Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf History: Dominant Europeans

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), worth $1 million again this year, is a one-mile turf test for 2-year-old colts and geldings. It was inaugurated in 2007 at Monmouth Park and this year will be contested for the 16th time. The event has been dominated by Europeans as 12 of the winners came from powerful European stables – six from Aidan O’Brien, three from Charlie Appleby, two from John Gosden and another from Francois Parisel.

American trainers to have won are Todd Pletcher, Wesley Ward, Brian Lynch, Chad Brown and Mike Maker.

Champion jockey Ryan Moore has been aboard all six of Aidan O’Brien’s winners and leads all riders in number of wins in the race while the high-powered Coolmore partnership of John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith owned them all.

In 2009, the race went from ungraded to a grade 2 and by the 2011 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs it was upgraded to a grade 1 and has maintained the grade since.

Some of the more notable winners since its inception include Oscar Performance and Mendelssohn. Three years ago, Modern Games won but is probably best remembered as having run for purse money only after breaking through the gate before the race causing the stewards to remove him from the betting. The move caused tremendous outrage from the bettors whose tickets were cancelled. The Godolphin homebred returned to America a year later to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and the Eclipse Award as the top turf horse of 2022.

In 2022 Victoria Road won and last year Unquestionable was the winner last year, both in the silks of the the Coolmore conglomerate.

The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.