Forever Young, T O Elvis Lead Japan’s Breeders' Cup Bid

As usual, Japanese horses appear intent on making their presence felt at the Breeders' Cup. That was evident Oct. 28 on the Keeneland main track, when last year's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Forever Young (JPN) breezed a half-mile in :50 1/5 in company with his Yoshito Yahagi-trained stablemate American Stage, a 30-1 outsider in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). Forever Young began several lengths behind his stablemate before the pair accelerated through the stretch with a brisk closing quarter-mile. American Stage was clocked in :50 4/5. In remarks translated by Breeders' Cup Communications representative Mariko Seki during a press conference later Wednesday morning, Yahagi said of Forever Young, "The horse was moving beautifully. I'm very satisfied." Owned by Susumu Fujita, Forever Young is trying to become the second horse to win consecutive Classics, joining Tiznow, who did so in 2000-01. Forever Young enters the 1 1/4-mile Classic off a 3 1/4-length victory in the Sept. 18 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. The 5-year-old also captured this year's $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in February before finishing second to Magnitude in the Dubai World Cup (G1) in March. Yahagi believes Forever Young prevailed in the Jockey Club Gold Cup despite running below his best. The Real Steel (JPN) horse did not change leads and was workmanlike in his first start in more than 5 1/2 months. Reflecting that, his 123 rating in the latest Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings ties him for only 21st, a striking position for a horse with two grade/group 1 wins in 2026 and more than $32 million in career earnings. He is 12-1-3 in 16 races. "I think the performance, what he showed at Belmont Park, is not good enough to win the Breeders' Cup Classic," said Yahagi, while expressing confidence the horse will improve as his conditioning advances. Forever Young is one of two Japanese runners in the eight-horse Classic, along with 30-1 longshot T O Password (JPN). Forever Young is the 2-1 morning-line favorite, narrowly ahead of Godolphin's reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty, trained by Bill Mott at 5-2. Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) winner Knightsbridge is 9-2, followed by Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo at 5-1 and Magnitude at 6-1. Yahagi is a three-time Breeders' Cup winner from six starters. Before Forever Young's 2025 Classic victory at Del Mar, he struck in 2021, also at Del Mar, with Loves Only You (JPN) in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) and Marche Lorraine (JPN) in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). T O Password also has United States racing experience, rallying for fifth in the Kentucky Derby two years ago at Churchill Downs after a slow break. He is 3-for-9 since while competing in Japan for owner Tomoya Ozasa and trainer Daisuke Takayanagi, though none of those subsequent starts came in grade/group 1 company. Now he faces an accomplished field of international dirt horses, led by his celebrated countrymate. "To win the race, we have to take on the challenge," Takayanagi said earlier Wednesday morning in translated comments. Takayanagi seems to have a stronger contender in the Sprint, where he will saddle T O Elvis for Ozasa. The colt is the 7-2 second choice behind American 3-year-old sprint star Englishman. T O Elvis arrives off a limited, unconventional campaign, with just one start in 2026: a 3 1/4-length victory in the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day. He has trained in Japan this year, but hasn't raced there since 2025. Takayanagi noted that the Churchill Downs Stakes followed a five-month layoff, adding, "He ran really well. So it's OK to have a break for him before this race." A 4-year-old son of Volatile bred in Kentucky by Jeff and Melissa Prunzik, T O Elvis is 6-0-3 in nine starts with earnings of $1,149,212. The 7-furlong Churchill Downs Stakes marked his fifth consecutive win. All his other victories came at 6 furlongs, the distance of the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Eight Japanese horses are scheduled to compete at this year's Breeders' Cup, a notable increase from previous Kentucky editions. Besides the aforementioned quartet, Lord Fons (JPN) (Dirt Mile), Ask Ikigomi (JPN) (Mile), Lugal (JPN) (Mile), and Deep Monster (JPN) (Turf) are the others Japanese connections have traditionally been more eager to run their horses when the event is staged in California, partly because the journey to the West Coast is less demanding. Takayanagi, however, credited recent Japanese success on American soil—including Forever Young's Classic victory last year and T O Elvis' Churchill Downs Stakes triumph—with encouraging broader participation. "Those kinds of achievements give the Japanese connections more confidence in running well in America," he said.