Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile: Further Ado goes from Classic longshot to top contender
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LEXINGTON, K.Y. – When the game of musical races stopped, Further Ado went from being a live longshot in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic to the likely favorite in Saturday’s $1 million Dirt Mile at Keeneland.
Further Ado was one of 11 horses pre-entered for the Dirt Mile and a second race. While the connections of some of those horses waited until a decision on which race the talented Knightsbridge was going to run in, trainer Brad Cox said looking at the prospective fields for the two races after pre-entries were announced made his and owner Spendthrift Farm’s decision easier.
“Comparing the two fields, if you’re trying to win a Grade 1, there’s no doubt which one’s deeper,” Cox said. “The Classic’s a really good race.”
The Classic field came up an eight-horse field with two Kentucky Derby winners (Sovereignty and Golden Tempo), the defending BC Classic winner (Forever Young), and Grade 1 winners Magnitude, Knightsbridge, Napoleon Solo, and The Puma.
Though the Dirt Mile field came up with an 11-horse field, the only other Grade 1 winners besides Further Ado are 2024 Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano and Goodwood winner Forged Steel.
What makes Further Ado an attractive betting proposition is his affinity for Keeneland. At 2, he won a maiden race here by 20 lengths. This year, he won the Grade 1 Blue Grass by 11 lengths. That performance made him the lukewarm 5-1 Kentucky Derby favorite. He finished 11th.
Cox said Further Ado’s performances winning the Matt Winn at Churchill Downs in June and running second to The Puma in the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing in September were fast races too.
“I think it’s great that he likes it here and he’s had two blowout wins; I don’t think he’s going to blow the horses out in the Dirt Mile,” Cox said. “But I will say this, he ran a figure in the Pennsylvania Derby and the Matt Winn that matches up or is maybe even a little better than the figures he ran here, depending on which figures you use.”
Further Ado will be ridden by Flavien Prat and break from the rail. There appears to be ample speed for him to follow, led by Chunk of Gold, who has finished second in eight of his 13 career races, including his last three. His speed has shown itself since trainer Ethan West added blinkers. West said he plans to cut the blinkers back some for the Dirt Mile, hoping to take some of the aggression out of the colt.
Like Further Ado, Chunk of Gold has shown an affinity for Keeneland, having won his only start here, an allowance by 8 1/4 lengths last October.
T Kraft and Iron Man Cal were both pre-entered in the Sprint but went in here when Knightsbridge went to the Classic. T Kraft, winner of the Grade 3 Vosburgh, is likely going to the front from post 2, and Iron Man Cal is almost certainly forced to go forward from post 11. Forged Steel and Full Serrano are both forward factors.
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This could all be good news for Coal Battle, who, like Further Ado, Chunk of Gold, and fellow Dirt Mile entrant Owen Almighty, competed in the 2024 Kentucky Derby.
Coal Battle, winless in nine starts since taking the Grade 2 Rebel in February 2025, came within a head of Bishops Bay in the one-turn Grade 3 Ack Ack in his last start.
“If they go 44, 45, he’s going to be coming down that stretch,” trainer Lonnie Briley said. “I think he can run a big race.”
Jorge Vargas rides from post 5.
Owen Almighty beat Coal Battle in the R.A. Cowboy Jones at Ellis Park.
Bracket Buster, who also likes to be forward, is coming off a second-place finish when running from behind horses in the Parx Dirt Mile, as he was trapped along the rail and got caught behind a tiring pacesetter. The winner, Wild Vine, came back to win another listed stakes at Parx.
“He’s just so naturally fast out of the gates, that’s why he usually always sits pretty close if not on the lead,” trainer Vicki Oliver said. “I think he’ll adapt if there is a lot of speed. I think he’s a very kind horse, he doesn’t have to have the front end. If they all go quick, he’ll sit off the pace.”
Full Serrano won this race in 2024 as a 13-1 shot after running second in the Pacific Classic and missing the Goodwood Stakes due to a temperature. Last year, Full Serrano finished fifth in the Dirt Mile after running in the Goodwood Stakes.
This year, Full Serrano has had what trainer John Sadler called an “unlucky year. When he needed time, it was at the wrong time.”
Sadler wanted to run him at Del Mar in the San Diego but missed that race due to a minor issue. Instead, he ran him in the Pacific Classic where he dueled with Knightsbridge through fast fractions before finishing third.
“I wouldn’t have run him at Del Mar at a mile and a quarter, but he missed the San Diego and Del Mar is one of his favorite tracks, so it was either run or you don’t run,” Sadler said.
“He ran bravely in the Pacific Classic. We were delighted with his effort. He wasn’t going to beat the winner. For him to be at his best for the Breeders’ Cup we skipped the Goodwood, trained him into this race, which he did his winning year.”
The connections of Forged Steel would have probably gone in the Classic if this year’s Breeders’ Cup were at Santa Anita. Forged Steel won the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup and the Grade 1 Goodwood, both at Santa Anita this year. He is another in a long lineup of potential pace players.
Japan’s Lord Fons, Owen Almighty, and Moonlight, winless in seven starts this year, complete the field.
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