Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: Connections hopeful Canada can get a spot in field

There will be a few anxious days early next week for owners Len and Jon Green and trainer Mark Casse before Breeders’ Cup officials announce the pre-entries for the Juvenile Turf, to be run at Keeneland late this month.

The Greens, who race as D. J. Stable, and Casse hope to run Canada in the $1 million BC Juvenile Turf at a mile on Oct. 30. The race will be limited to 14 starters determined by a panel of racing executives. If the race draws more than 14 entries, the panel will determine the initial field.

Pre-entries will be announced Oct. 21. Entries will be finalized Oct. 26.

“There is a concern whether he will get in,” Casse said earlier this week. “It will be up to the committee.”

Canada, an Ontario-bred colt by Medaglia d’Oro, won his turf debut in the $211,233 Cup and Saucer Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for Canadian-breds on Oct. 4 at Woodbine, closing from third in a field of 10 to record a 10-1 upset.

Purchased for $400,000 at the Ocala Breeders Sales Co.’s sale of 2-year-olds in training in June, Canada was second in his debut in a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs on the all-weather track on Sept. 6 at Woodbine.

A May foal, Canada has been held in high regard since the auction.

“When we named him Canada, we thought he was pretty good,” Casse said. “I think there is a lot of room for improvement.”

In the last three years, the BC Juvenile Turf has attracted 17, 23, and 19 pre-entries from North America and Europe.

Casse has tried this path in recent years. In 2023, My Boy Prince won the Cup and Saucer and was third in the BC Juvenile Turf. Ashley’s Archer finished first in the 2024 Cup and Saucer, but was disqualified and placed fifth for causing interference. Ashley’s Archer was pre-entered in the BC Juvenile Turf but did not gain a starting berth.

The prospective field for the BC Juvenile Turf is led by How’s Al Today, winner of the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf on Sept. 9 for trainer Riley Mott, and Great Barrier Reef, who was a troubled third in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse in England on Oct. 10 for trainer Aidan O’Brien.

O’Brien won a record eighth BC Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last year with Gstaad. Casse is winless with 17 runners in the race, including a second-place finish by Airoforce at Keeneland in 2015.

Casse won the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf with Catch a Glimpse in 2015 and plans to start Voyager in the one-mile race on Oct. 30.

Voyager, owned by D. J. Stable, is unbeaten in two starts on turf, a maiden race at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 1 at Saratoga, and the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at a mile around one turn on Sept. 12 at Woodbine.

The win in the Natalma gave Voyager a fees-paid berth to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. The victory at Saratoga gave Voyager an important win around two turns, vital experience for the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, Casse said.

“I wanted to get in a two-turn race,” he said. “When that happened, we had the Natalma on our mind.”

Voyager led throughout the win at Saratoga and closed from seventh in the Natalma. She does not have a particular style, according to Casse.

“I don’t think it matters,” he said.

The Greens and Casse also start Nitrogen, the expected favorite in the BC Distaff on Oct. 31. Nitrogen was second in the BC Distaff at Del Mar in 2025, the year she was honored as the champion 3-year-old filly.

The BC Juvenile Fillies Turf field is led by the O’Brien-trained Sun Goddess, who won the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at six furlongs on Sept. 26 at Newmarket; Amusingly, who beat males in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp in Paris on Oct. 4; and Domestic Agenda, who won the Grade 2 Miss Grillo Stakes for trainer Chad Brown on Oct. 3 at Belmont Park.

The $1 million BC Juvenile Turf Sprint is often a popular race. After attracting 26, 22, and 24 pre-entries from 2023 to 2025, this year’s running is likely to attract more than 20 candidates. The race is run at 5 1/2 furlongs and will have a maximum field of 12.

Brickyard Belle, who won the Matron Stakes on Oct. 3 at Belmont Park, is the best domestic hope against the European-based stakes winners Libertango, Nabati, and Orthodox.