Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: Full field certain following 27 pre-entries

A staggering 27 horses – the most of any Breeders’ Cup race – were pre-entered for the Juvenile Turf, ensuring a full field when Breeders’ Cup Friday gets underway next week at Keeneland. Seven of those 27 made their most recent start outside North America, giving them extra credibility in a race that has been dominated by Europeans since its inception.

Of the international outfits, the strongest hand appears to belong to Godolphin, which sends over a pair of Group 1-placed colts in Cymric, trained by John Gosden, and Birchwood, trained by Richard Fahey. Cymric was recently bested just a neck by the well-regarded Ultra in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in France and looms a major threat in his North American debut.

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Trainer Aidan O’Brien pre-entered the unbeaten Hit It a Bomb – coming off a 4 1/2-length score in a minor stakes at Dundalk – and the Group 2-placed Shogun. He also pre-entered Waterloo Bridge, a Group 2 winner at Royal Ascot, but that colt was left outside the main body of the field after the Breeders’ Cup committee met to determine rankings for oversubscribed races. Waterloo Bridge is cross-entered in the BC Juvenile, with first preference to the Juvenile Turf.

The domestic contenders for the Juvenile Turf are led by Grade 2 Summer Stakes winner Conquest Daddyo and Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes winner Airoforce, both of whom earned automatic berths with those victories for trainer Mark Casse. The North American-based contingent also includes Grade 2 With Anticipation Stakes winner Azar; Isotherm, who defeated Azar in the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes; Camelot Kitten, the runner-up in the Bourbon; and stakes winner Hollywood Don.

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Cross-entered horses in oversubscribed races must declare a race by noon Friday. Two horses currently in the top 14 for the Juvenile Turf field, Ralis and Riker, have first preference in the Juvenile, while Isotherm and Hollywood Don have second preference in the Juvenile. Should any of the cross-entered horses defect by noon Friday, the next horses into the field, in order of preference, would be Ray’s The Bar, Highland Sky, Waterloo Bridge, Dressed in Hermes, and Siding Spring.

Final entries for the Breeders’ Cup close the morning of Monday, Oct. 26. There will be a maximum of two also-eligibles allowed for each race, with those ranked in order of preference.

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