2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: U.S. runners outnumber Europeans
European-based horses have won eight of the 14 renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, North American runners six, but the North Americans outnumber the Europeans 9 to 5 among the 14 pre-entered 2-year-olds who are assured of spots in the $1 million Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.
Six pre-entrants – Credibility, Ready to Purrform, Verbal, Jasper Krone, Detroit City, and Royal Spirit, listed in their ranked order – are excluded from the race barring defections.
Two pre-entrants won Breeders’ Cup Challenge races: Albahr captured the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine, and Tiz the Bomb won the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland despite breaking through the gate before the race.
Five more American horses – Annapolis, Grafton Street, Coinage, Portfolio Company, and Stolen – qualified for the Juvenile Turf through points earned in graded stakes races where Lasix wasn’t used.
Three further American horses – Dakota Gold, Mackinnon, and Slipstream – were among seven horses selected for the race by a Breeders’ Cup panel of international racing officials. Four European juveniles – Dubawi Legend, Glounthaune, Great Max, and Modern Games – filled out the seven runners picked by the panel.
Aidan O’Brien has the most wins of any trainer in the Juvenile Turf. Among them was the 2017 renewal at Del Mar with Mendelssohn. But his lone entrant this year is Glounthaune, who has only won at the Group 3 level, though he did stumble at the start of the Group 1 Dewhurst and finished sixth. Dubawi Legend set the pace in the Dewhurst and held second behind Native Trail, Europe’s leading 2-year-old colt.
Charlie Appleby trains Native Trail for Godolphin, and he has two horses for the Juvenile Turf in Albahr and Modern Games. Modern Games has won two straight, including the Group 3 Tattersalls Somerville in his most recent race. Appleby and Godolphin won this race in 2018 with Line of Duty – a horse Modern Games somewhat resembles – and in 2013 with Outstrip.
Annapolis is trained by Todd Pletcher, who also has notched a Juvenile Turf win, with Pluck in 2010 at Churchill Downs. Annapolis might well start the favorite this year. He only has raced twice, rallying strongly to win a turf-route maiden at Saratoga before tracking the pace and winning the Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont. Advanced physically for his age, Annapolis is tactically versatile and should make his presence felt, but he beat Portfolio Company by only a head in the Pilgrim. Portfolio Company’s trainer, Chad Brown, won the 2019 Juvenile Turf with Structor.
Dakota Gold debuted with a dirt sprint win at Saratoga but improved considerably capturing the $500,000 Nownownow over a route of ground on the Monmouth grass course. Trained by Danny Gargan, Dakota Gold raced at Monmouth on Lasix, which is not permitted in Breeders’ Cup races, though he ran without it at Saratoga.