Breeders' Cup: See updates on Friday stars including Ted Noffey

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

Ted Noffey

Ted Noffey completed his 2-year-old campaign with a perfect record Friday with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and is headed toward the prep season for the Triple Crown.

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Sent off as the 4-5 favorite, the Spendthrift Farm colt sat close to the early pace set by Brant under John Velazquez, prevailed in the duel through the second turn and into the stretch and won by 1 length over Mr. A.P.

“I thought he ran terrific,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The race unfolded kind of just as we had anticipated it would with Brant going to the lead. We got a good stalking position. The only part of the race where we had any concern was, I guess, just inside of the eighth pole. Johnny said that (Ted Noffey) kind of saw the shadow of the building and the footprints from the gate crew right in that area. He said he kind of put on the brakes and idled a bit until he crossed over the shadow. And, once he got into the fully shadowed area, he refocused and re-engaged and started to draw away again. Up to that point and after that, everything went exactly as we hoped.”

Pletcher was wearing a tie owned by his mentor and former boss D. Wayne Lukas, who died at the age of 89 on June 28. Lukas’ widow, Laurie, presented ties and pocket squares to Pletcher and other former assistants during a celebration of life event for Lukas in August.

“I just felt like it would be appropriate to wear it on Breeders’ Cup days, Wayne being the all-time winningest Breeders Cup trainer and with remarkable achievements in the Breeders Cup,” Pletcher said. “When you think about when his stable was at its strongest, back in the day, the Breeders’ Cup was a one-day card and lot fewer opportunities than there are now.

“I guess Aidan (O’Brien) surpassed him yesterday on number of wins, but Wayne's Breeders’ Cup record, was phenomenal. He really embraced the Breeders’ Cup concept and idea early on and understood the magnitude of the event and I think was always gearing up for that every year.”

Pletcher said that Ted Noffey’s victory was impressive.

“Maybe more convincing than the final margin suggests,” Pletcher said. “Once he kind of refocused, he galloped out pretty strongly, as well. I think there was more in the tank.”

Ted Noffey broke his maiden and won the Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga, picked up a second Grade 1 win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, and stamped himself as the likely division champ in the Juvenile. His next stop will be in Florida.

“He will ship to our headquarters at Palm Beach Downs and I will talk with the Spendthrift crew,” Pletcher said. “I would think most likely that we would be pointing in the Florida Derby (G1) direction with the prep race before that. We will get him back to our winter base and go from there.”

Pletcher said that Ted Noffey looks to have the ability to handle the distances of the races in the Triple Crown series.

“He certainly gives you every impression that that's not going to be a problem, particularly the way you watch him finish his races and the way he's galloped out,” Pletcher said. “He's always trained as though he would handle added distance. So far, he's handled as far as we've needed to run him. I think we definitely go into the fall and winter with, hopefully, a Classic campaign in mind.”

Mr. A.P.

Holly and David Wilson’s Juvenile runner-up Mr. A. P. is headed for some down time following Friday’s race in which he finished second as a 20-1 proposition.

“He came back in great shape after the race,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said Saturday morning. “It was a fun day. I plan to give him a few weeks to play on the farm and then bring him back for the 2026 campaign.”

The Wilsons are longtime clients for Cerin, who saddled his fourth Breeders’ Cup starter and first since 2008 when Albertus Maximus won the Dirt Mile.

“Dave is one of my closest friends and he deserves it,” Cerin said.

Brant and Litmus Test

There were no complaints from Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert when it came to his two runners in the Juvenile. Brant, owned by Zedan Racing Stables Inc., finished third in his first try around two turns. Ridden by Flavien Prat, he was beaten a half-length for second by Mr. A.P.

Baffert had nothing but praise for the winner, Ted Noffey.

“The winner just never gave us a breather,” Baffert said Saturday morning. “It was a great ride by Johnny (Velazquez on Ted Noffey). He did not let us get away.”

Litmus Test is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.

Litmus Test and jockey Jose Ortiz finished a neck behind Brant.

“They both came back great,” Baffert said.

Baffert said he has not yet thought what will be next for both 2-year-old fillies.

“Too early to tell,” he said. “I have some other ones that are getting ready, too. I’m happy with both of them; they showed up.”

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies

Super Corredora

Super Corredora provided several firsts with her front-running victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. It was the first Breeders’ Cup win for jockey Hector Berrios, it was the first Juvenile Fillies win for trainer John Sadler and it was her first career stakes win.

“It was very exciting,” Sadler said Saturday morning. Sadler trains Super Corredora for owners Spartan Equine Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Gardiner and Michael Olszewski.

Sadler said that Super Corredora came out of the race well and will return to her Santa Anita base on Sunday morning where she will get a “full evaluation.”

“I’m not ruling anything out, but this was probably her last race of the year,” Sadler said. “She ran back in three weeks this time. We’re excited for next year. She’s well suited for the distance races.”

Explora and Bottle of Rouge

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday morning that both of his fillies – Explora, who finished second as the 3-2 favorite, and Bottle of Rouge, who was sixth – exited the race in good shape. He had mixed reactions on both performances.

Explora, ridden by Juan Herenandez, finished three-quarters of a length behind upset winner Super Corredora. The daughter of Blame, owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, had entered the race with two wins in three career starts – all as the favorite.

Her most recent start was a win in the Oak Leaf (G2) at Santa Anita on Oct. 4.

“We wanted the lead (in the Juvenile Fillies) and (Super Corredora) took it away,” Baffert said. “Hector (Super Corredora’s jockey Berrios) rode a great race. He got aggressive and got the lead from us and put us in a tight spot the whole way around. She has never been in a tight spot like that before. She ran well, we were happy with her. Would have liked to have won, but she came back well.”

Bottle of Rouge, owned by Baffert’s wife Jill, finished off the board for the first time in her four-race career. Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, the daughter of Vino Rosso was never a factor.

“Of the horses we ran, she was the only one that didn’t show up,” Baffert said. “Disappointed in that.”

Explora and Bottle of Rouge were the 27th and 28th horses Baffert has started in the Juvenile Fillies. He has won the race twice, with Silverbulletday in 1998 and Indian Blessing in 2007. Explora’s second-place finish was the sixth time Baffert has been the runner-up in the race.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

Gstaad

Trainer Aidan O’Brien, who won a record 21st Breeders’ Cup race, reported that Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Gstaad came out of the win in good order.

“He’s come out the race in good form,” O’Brien said. It was a great day and a very good performance. From his draw (post 4) it was difficult task but he won well and one we can look forward to next season.”

Stark Contrast

Trainer Michael McCarthy said that Stark Contrast had touted him ahead of his close runner-up finish to Gstaad despite a troubled trip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Three-quarters of a length separated Gstaad, the 6-5 favorite, from Stark Contrast, the longest shot in the field of 14 at 58-1.

“I thought he ran very well yesterday,” McCarthy said. “He ran the way he had trained. He was giving me all the signals over the last week. So, no surprise that he ran as he did. To see him 60-1 was pretty shocking.”

While Gstaad was making his winning run from the outside, Stark Contrast had to deal with some compromising traffic on the inside.

“Gstaad gets the jump on him, and we have to make up nearly two lengths at one point,” McCarthy said. “We were closing and closing quick. There is certainly no shame in losing to a horse with a reputation like Gstaad, who was nipped in a couple of Group 1s over there in Europe.”

Stark Contrast was well-beaten in his debut on dirt. Switched to turf, he broke his maiden at a mile and followed up with a victory in the Zuma Beach (G3) on the turf at Santa Anita.

Amerman Racing’s homebred son of Caravaggio will get a break before moving into his 3-year-old season.

“We will back off of him a little bit here and he'll probably get a little freshener for just a short time period,” McCarthy said. “Not sure how long, but we'll just kind of play it by ear with him.”

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf

Balantina

Trainer Donnacha O’Brien, the son of the Breeders’ Cup’s winningest trainer Aidan O’Brien, followed in the footsteps of his father and older brother Joseph by capturing his first Breeders’ Cup when Balantina overcame a slow start and traffic at the top of the stretch for an impressive win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. He had finished second in the race in 2023 with Porta Fortuna.

“It was an incredible day,” O’Brien said. “It was very special to get our first Breeders’ Cup win. Balantina seems healthy and happy today. I’m thankful that the owners are going to let me take her home (to Ireland). We’re looking forward to an exciting year ahead with her.”

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

Cy Fair

Trainer George Weaver celebrated his first win at the Breeders’ Cup when Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton’s Cy Fair pounced to a three-quarter length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

“She came out well, and obviously we’re proud of her performance,” Weaver said Saturday morning. “It’s a big thing for the team.”

The dark bay daughter of Not This Time found the winner’s circle with a stalking trip engineered by Irad Ortiz Jr., who took advantage of a clean and sharp break to guide the filly in several paths from post 9-of-12 to chase the pace between foes down the backstretch. She pounced from the two-path in the turn, and showed a strong turn-of-foot down the lane to drive home gamely to victory in a final time of 56.02 seconds for the 5 furlongs over the firm footing.

“I spoke to Irad (Ortiz, Jr.) about it yesterday morning before the race,” Weaver said of tactics. “I really didn’t tie his hands too much – it's a five-eighths race and I think she had to break and get some position, use your gut instinct, and luckily, Irad’s gut instinct worked.”

Weaver added that he felt confident in his filly throughout the race.

“I felt very comfortable once I saw where she was going into the far turn,” the conditioner said. “She was in a great spot and it looked like he had a lot of horse. I was feeling good most of the way.”

Cy Fair is now likely to receive a freshening after posting a 3-for-4 campaign this year, including an additional stakes win in Woodbine’s Algonquin Stakes on Oct. 5.

“I would imagine she’d get a little break,” said Weaver, who noted his other Juvenile Turf Sprint contender, Royal Testament (11th), came out of the race in good order. “I don’t think there’s a lot of importance in front of us as far as races in the United States anyways. She went to the 2-year-old sale and never missed a beat (since then). We’ll probably give her a break – not that she needs one, but it’s probably a good time to fit one in.”

Weaver entered yesterday’s Breeders’ Cup card in search of his first win at this event. Now, he enters today’s card as a Breeders’ Cup-winning trainer, and looks to further his success with Dorth Vader in the Distaff and Governor Sam in the Turf Sprint.

“We’d never won a Breeders’ Cup, so we’re just very thankful to the clients that send us nice horses, and to the staff,” Weaver said. “We have a great team of people, and we’re grateful for it.”