While the Coolmore Turf Mile, a Grade 1 with a $1.25 million purse, carries heft in its own right, it also serves as a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Mile. And this year’s renewal, featured race Saturday on a blockbuster Keeneland card, came up Breeders’ Cup-tough.
The dozen entrants include a trio of Europeans, an unusually strong overseas presence in this race. Connections of all three have legitimate Breeders’ Cup hopes. Diego Velazquez won a Group 1 in his last start; Woodshauna won a Group 1 over the summer; and Jonquil missed by a head in a Group 1 in May.
The Americans hit hard, too. Program Trading won three Grade 1s before going to the sidelines for more than a year. He narrowly missed landing the Bernard Baruch at Saratoga coming back from the long break, and his vanquisher, Donegal Momentum, also runs Saturday.
Epic Ride scored a standout victory last month in the $2.5 million Mint Millions at Kentucky Downs. Stretchout sprinter Howard Wolowitz with a better trip probably wins the $1.87 million Turf Sprint a week earlier at Kentucky Downs, and his trainer, Jose D’Angelo, has torn through the Kentucky circuit since setting up a Churchill Downs string in August.
Quatrocento went back-to-back in rich Kentucky Downs allowance miles, and Mercante nearly upset the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic in May. Rhetorical has four wins from five career starts and ran a winning race in his lone defeat. Brilliant Berti won the Bryan Station a year ago in his lone Keeneland start. Only Beach Gold appears emphatically overmatched.
Frankie Dettori rode Rebel’s Romance to an easy win in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic last weekend for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby, and trainer Aidan O’Brien gives Dettori the call on Diego Velazquez, reasonably pegged as the 7-2 morning-line favorite.
O’Brien, who won this race in 2002 and 2006, trained Diego Velazquez for his usual Coolmore connections through July, but Sam Sangster subsequently bought the colt as a stallion prospect. It took all of one start for O’Brien to engineer a stallion-making win: In August, Diego Velazquez won the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, one of Europe’s premier miles, by a head over major Breeders’ Cup Mile hope Notable Speech.
A Group 2 winner during a two-race juvenile campaign, Diego Velazquez went on to contest French classics to start his 3-year-campaign, catching, to his detriment, soft going in the French 2000 Guineas and heavy ground in the French Derby. A 10th-place finish over much firmer footing in the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot 2024 showed, if nothing else, that Diego Velazquez wanted no part of 1 1/2 miles. Cut back in trip, Diego Velazquez notched two solid Ireland wins to cap his 3-year-old campaign, hiccupped making his 2025 bow in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, then won the Grade 2 Minstrel on his way to Marois glory.
By Frankel, Diego Velazquez lacks a brilliant turn of foot and instead goes about his business, his white-blazed head carried low, on or near the lead. With faster American speed entered, Dettori should plunk him into the second flight from post 4.
Juddmonte homebred 3-year-old Jonquil ships to America for England-based trainer Andrew Balding in search of his first Group or Grade 1 but drew poorly in post 12. Jonquil, a Lope de Vega colt of modest stature, aced his 3-year-old debut in the Greenham Stakes, and in his second outing this year finished second by a head to 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero Henri Matisse in the French 2000 Guineas. Jonquil, who has displayed headstrong tendencies, pulled a little too hard during the French Guineas before Henri Matisse steamrolled him a furlong from the finish. Rather than give up, Jonquil counter-attacked – one more jump and he wins that race.
Seeking to avoid the top-class 3-year-old Juddmonte miler Field of Gold, connections cut Jonquil back to six furlongs at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup. Jonquil didn’t like that at all, ran below his baseline again going seven furlongs in the Group 2 Lennox, and finally got back on track Aug. 24 at Goodwood winning the Group 2 Celebration Mile. Jonquil settled better in the Celebration. Balding, who has his first North American runner this year, won the Nashville Derby with Bellum Justum and the Summer Stakes with New Century last season.
John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock bought Woodshauna from Al Shaqab Racing after the 3-year-old won the Group 3 Prix Texanita in May. Resolute kept Woodshauna with trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, and Woodshauna in his first start for the new owners captured the Prix Jean Prat, an age-restricted seven-furlong Group 1. Most recently, Woodshauna closed decently for third in the 6 1/2-furlong Prix Maurice de Gheest on Aug. 10, and while he has yet to race beyond seven furlongs, Woodshauna will stay an American two-turn mile. He’s a habitual slow-breaker who will race nearer the back of the field than the front and come with one run.
Program Trading, before his injury layoff, won the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational by a head, the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby by a neck, and the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill by a head. High-class but lacking brilliance, he could not quite reach Donegal Momentum, more a Grade 3-type miler than Grade 1, in the Bernard Baruch. Program Trading should move forward from that start but has never raced over a distance as short as one mile.
Donegal Momentum must use his ample speed breaking from the rail but is no faster than Epic Ride. Quatrocento won’t lag much behind those two, and Howard Wolowitz could find his way into the pocket from post 3.
Wiped out on the turn in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last year, Howard Wolowitz, racing for the first time since February, got stuck inside and behind horses Aug. 30 in the Turf Sprint. Breaking into the clear too late, he gained quickly on the winner and galloped out with aplomb. D’Angelo’s Kentucky string during late summer and early autumn has gone 16-6-5-0, including stakes wins at Churchill from Breeders’ Cup Sprint hopeful Bentornato and at Kentucky Downs from Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint candidate Shisospicy. To win the Turf Mile, D’Angelo will need a Breeders’ Cup-level performance from Howard Wolowitz.
The Turf Mile is the 10th race and one of five stakes on a card that includes the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, Grade 1 First Lady, Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America, and Grade 2 Woodford. The Turf Mile, Breeders’ Futurity, and TCA are all Breeders’ Cup Challenge races.
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