Red-hot Paddington leads 3 Breeders’ Cup qualifiers at York

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series heats up this week with a trio of qualifiers at York Racecourse in England. The four-day Ebor Festival spans Aug. 23-26 and is packed with high-quality racing, so there’s a strong chance we’ll see contenders for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in the entries.

Let’s check out the main names entered in the three Breeders’ Cup win-and-you’re-in races.

Wednesday

York, Race 4: Juddmonte International (Group 1, 10:35 a.m. EDT)

Only four horses have entered the 1 5/16-mile Juddmonte International, a prestigious prize that awards a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. But quality runs deep, and there’s a lot to anticipate.

The heavy favorite is Paddington, a 3-year-old with seven consecutive victories under his belt for internationally renowned trainer Aidan O’Brien. He’s 6-for-6 this year and arrives at York off four consecutive Group 1 victories: the May 27 Irish 2,000 Guineas, the June 20 St. James’s Palace, the July 8 Eclipse, and the Aug. 2 Sussex. The latter two victories came against older rivals.

Paddington has campaigned primarily over one mile, but he successfully stretched out to 1 1/4 miles in the Eclipse and won by a half-length over the multiple Group 1-winning filly Emily Upjohn. Assuming he brings his A-game to York, it’s going to take a big effort for anyone to deny Paddington in the Juddmonte International.

That said, a strong field has lined up to oppose the sophomore sensation. Chief among them is the 5-year-old Mostahdaf, a John and Thady Gosden trainee last seen obliterating a deep field in the 1 1/4-mile Prince of Wales’s (G1) at Royal Ascot. Mostahdaf took home top honors by four lengths over multiple Group 1 winner Luxembourg, with Epsom’s 2022 Derby (G1) winner Adayar settling for third place. Mostahdaf is conceding seven pounds to Paddington, but don’t count this up-and-coming older star out of the mix.

John and Thady Gosden also entered Nashwa, a 4-year-old filly whom U.S. racing fans might recognize from her fourth-place finish in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Nashwa’s signature victory this season has come racing one mile in the Falmouth (G1) at Newmarket, but last season she nabbed the 1 5/16-mile Prix de Diane (G1) and the 1 1/4-mile Nassau (G1), so she’s proven capable of staying longer distances.

Rounding out the Juddmonte International field is The Foxes, fresh off a runner-up finish in the Belmont Derby (G1) stateside at Belmont Park. He won the Dante (G2) racing 1 5/16 miles at York during the spring, so perhaps returning to that course and distance for the Juddmonte International can help The Foxes outrun his odds.

Thursday

York, Race 4: Yorkshire Oaks (G1, 10:35 a.m.)

Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf contenders will square off over 1 1/2 miles in the Yorkshire Oaks, and although final entries hadn’t been released at the time of this writing, early betting suggested the race is wide-open.

Aidan O’Brien conditions the favorite, Savethelastdance, a 3-year-old filly who finished second in the Oaks (G1) at Epsom during the spring. The daughter of Galileo out of Daddys Lil Darling recently bounced back to the winner’s circle with a half-length score over Bluestocking in the 1 1/2-mile Irish Oaks (G1) at the Curragh.

Bluestocking is back for a rematch, but there are also capable older fillies and mares in the prospective field. They include Free Wind, who rattled off four consecutive group-stakes wins between August 2021 and May 2023, including the Middleton Fillies’ (G2) racing 1 5/16 miles at York. But subsequent defeats in the Hardwicke (G2) against males at Royal Ascot and the Lillie Langtry (G2) against fellow fillies and mares at Goodwood have stalled Free Wind’s momentum.

The same can’t be said of Al Husn, who enters the Yorkshire Oaks in red-hot form. The 4-year-old daughter of Dubawi has won three straight races, beating Nashwa in the 1 1/4-mile Hoppings Fillies’ (G3) at Newcastle before striking a half-length success in the 1 1/4-mile Nassau (G1) at Goodwood. Al Husn’s improving profile and recent score at the Group 1 level suggest she has a shot to surprise against her fancied younger rivals in the Yorkshire Oaks.

Friday

York, Race 4: Nunthorpe (G1, 10:35 a.m.)

Entries haven’t yet been finalized for the Nunthorpe, a five-furlong dash awarding a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. But we don’t need final entries to know that Highfield Princess is the runner to beat.

A three-time Group 1 winner who finished fourth in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Highfield Princess trounced last year’s Nunthorpe by 2 1/2 lengths and should be tough to beat in her return to York. She placed in both the King’s Stand (G1) and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee (G1) during Royal Ascot and recently returned to her winning ways with a three-length romp in the five-furlong King George (G2) at Goodwood.

All that said, Highfield Princess is facing talented rivals in the Nunthorpe. The 3-year-old Bradsell defeated Highfield Princess by one length in the five-furlong King’s Stand and has to be respected in his first start since then. The speedy 2-year-old Big Evs can’t be underestimated either, not after winning the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot and the Molecomb (G3) at Goodwood in succession. Keep in mind, juveniles have cracked the Nunthorpe exacta twice since 2015, including when The Platinum Queen finished second against Highfield Princess last year. Any way you slice it, the Nunthorpe is shaping up as a fascinating race.