Overview
- Ryusei Sakai guided the Yoshito Yahagi-trained four-year-old to hold off defending champion Sierra Leone, with Fierceness finishing third.
- Japan’s breakthrough Classic triumph reversed last year’s result, when Forever Young trailed Sierra Leone and Fierceness in the same race at Del Mar.
- Yahagi said the colt will stay in training for 2026, with the Saudi Cup on Feb. 14 followed by the Dubai World Cup on March 28, contingent on his soundness.
- Sovereignty, a leading U.S. three-year-old who scratched with an infection, is recuperating and his connections have not decided on a return or retirement.
- Breeders’ Cup ripple effects included Ethical Diamond’s Turf upset for Willie Mullins’s first Cup win and Bob Baffert tying the all-time record with 21 victories.