DEL MAR, Calif. - Admittedly hung over, behind dark sunglasses, wearing a wide-brim hat with Torrey Pines emblazoned on it and a Shohei Ohtani T-shirt, Yoshito Yahagi could have been mistaken for any jubilant Los Angeles Dodgers fan early Sunday morning.
Except the Ohtani shirt was underneath a red jacket with “Forever Young” stitched on it and Yahagi was addressing a gaggle of media the morning after the Japan-based and -bred Forever Young won the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.
It was a victory that was a year in the making and one that had not entirely sunk in yet.
“I don’t feel that feeling of a big achievement yet, but when I look at the internet there’s a big display of the news in Japan, so then I realize what I did for that big achievement,” Yahagi said through an interpreter. “Still, no, I don’t feel [that] emotion yet.”
As big news as Forever Young’s victory was in Japan, Yahagi said it was overshadowed by the stirring World Series Game 7 triumph by the Dodgers, a team led by fellow Japanese countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“Of course, I’m happy the Dodgers won the World Series, but on the other side I’m sad because the Dodgers took all the news, so that’s like stealing from our achievement,” said Yahagi, who said he and his entourage watched the game from a Mexican restaurant.
While the Dodgers were repeat World Champions, Forever Young’s half-length victory over Sierra Leone kept that horse from repeating in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. While Sierra Leone is now retired, going to stand at stud at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, Forever Young will remain in training for a 5-year-old year.
Forever Young, who Yahagi said came out of the Classic in good shape, will seek a repeat victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 14 and then likely try to avenge a third-place finish in the Dubai World Cup to be held March 28 in Meydan. Yahagi said he will not run Forever Young before the Saudi Cup because he doesn’t feel the horse needs a race.
After the Dubai World Cup, Yahagi was noncommittal, but didn’t rule out a return to the U.S. for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
“We don’t make any plan after Dubai World Cup,” Yahagi said. “If he’s fresh and he says yes, then we go forward for racing after Dubai World Cup.”
Forever Young’s victory gave Yahagi a third Breeders’ Cup victory, all at Del Mar. In 2021, Yahagi won the Distaff with Marche Lorraine and the Filly and Mare Turf with Loves Only You. Yahagi said for Japan-based horses, California is the best location for a Breeders’ Cup.
“West Coast is closer to Japan, but far from Europe, now Japan to East Coast is farther [travel] than a European horse, so that means it’s a difficult challenge,” Yahagi said. “But I’d like to try for that, too.”
Yahagi said that when he returned to Japan after Forever Young’s third-place finish in last year’s Classic, it was always his goal to come back and try to win it this year.
“Of course, yes, after we got third - we got beat - we think about coming back here to revenge,” Yahagi said.
Yahagi admitted to being concerned when Sierra Leone was running at him in the stretch.
“Yes, big time,” Yahagi said. “I was expecting Sierra Leone would try to catch us, he has a great turn of foot. I was scared.”
Forever Young earned a 111 Beyer Speed Figure for his Classic victory. He was scheduled to ship back to Japan on Monday.
The landscape among the U.S.-based older males for 2026 is somewhat muddled. Sierra Leone, Fierceness and Mindframe - the second-, third- and fifth-place finishers in the Classic - are now retired. Sierra Leone, the 3-year-old champion of 2024, and Fierceness, the 2-year-old champion of 2023, are going to Coolmore, while Mindframe will stand at stud at Claiborne Farm.
Antiquarian, the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner who finished eighth in the Classic, is being pointed to a 2026 campaign.
Nysos, who won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile by a head over stablemate Citizen Bull, is possible to return in 2026. Bob Baffert, who won his record-tying 21st Breeders Cup race with this victory, said he and owners Charlie and Susan Chu were to discuss his future later on Sunday.
Nysos, a son of Nyquist, improved his record to 6-1-0 from seven starts. The BC Dirt Mile was his first Grade 1 win. He has won three Grade 3 stakes and one Grade 2.
“He’s probably the closest to American Pharoah I’ve had in the last few years,” said Baffert, comparing Nysos to his 2015 Triple Crown winner. “He could have won the Sprint, he could have won the [Dirt] Mile and if he was ready he could have been right there in the Classic.”
Baffert had wanted to run Nysos in the Classic, but a foot injury interrupted his campaign in late summer and early fall.
Citizen Bull, also trained by Baffert and the 2-year-old champion of 2024, has been retired and will stand at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud. Fellow 3-year-old Chancer McPatrick, a two-time Grade 1 winner in 2024 and the third-place finisher in the Dirt Mile, will stand stud at Spendthrift in 2026.
Among top 3-year-olds of 2025, Baeza, the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby winner who finished sixth in the Classic, and Nevada Beach, the Goodwood winner who finished seventh in the Classic, are the only ones confirmed to run next year.
Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers winner, was scratched from the Classic due to a fever earlier in the week. He is owned by Godolphin, which has not yet announced plans for Sovereignty for next year.
Journalism, the fourth-place finisher in the Classic, is slated to stand at stud at Coolmore when he’s done racing. A decision on his future is expected by midweek. This year, Journalism was a three-time Grade 1 winner, taking the Preakness, Santa Anita Derby and Haskell. He finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
On Sunday morning, trainer Michael McCarthy lauded his colt’s performance in the Classic, in which he finished fourth behind three champions and the horses who finished in the top three in the Classic two consecutive years.
“I thought it was very good, Jose [Ortiz] did a good job of getting him in a great spot turning up the backside, put in a nice run around the turn, kind of even inside the eighth pole,” McCarthy said. “All things considered I thought it was a very solid performance against a Japanese champion, a 2-year-old champion, and a 3-year-old champion.”
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