure: Mile 1992, 1993
Midnight Lute: Sprint 2007, 2008
Miesque: Mile 1987, 1988
Mizdirection: Turf Sprint 2012, 2013
Modern Games: Juvenile Turf 2021, Mile 2022
Monomoy Girl: Distaff 2018, 2020
Ouija Board: Filly & Mare Turf 2004, 2006
Rebel’s Romance: Turf 2022, 2024
Royal Delta: Distaff 2011, 2012
Roy H: Sprint 2017, 2018
Secret Circle: Juvenile Sprint 2011, Sprint 2013
Stephanie’s Kitten: Juvenile Turf Fillies 2011, Filly & Mare Turf 2015
Stormy Liberal: Turf Sprint 2017, 2018
Tiznow: Classic 2000, 2001
Wise Dan: Mile 2012, 2013
Zenyatta: Distaff 2008, Classic 2009