Some Breeders’ Cup winners are better than others. It’ America’s very own world championships of racing, when some of the best talents from all around the world come to the United States to join the home team in vying for major prizes on both turf and dirt surfaces. Ahead of this year’s instalment at Del Mar, here’s a reminder of five famous winners from the UK and Ireland.
5 Famous UK/Irish Breeders Cup Winners
The Breeders’ Cup was inaugurated in 1984 and, a year later, trainer Clive Brittain and jockey Pat Eddery teamed up in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum with multiple Group 1-winning filly Pebbles to land the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Breeders Cup Winners: Pebbles – 1985 Breeders’ Cup Turf
She was the first British-based Breeders’ Cup heroine and Pebbles had already made history as the first female ever to win the Eclipse at Sandown. She met some trouble in running but came home strongly at Aqueduct Racetrack, justifying connections’ decision to pay the supplementary fee of $24,000.
Breeders Cup Winners: Ouija Board – Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (04′ & 06′)
The outstanding filly of her generation, the Ed Dunlop-trained Ouija Board won the Epsom and Irish Oaks in the summer of 2004. She would head to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Lone Star Park in Texas that autumn, where she won the Filly & Mare Turf in the hands of Kieren Fallon for owner Lord Derby.
Her four-year-old season was interrupted by injury, though she signed off with a win in the Hong Kong Vase after finishing second in the Filly & Mare Turf. By 2006, Frankie Dettori was the man on board as she won the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the Nassau Stakes and her second Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Breeders Cup Winners: St Nicholas Abbey – Breeders’ Cup Turf (2011)
A son of the mighty Montjeu, St Nicholas Abbey was always regarded highly by the team at Ballydoyle and he was an unbeaten two-year-old in 2009 as he won the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on his final start. He was beaten in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on his comeback in what proved his only three-year-old start, but a win in the 2011 Coronation Cup at Epsom showed his talents were intact.
At Churchill Downs he powered home in the hands of Joseph O’Brien to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf and he would add two more Epsom wins in 2012 and 2013, as well as a Dubai Sheema Classic in between.
Breeders Cup Winners: Enable – Breeders’ Cup Turf (2018)
The John Gosden-trained Enable was the darling of European racing during her career. She won an Oaks treble at Epsom, the Curragh and York in 2017, before landing the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe the same season. She would retain her Paris crown in 2018 and also went to America to showcase her talents in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, where she fended off Aidan O’Brien’s Magical, after which Dettori declared his filly to be a ‘superstar’.
Breeders Cup Winners: Auguste Rodin – Breeders’ Cup Turf (2023)
A son of Deep Impact, Aidan O’Brien’s Auguste Rodin enjoyed a stellar 2023 season which included wins in the English and Irish Derbys, as well as the Irish Champion Stakes en route to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita. There he was given a daring ride by Ryan Moore, sneaking up the running rail off the home bend to power clear and win.
Please note that the information provided in this article about Breeders Cup Winners is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
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