LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rhetorical, minor upset winner of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Coolmore Turf Mile, heads a considerable list of turf horses who raced at Keeneland over the weekend and – no surprise – are bound for Breeders’ Cup races.
Rhetorical, who with better luck would be unbeaten in five starts, and as it is has won four of those five, made his graded stakes debut in the Turf Mile and aced it. Under Irad Ortiz Jr., who stuck with the horse despite having other options in the race, Rhetorical tripped out beautifully, stalking a strong pace, taking over past the three-sixteenths pole, and holding firm to the wire for a three-quarter-length score. His time of 1:33.61 over a very firm course yielded a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, a career best and a competitive number for a Breeders’ Cup Mile horse.
Rhetorical’s young trainer, Will Walden, said on Sunday that the gelding had come out of his race in good order and was on track to ship to Del Mar later this month. Rhetorical’s combination of speed, athleticism, and burst should suit the Del Mar course, and despite coming from nowhere, he might be a true contender.
Three of the next four horses behind Rhetorical could also run in the Mile. Runner-up Program Trading seems like he could wind up in the race, though trainer Chad Brown said over the weekend that discussions with Seth Klarman, who races as Klaravich Stables, needed to take place before any plan came together.
Third-place Brilliant Berti will get a freshening and be aimed toward a 2026 campaign, said trainer Cherie DeVaux, who won the 2024 Mile with More Than Looks.
Jonquil, the Juddmonte homebred 3-year-old who shipped from England to finish fourth for trainer Andrew Balding, is an intended runner in the BC Mile. Jonquil’s trip Saturday was compromised by his wide post position. Beaten 1 1/2 lengths, Jonquil might have won the Turf Mile had he drawn better, jockey Dylan Davis said after the race.
Diego Velazquez, a mild fifth as the favorite, came to America from trainer Aidan O’Brien’s yard in Ireland with the intention of running in Saturday’s race and the BC Mile. He may well still do so.
Saturday’s other Grade 1 grass race, the First Lady, could also yield a BC Mile runner. Simply in Front got up by a neck to win the sex-restricted turf mile and will be considered for the Breeders’ Cup, trainer Eddie Kenneally said. If not the BC Mile, Simply in Front will race Breeders’ Cup weekend in the Goldikova Stakes.
First Lady runner-up Segesta will await the Grade 1 Matriarch on Nov. 30 at Del Mar, Brown said.
Connections of at least the first three home in Sunday’s Bourbon Stakes for 2-year-olds harbor designs on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Final Score, unbeaten in three grass races and fairly brilliant in his last two, will head to the Juvenile Turf as one of the race’s more fancied runners.
Turf Star, who didn’t have an ideal trip finishing second in the Bourbon, is an intended Juvenile Turf runner, trainer Graham Motion said Monday.
Gordon Pass, who roared home from last of 12 to nab third, will run in the Juvenile Turf if he can get into a race that always attracts more potential entrants than can start.
◗ Nitrogen, the 3-year-old filly who finished second by a head Sunday in the Grade 1 Spinster, will make her next start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. “She showed me what I needed to see,” trainer Mark Casse said.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.