Forever Young fires sharp work ahead of Breeders' Cup Classic

Forever Young, Japan’s reigning horse of the year and champion older dirt horse, breezed a half-mile in 51.8 seconds over the main track Sunday at Belmont Park in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.

Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, the 5-year-old Real Steel horse returned to the work tab for the first time since he won the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) on Sept. 18 at Belmont.

With assistant trainer Yuki Araki in the irons, Forever Young stepped onto the main track at 6:45 a.m. EDT, and New York Racing Association clockers caught him in fractions of 13.8 and 38.0 seconds. The work marked a sharp step up from his open gallop over the main track last Sunday.

Araki said that with inclement weather in the forecast for later Sunday and during the week, he gave Forever Young more rein in the breeze.

“I decided to breeze a little bit stronger than we planned before. It’s good,” Araki said.

Last year, Forever Young won the Nippon TV Hai at Funabashi in Japan exactly one month before he captured the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar. This year, he has spent considerably more time in the U.S. He arrived in New York on Sept. 7 to prepare for the Jockey Club Gold Cup and won it comfortably in his first start since he finished second in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 28 at Meydan.

Forever Young went straight from the barn to the main track Sunday morning, but Araki has used much of the Belmont Park property to build up the horse and keep him fresh, including the Tapeta pony track, the dirt training track and the inner Tapeta track.

“Compared to last year, this is a totally new challenge,” Araki said. “We figured out how to use (him) here and he is doing really well, so far. This morning the breeze out was pretty impressive. I checked the video. Good movement.

“When I asked him, he reacted really well and showed a turn of foot – a little bit, but I asked only a little bit. He’s following our orders well. He’s done well.”

After the breeze, Forever Young cooled out the same way he has since arriving in New York, with multiple laps along the tree-lined horse path beside the main track before a bath and a pick of grass.

Araki said Forever Young will breeze again at Belmont next Sunday before he ships to Kentucky on Oct. 20 to complete his final preparations at Keeneland. Those plans will likely include a work with jockey Ryusei Sakai aboard, in company with Breeders’ Cup Sprint contender American Stage.

“At Keeneland – planning to do an even pace (open gallop) same thing we did last week on Saturday or Sunday,” Araki said. “We will do the final breeze out on Wednesday, with jockey – and probably we will bring American Stage and do it together.”

The stablemates also worked a half-mile together last year at Del Mar on the Wednesday before the Breeders’ Cup.

Susumu Fujita owns Forever Young, who has compiled a 16: 12-1-3 record at 10 racetracks in four countries and earned more than $32.3 million. Beyond his Breeders’ Cup Classic victory, his top-level wins include back-to-back editions of the $20 million Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in 2025 and 2026 and the 2024 Tokyo Daishoten in his native Japan, where he has won all six of his starts.