Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: U S Navy Flag potential favorite

Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf three times in the race’s 10-year history, and he figures to have the favorite for the 2017 edition at Del Mar if U S Navy Flag comes to run.

U S Navy Flag would be in contention for the most accomplished European 2-year-old to run in the Nov. 3 BC Juvenile Turf if the colt becomes part of an expected large shipment of O’Brien-trained runners at Del Mar. U S Navy Flag won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes this fall, and this past Saturday, he captured the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket under Ryan Moore.

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O’Brien-trained runners occupied the top four places in the Dewhurst. In a post-race interview, O’Brien was asked about the Juvenile Turf and suggested that U S Navy Flag would be considered.

The Dewhurst winner typically is put away for the winter to point for a race the following spring like the English 2000 Guineas. The last Dewhurst winner to race in the Breeders’ Cup was Beethoven, who won the 2009 Dewhurst for O’Brien and then finished sixth on dirt in the BC Juvenile.

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U S Navy Flag is by War Front and out of Misty For Me, and is a brother to the O’Brien-trained 3-year-old filly Roly Poly, who also is pointed for a Breeders’ Cup race, perhaps the Filly and Mare Turf.

While the Juvenile Turf might have gained a prestigious entrant, it apparently lost another qualified overseas runner. Roaring Lion, who captured the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In Royal Lodge Stakes on Sept. 30, no longer is under consideration for the race, officials from the International Racing Bureau reported this week.

Among North American-based 2-year-old turf horses, there is nothing approaching a standout in the division this year, and the Juvenile Turf seems certain to overfill when pre-entries are taken next week. Two BC Challenge winners, Untamed Domain, who won the Summer Stakes at Woodbine, and Flameaway, who won the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland, are expected to start. The Bourbon was rained off turf and onto dirt but maintained its Win and You’re In status.

Other potential contenders include Snapper Sinclair, who was shipped early to California by trainer Steve Asmussen, and the California-based My Boy Jack, an eye-catching winner of the Zuma Beach on Oct. 9 at Santa Anita.

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