Forever Young Adds Star Power to Gold Cup, New Belmont

On a day when downstate racing in New York enters the 21st century, it's only fitting that the headliner of the card is one of the biggest international stars of the past 26 years. After ribbon-cutting ceremonies and the doors open to the public, the New York Racing Association will lift the curtain Sept. 18 on its new, ultra-modern, remodeled-for-the-era Belmont Park. Though the glass-enclosed grandstand will be considerably smaller than the previous, gigantic, built-in-the-1960s structure, the racing on the rebuilt dirt and turf courses will be as strong and star-studded as it was 1,167 days ago when Belmont played host July 9, 2023, to its last card of racing before construction started. That can be seen in the lineup for Friday's $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1), which features a star on par with the huge excitement and magical moments of Day 1 at the new Belmont Park: the Japanese superstar Forever Young (JPN). The $31.7 million earner who has won 11 of 15 career starts, returns to the United States for the first time since last year's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) where he notched a half-length win over Sierra Leone for a victory that paved the way to an Eclipse Award as champion older dirt male. "I am delighted to be able to compete in the United States again with Forever Young, following our participation over the past two years," said Yoshito Yahagi, who trains the son of Real Steel (JPN) for Susumu Fujita. "It is also a great honor to run in New York at this very memorable time, coinciding with the reopening of the historic Belmont Park racetrack. I express my sincere gratitude for the support of so many people, and the entire stable will work together to help Forever Young achieve good results." Coming to Belmont Park will serve two purposes for the 5-year-old, who first ventured to the United States in 2024 when he finished third by two noses in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1). With the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup serving as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, a victory would net the connections a free return trip to the Classic Oct. 31 at Keeneland. It also serves as an ideal prep for the Classic, following a path that was highly successful last year. A year ago, Forever Young won the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) and was third in the April 5 Dubai World Cup (G1). Freshened after that, he prepped in an Oct. 1 stakes in Japan for his winning effort at the World Championships. This year, he served up an encore victory in the Saudi Cup and was second to the speedy Magnitude in the March 28 Dubai World Cup. The JCGC will now serve as his first race in 5 1/2 months and final prep for the showdown at Keeneland. "Through these two races, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, I hope to contribute to the further development of American horse racing," Yahagi said. The JCGC loomed as a dazzling clash between Forever Young and 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, but a minor foot issue knocked the latter out of the race and ended those hopes. Instead, Forever Young's six rivals, now down to four after the scratches of graded winners Banishing and Chunk of Gold, include Jupiter Stable's Phileas Fogg, who will try to steal a page from Magnitude's playbook and use his keen early speed to spring an upset. The 6-year-old gelded son of Astern (AUS) is quite accomplished at the 1 1/4-mile distance, as he captured the last two editions of the 1 1/4-mile Suburban Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course. He romped by 10 lengths in front-running fashion in the July 4 Suburban, beating Hit Show, who defeated Forever Young in the 2025 Dubai World Cup. But this will be Phileas Fogg's first start at Belmont Park, where the 1 1/4-mile configuration has been changed to give runners more of a diagonal run to the long backstretch. "I think (the 2026 Suburban) was probably his best race ever, that's my opinion. We love the way he is coming into this race. We are very happy with the way he's doing everything, so we just have to hope for the best," trainer Gustavo Rodriguez said. "That horse (Forever Young) is a very, very nice horse. He can run anywhere. He doesn't need one track, he's been traveling all around the world, and every time he runs, he runs good. He's a nice horse, but we are going to run and hope for the best." Grade 1 winner Baeza figures to be a major factor, especially if he can put an end to his frustrating habit of breaking slowly and spotting lengths to his rivals. The 2025 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner who was second earlier in the year in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1), is coming off a fourth in the Whitney Stakes (G1) for trainer Bill Mott and owners C R K Stable and Grandview Equine, which bred the 4-year-old son of McKinzie. The field also includes longshots Stars and Stripes and Render Judgment. Stars and Stripes, also trained by Mott, enters off a win in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone Stakes following an eighth-place finish behind Phileas Fogg in the Suburban. Kenny McPeek's Render Judgment, a son of Blame, finished 17th in last year's Kentucky Derby in his lone start at the JCGC distance, but did win an allowance June 13 at 1 3/16 miles. Banishing and Chunk of Gold will await starts on the Sept. 26 card at Churchill Downs, which features both the Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) and Ack Ack Stakes (G3), according to NYRA publicity. Read: Banishing, Chunk of Gold Out of Jockey Club Gold Cup The JCGC (4:14 p.m. ET post time) will be the fifth of nine races on a historic card that begins at 1:30 p.m.