Breeders’ Cup: Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi wins two races

Flip a coin erstwhile deciding which was much astonishing Saturday astatine Del Mar — Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi winning 2 Breeders’ Cup races oregon his 5-year-old mare, Marche Lorraine, scoring a shocking 49-1 upset successful the $2 cardinal Distaff.

The Distaff, traditionally 1 of the astir formful of the Breeders’ Cup races, was hardly that connected this time arsenic Marche Lorraine took vantage of immoderate outlandish fractions by the pacesetters to people her archetypal graded-stakes triumph successful her archetypal effort astatine a Grade I.

The $2 triumph payoff of $101.80 was the 2nd largest successful the 38 runnings of the Distaff, surpassed ony by Spain’s 55-1 ($113.80) successful 2000.

Horses from Japan went into Saturday’s enactment 0 for 14 successful Breeders’ Cup races and came up bare with their archetypal 2 starters Saturday, but Yahagi’s Loves Only You broke done successful the Filly and Mare Turf astatine 4-1 to extremity that drought and Marche Lorraine completed the 1-2 punch 3 races aboriginal with jockey Oisin Murphy aboard, outlasting different longshot, Dunbar Road (12-1), by a nose.

Japanese horses are present 2 for 20 astatine the Breeders’ Cup, and possibly the 2nd triumph tin beryllium chalked up to the suicidal gait acceptable by Private Misson and jockey Flavien Prat, with Letruska blistery connected her heels. Private Mission went 21.84, 44.97 and 1:09.70 for the 1 1/8 miles and finished last. Letruska, the 8-5 favorite, was adjacent to last, beaten 32 lengths.

“I tried to disregard her likelihood and conscionable springiness her each accidental successful the run, and hopefully she could decorativeness off,” said Murphy, whose triumph was his archetypal astatine the Breeders’ Cup. “To beryllium honest, we were evidently a hostage to fortune. I sat retired the backmost and they went rather quick. We needed them to bash that, but it was a superb performance.”

Said Yahagi done an interpreter: “Traveling with 2 fillies from Japan wasn’t the perfect plan, and truthful Marche Lorraine was a bully spouse for Loves Only You. Marche Lorraine had 3 victories implicit turf successful Japan.”Now she has 1 precise large 1 successful the U.S.

TURF

Godolphin Stable and trainer Charles Appleby continued their beardown weekend, winning their 3rd contention with Yibir successful the $4 cardinal writer marathon. Jockey William Buick was aboard each 3 winners.

Appleby had 2 runners scratched astatine the gross the past 2 days and different scratched but past allowed to tally and triumph Friday’s Juvenile Turf, albeit arsenic a non-wagering involvement for purse wealth only.

Yibir, sent postward astatine 8-1, came charging location connected the extracurricular done the agelong and edged Broome (9-1) by a half-length for his sixth triumph successful 12 starts, covering the 1 1/2 miles successful a course-record 2:25.90.

SPRINT

Aloha West, astatine 11-1 the 2nd biggest longshot victor of Saturday’s 9 Breeders’ Cup races, came charging location connected the extracurricular nether Jose Ortiz to borderline Dr. Schivel by a chemoreceptor successful the $2 million, 6-furlong race.

The Sprint has produced the astir longshot Breeders’ Cup winners dating backmost to the event’s inception astatine Hollywood Park successful 1984, and it happened again this twelvemonth aft Whitmore’s 18-1 astonishment successful 2020 astatine Keeneland.

Dr. Schivel, who went successful 3 for 3 astatine Del Mar and a victor of 5 consecutive races dating to past year, had enactment favored Jackie’s Warrior distant and appeared headed to triumph earlier the Wayne Catalano-trained Aloha West got up successful the past jump. Jackie’s Warrior finished sixth.

Final clip was 1:08.49.

MILE

Appleby won his 2nd Breeders’ Cup contention of the weekend, taking the $2 cardinal writer contention with 2-1 favourite Space Blues arsenic Buick besides scored a riding double.

Appleby and Buick teamed up to triumph Friday’s Juvenile Turf with Modern Games aft his stablemate, Albahr, was scratched erstwhile helium became formed successful the gate. In this one, Appleby’s different runner, Master of The Seas, was scratched aft rearing and hitting his caput successful the starting gate.

The 5-year-old Space Blues held disconnected Smooth Like Straight by a half-length portion moving the region successful 1:34.01.

DIRT MILE

Life Is Good, the 3-5 favorite, enactment connected rather a amusement successful the $1 cardinal event, going gross to ligament done lightning-quick fractions of 21.88, 44.94 and 1:08.76 to triumph by 5 3/4 lengths — the second-largest triumph borderline successful the 15 runnings of the race.

A 3-year-old lad of Into Mischief who was this year’s Kentucky Derby favourite earlier wounded took him disconnected the Triple Crown trail, Life Is Good won for the 5th clip successful six starts portion moving the 1 mile successful 1:34.12. Ginobili finished second.

Life Is Good, who was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and is trained by Todd Pletcher, could beryllium destined for the $20 cardinal Saudi Cup and/or $12 cardinal Dubai World Cup aboriginal adjacent year.

FILLY AND MARE SPRINT

Gamine, the 2-5 favorite, went successful arsenic the lone five-time Grade I stakes victor who’d ever tally successful this $1 cardinal race, but it was Ce Ce who claimed apical prize with a come-from-behind triumph nether Victor Espinoza for trainer Michael McCarthy.

Ce Ce, 4th up the backside successful the six-horse field, rallied connected the extracurricular turning for home, took the pb aboriginal successful the agelong and drew wide to triumph by 2 1/2 lengths portion moving the 7 furlongs successful a swift 1:21.

Edgeway, a 16-1 longshot, finished second, three-quarters of a magnitude successful beforehand of Gamine, who was bidding to go the 2nd repetition victor of the race. She won past twelvemonth astatine Keeneland by 6 1/4 lengths.

FILLY AND MARE TURF

Loves Only You, the 4-1 3rd prime successful the wagering, became the archetypal equine from Japan to triumph a Breeders’ Cup contention successful 17 tries, splitting horses successful the last sixteenth of a mile nether jockey Yuga Kawada successful the $2 cardinal race.

The erstwhile champion finishes by Japanese horses were Red Desire’s fourth-place decorativeness successful the 2010 Filly and Mare Turf and Trailblazer’s fourth-place effort successful the 2012 Turf.

Trained by Yahagi, Loves Only You bushed My Sister Nat by a half-length portion moving the 1 3/8 miles successful 2:13.87. She won the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Cup successful Hong Kong connected April 25.

Kawada and Yahagi were making their Breeders’ Cup debuts.

TURF SPRINT

Trainer Wesley Ward says Golden Pal is the champion equine he’s ever trained, and the 3-year-old Uncle Mo colt backed that appraisal with a gate-to-wire triumph successful the $1 million, 5-furlong sprint arsenic the 5-2 favorite.

Golden Pal gave Ward his 2nd Breeders’ Cup triumph of the play (he won the Juvenile Turf Sprint with Twlight Gleaming) portion becoming lone the 5th equine to triumph 2 antithetic Breeders’ Cup races. He won past year’s Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Golden Pal bushed Lieutenant Dan by 1 1/4 lengths, moving the region successful 54.75 seconds arsenic helium won for the 5th clip successful 8 starts.