What's Going on Here: Breakthrough Breeders' Cup

This year's Breeders' Cup results brought fresh faces and fresh stories as a half-dozen trainers secured their first World Championships victories and each brought a different tale to tell. The event's opening race, the Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T), set the tone as Ireland's Ger Lyons watched Magnum Force (IRE) rally from ninth to land a half-length victory. While Lyons conceded that it's difficult to determine if a young horse is good enough, he knew that Magnum Force was a good fit. "Great temperament for the job; he wants fast ground. Comes off a fast pace. He's rock-solid made for the race," Lyons said. "All we had to find out was if he was good enough, and we found out." Part of the story for first-timer Saffie Joseph Jr. was putting his trust in jockey Drayden Van Dyke, inviting the rider who had once reached the heights in Southern California but had been slumping to move his tack to South Florida. Van Dyke is among the leading riders at the South Florida track and would guide Soul of an Angel to victory there in the Princess Rooney Invitational Stakes (G3) for Joseph. The trainer would stick with the rider for the Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), where Van Dyke replicated that performance. "You're not always on top. It's a rare few guys who stay on top. There's a lot of ups and downs," Van Dyke said. "You always need support from some people. You've got to be given opportunities. I'm super thankful for what Saffie has done for me." Woodbine-based Kevin Attard scored a victory for Canada in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) with Moira, as she posted the top Equibase Speed Figure of her career at 123. It's the second dream Moira has brought to reality for Attard as she previously defeated males to win the 2022 Queen's Plate Stakes on her way to being named Canada's Horse of the Year. A second such honor could be in the works. Trainer Dan Blacker continues the long history of success for California-based runners in the Sprint (G1) with Straight No Chaser. Michael Behrens of MyRacehorse said Blacker played a huge part in bringing out the best in the horse. "The reality is this horse had a ton of challenges, idiosyncrasies, ups and downs," Behrens said. "Dan has done a great job. He's truly a great horseman." First-time winner Cherie DeVaux also is plenty familiar with going to Plan B, Plan C, and beyond after sending out More Than Looks to victory in the Mile (G1T) off just two previous 2024 starts. "I don't know how to say it in words. It's unbelievable," DeVaux said of the breakthrough win. "We have had a lot of faith in him from the beginning, but things have not gone exactly to plan. The ownership group has been extremely patient. All the credit goes to More Than Looks." Then there's the first winner who may savor the victory most. Since 1994 Kenny McPeek had watched 17 of his runners finish second or third in Breeders' Cup races before Thorpedo Anna came through with a victory in this year's Distaff (G1). "This is a humbling business; it's not something that you can ever expect," McPeek said. "I was actually proud of a lot of seconds and thirds I have had in the Breeders' Cup because we have done it in many ways with modest money. We are pretty much outspent by a lot of players, but we run well. That's all you can do." McPeek has won plenty of big races but career patience has paid off this season. In the spring McPeek secured his first Kentucky Derby (G1) win with Mystik Dan, giving him a career Triple Crown sweep while completing a weekend where he also won the Kentucky Oaks (G1) with Thorpedo Anna. The filly is now among the favorites for Horse of the Year and McPeek figures to be a candidate for an Eclipse as outstanding trainer. Another one of racing's overnight success stories. New from BloodHorse With this issue BloodHorse launches a new digital platform for the magazine that will allow our readers to customize their experience whether on a tablet, computer, or phone. The layout is responsive to the screen size of the device and articles can be viewed in the magazine layout style or in a streamlined article view. That's just a few of the upgrades readers will enjoy discovering. This What's Going on Here column originally ran in the December 2024 issue of BloodHorse Magazine.