Storm the Court stuns in 45-1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile upset

And that's why they run the races...

Storm the Court, away at 45-1 in a field headed by buzz 2-year-olds Dennis' Moment and Eight Rings, took them all the way with blinkers on under jockey Flavien Prat to win Friday's featured $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

The trip happened after Dennis' Moment, from the inside post, stumbled as an odds-on favorite and never got involved in the race. Eight Rings, meanwhile, pressed the pace before fading badly in the stretch.

"On the lead, he just seems to never give up," trainer Peter Eurton said of Storm the Court, who covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.93. He set fractions of :23.49, :47.07 and 1:11.60.

It was bombs filling out the rest of the board, too, as Anneau D'or – excluded from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and making his dirt debut – was a close second at 28-1. Wrecking Crew finished third at 39-1.

With those long odds came big payouts. Storm the Court returned $93.80 to win, while a $1 exacta paid $488.20 and a 50-cent trifecta returned $1,965.25.

In winning a Breeders’ Cup race at long odds, Storm the Court continued a family legacy. His sire, Court Vision, took the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Mile as a 65-1 shot.

Storm the Court broke his maiden Aug. 10 at Del Mar, then got involved in Eight Rings' mishap leaving the gate Sept. 2 in the Del Mar Futurity (G1). He was third behind Eight Rings when all riders were on in the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) on Sept. 27 as a final prep.

Storm the Court runs for Exline-Border Racing and partners, who fetched him for a bargain $60,000 at auction.

Prat, capping a huge season that included a Kentucky Derby win and Del Mar riding title, went back to the day he was dismounted in the Del Mar Futurity.

"He showed up at the right time," the jockey said. "He showed more speed. I think last time was kind of a lack of experience -- the fact that we didn't run the seventh-eighths (of a mile).

"He ran the right race at the right time."

With his victory Friday, Storm the Court also earned 20 points on the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, giving him a lead in that category.

Runner-up Anneau d’Or is a Medaglia d’Oro colt trained by Blaine Wright, who primarily runs horses in Northern California. The Juvenile marked Anneau d’Or’s first start since breaking his maiden on debut Sept. 29 at Golden Gate.

“At the eighth pole, I thought he might win,” Anneau d’Or jockey Juan Hernandez said, “but (Storm the Court) came back again and got me.”

Third-place Wrecking Crew has now hit the board in three straight graded stakes for trainer Peter Miller. He ran second at Del Mar in both the Best Pal Stakes (G1) on Aug. 10 and the Del Mar Futurity.

2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby top 10 (U.S.-based runners)

1. Storm the Court, 22

t-2. Maxfield, 10

t-2. Tiz the Law, 10

t-2. Eight Rings, 10

t-2. Dennis’ Moment, 10

6. Anneau d’Or, 8

7. Scabbard, 6

t-8. Green Light Go, 4

t-8. Gouverneur Morris, 4

t-8. American Theorem, 4

t-8. Wrecking Crew, 4