DEL MAR, Ca. – Christophe Soumillon wasn’t feeling sick, was, in fact, asymptomatic when a COVID-19 test administered on Nov. 4, 2020, at Keeneland came back positive the following day. Soumillon, the only one of 55 jockeys set to ride at the Breeders’ Cup to test positive, had to miss rides on Tarnawa in the Filly and Mare Turf and on Order of Australia in the Mile. Probably he did feel sick after both horses went out and won.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Even without the star, the show will go on.
The defection of leading 3-year-old and potential Horse of the Year Sovereignty certainly leaves a void in what was shaping up to be an all-time Breeders’ Cup Classic. But the $7 million Classic and the other eight Breeders’ Cup races to be run Saturday at Del Mar, a stone’s thrown from the Pacific Ocean, will still have plenty of drama and compelling story lines to keep one’s interest throughout the championship-defining series of races.
From a training base in County Carlow, Ireland, trainer Willie Mullins has conquered jump racing in his home country and Britain in a spectacular manner. This week, his massive operation has spread as far as Del Mar and Melbourne, Australia.
Mullins will have his first Breeders’ Cup runner when Ethical Diamond starts in Saturday’s $5 million Turf at 1 1/2 miles. Ethical Diamond was a successful hurdler for Mullins earlier this year.
DEL MAR, Calif.– Jockey Rossa Ryan had a high standard to match this year after a 2024 season that included wins aboard Bluestocking in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Starlust in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
Ryan, who stands 5 feet 8 inches, won 201 races in Britain alone in 2024, the second consecutive year he surpassed the 200-win milestone.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Scottish Lassie, a two-time Grade 1-winning filly, was scratched out of Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar due to a minor issue in her right foreleg, trainer Jorge Abreu said Thursday morning.
“She galloped [Wednesday] and she schooled. She’s walking sound, but when I gave her a trot she wants to be a hair off right front,” Abreu said.
Abreu said it was his and his owner’s decision to scratch the horse, who was drawn in post 5 and was listed at 12-1 on the morning line.
Regulatory veterinarians who have been inspecting horses entered in the Breeders’ Cup races on Friday and Saturday at Del Mar in Southern California have been conducting heart examinations on the horses for the first time this year, officials said Wednesday during a press briefing outlining safety protocols for the event.
The use of heart exams is an outgrowth of recent work conducted by a working group at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority that earlier this year identified a risk factor for sudden death among horses who exhibited abnormal heartbeats at rest.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Champion jockey Frankie Dettori announced his retirement from race-riding following the Breeders’ Cup and a few rides in South America. Dettori made his announcement Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter.
“Following the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday, I will be retiring from race riding in the United States and concluding my career with a few rides in South America, something I’ve always wanted to do,” Dettori posted.
An announcement is expected on Thursday on where and when he will be riding in South America.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Every time one looked up it seemed like another gaggle of Breeders’ Cup runners were passing by the grandstand, going in one direction or another, many to and from the starting gate or paddock, on the main track and over the turf course as well at Del Mar on Wednesday. This was the busiest morning here by far with all the players currently on the grounds and the first Breeders’ Cup races just 48 hours away.
DEL MAR
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Weather: Clear
Temp.: 57°
Track: Fast
DEL MAR - The Aidan O’Brien show, always a highlight when the potent stable takes to the track for the first time at the Breeders’ Cup no matter the venue, became Aidan and Sons this year at Del Mar.
The group consisted of 13 O’Brien horses led by Aidan’s army of eight Breeders’ Cup contenders along with five others trained by his sons Joseph and Donnacha.
