Breeders' Cup Mile

Some 90 minutes after Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) finished a brave second in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, Godolphin's Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) came running at the fence with time ticking away and was along in time to prevail in the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar. It was a fourth win in five years for Godolphin, jockey William Buick, trainer Charlie Appleby and the legendary Dubawi and came 12 months after Notable Speech finished a valiant third in a bid to run the Mile winning...

DEL MAR, USA -- From the shock win of Arcangues in the 1993 Classic through the great Goldikova and Six Perfections to Talismanic, French-trained horses have left their mark on the Breeders' Cup roll of honour and it will be no surprise to see that list extended this year. Only one French trainer is here in Del Mar but he is the one who is making his own indelible mark on his country's racing scene. Francis Graffard will be champion trainer in his home country this year for the first...

5th-BAQ, 85k, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 3:05 p.m. ET Peter Brant homebred Blackfin (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), the first foal out of GI Breeders' Cup Mile heroine and champion turf female Uni (GB) (More Than Ready), debuts for Chad Brown. Brant's White Birch Farm went to $4.1 million to purchase Uni at the 2020 FTKNOV Sale. Listed at 7-2 on the morning-line, the 3-year-old filly will be ridden by Flavien Prat. Blackfin is bred on the same Kingman x More Than Ready cross as G1SW-Aus King Colorado (Aus). TJCIS PPS

It was the 2019 Keeneland November Sale and David Ingordo was busy buying mares for a Lane's End partnership. One of the prospects he landed on was Ladies' Privilege, a stakes-winning daughter of Harlan's Holiday in foal to More Than Ready, but he ended up getting outbid when Hinkle Farms went to $575,000 for the maiden mare. Ingordo didn't think much more of it until two years later, when he was out inspecting yearlings at Hinkle Farms ahead of the Keeneland September Sale. "I went through all their yearlings and...

There was a buoyant atmosphere at the Lane's End Farm stallion complex on Tuesday as a steady stream of breeders came to admire new arrival More Than Looks (More Than Ready), but a few hundred miles away in Atlanta, Georgia, the dreary weather matched Anthony Bartolo's mood. The managing partner of Victory Racing Partners, Bartolo had gotten the call from trainer Cherie DeVaux at 6:30 in the morning the day before informing him that their stable's Breeders' Cup champion had an injury that would delay any possible return to the...

Victory Racing Partners' More Than Looks (More Than Ready--Ladies' Privilege, by Harlan's Holiday), who most recently stormed home from the back of the field to win the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar, has been retired from racing and will enter stud at William S. Farish's Lane's End in 2025. He will command an introductory fee of $15,000, live foal, stands and nurses terms. Bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, More Than Looks was acquired by Victory Racing Partners for $135,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale and...

Tourist (Tiznow--Unbridled Melody, by Unbridled's Song), upset winner of the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Mile, has been sold to Fazli Yurdabak and will continue his stallion career at Izmit Stallion Complex in Turkey in 2025. The deal was brokered by Bowling Bloodstock's Matt Bowling and Murat Sancal. Also victorious in the GI Fourstardave Handicap, the 13-year-old entered stud at his part-owner's WinStar Farm in 2018, accounting for nine stakes winners from his five American crops of racing age, including GIII Valedictory Stakes winner Wentru. He is also the sire of...

French Group 1 winner Ramatuelle (Justify) sold late in the Fasig-Tipton November sale Monday for $5.1 million to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. Consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock as Hip 310, the 3-year-old filly was trained by Christopher Head for a large partnership and was a controversial scratch from Saturday's Breeders' Cup Mile after a PET scan showed bone remodeling. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' at two, Ramatuelle is out of GSW Raven's Lady (GB) (Raven's Pass).

Victory Racing Partners' More Than Looks (More Than Ready) has spent a fair bit of the last 16 months in the shadow cast by his talented contemporary, 'TDN Rising Star' Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). In three previous head-to-head battles, the $135,000 Keeneland September graduate had finished behind his rival each time, but the quirky dark bay managed to flip the script on one of racing's biggest stages, coming with a barnstorming rally--in particular in the final 100 yards--to win Saturday's GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile at Del...

Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will be a non-runner for Saturday's FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile having been scratched by Aidan O'Brien on Friday morning.  ''We just weren't 100 per cent happy with him this morning on the track so we decided to take him out ourselves," said the trainer.  The three-year-old colt is the second withdrawal from the Grade I contest in the last 24 hours after the French-trained Ramatuelle (Justify) was scratched by the vets on Thursday afternoon. O'Brien also had Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) withdrawn from the Filly...

Leading European contender Ramatuelle (Justify) has been withdrawn from Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Mile on veterinary advice. Trained by Christopher Head for owners including NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker, Ramatuelle was last seen making the breakthrough at the top level with an emphatic victory in the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp, impressing with her turn of foot as she powered clear in the closing stages to win by three lengths. Connections had been confident of a bold bid at Del Mar after being handed an inside draw but...

He's been on board for both her Group 1 wins and on Wednesday morning Frankie Dettori was reunited with Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) for a spin on the grass track at Del Mar ahead of lining up for the Breeders' Cup Turf. It has been exactly a year since Europe's most recognisable jockey signed off with a Champion Stakes triumph in Britain before jetting to his new life in California. This new chapter started in the best possible way with another top-flight win, in the Breeders' Cup...