BC Juvenile Turf: Euro shippers prominent in pre-entries

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf will be contested in Southern California with a very European feel.

Eight of the 14 horses in the race’s main body are European shippers, and overseas horses figure to rule the top of the betting market. U S Navy Flag is the 3-1 favorite on Daily Racing Form handicapper Brad Free’s early line for the race, and Euro shippers also occupy the next five positions on Free’s line. Behind U S Navy Flag on the line come Masar, Nelson, James Garfield, Beckford, and Mendelssohn.

Aidan O’Brien trains U S Navy Flag, Nelson, and Mendelssohn, but it’s likely only Nelson and one of the other two pre-entrants will start in the Juvenile Turf. Mendelssohn was pre-entered with first preference in the Juvenile, while U S Navy Flag has second preference in that race. U S Navy Flag won the Group 1 Dewhurst in his most recent start, a race in which Mendelssohn finished second. Mendelssohn is a half-brother to dirt champion Beholder, but O’Brien reportedly is seriously considering U S Navy Flag for the Juvenile.

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The last Dewhurst winner to contest a Breeders’ Cup race, Beethoven in 2009, also was trained by O’Brien, who ran him in the Juvenile, which was contested that year on Santa Anita’s old all-weather main track.

Nelson won the Group 3 Golden Fleece Watson’s Champion Stakes in Ireland and thus is one of three Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners who gained automatic entry into the Juvenile Turf. The others are Untamed Domain, who won the Summer Stakes at Woodbine, and Flameaway, who won the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland. The Bourbon was rained off turf but retained its Win and You’re In status, and Flameaway has in fact never raced on grass.

The Juvenile Turf massively oversubscribed, with 27 horses pre-entered for 14 spots in a race that will be run at one mile this year. The first horse outside the field’s main body is My Boy Jack, whose flashy late run to win the Zuma Beach Stakes was among the best turf performances by a North American 2-year-old this year. If one of the O’Briens goes into the Juvenile, My Boy Jack gets a spot in the Juvenile Turf.

Snapper Sinclair, who impressively won a rich Kentucky Downs turf stakes, is 2 for 2 on grass and was shipped to California several weeks ago to train for the Juvenile Turf, is the second also-eligible.

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Masar, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, was to have run in the Racing Post Trophy this weekend, but with soft turf likely for that race, Masar’s connections changed course to point to the Juvenile Turf. Masar most recently was third in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

U S Navy Flag might be the most accomplished overseas runner to start in the Juvenile Turf if he actually runs, having won the Group 1 Middle Park before the Dewhurst. Beckford and James Garfield are less credentialed, but both have flashed ability and been pointed to Del Mar for weeks, if not months.