Breeders' Cup 2025: O'Brien Eyes History as Europe Dominates Del Mar
Aidan O'Brien's relentless pursuit of Breeders' Cup history is back in focus, with the Irish trainer aiming to claim a record-breaking 22 victories at this year's meeting. His team's steady progress through the season suggests that O'Brien still has it in him to defy the odds and write another chapter in his illustrious career.
While the excitement surrounding City Of Troy's potential Classic run last year still lingers, there is no single showstopper on display this time around. Instead, O'Brien's squad boasts a talented array of horses with Group One wins already under their belts. Minnie Hauk, Gstaad, Precise, and True Love are all expected to give the Europeans a strong hand in the three juvenile turf races scheduled for Friday.
O'Brien needs just one more victory this weekend to surpass D Wayne Lukas' record of 21 Breeders' Cup wins. The accomplishment would be nothing short of remarkable, given the caliber of trainers vying for success at Del Mar – Bob Baffert, Chad Brown, and Francis-Henri Graffard are all in the mix.
The stakes will be high on Saturday as Rebel's Romance looks to make history by winning a Breeders' Cup race three times. Charlie Appleby's star filly has amassed an impressive record, with her most recent success coming in a lucrative event over the summer.
Andrew Balding, meanwhile, is hoping for his first Breeders' Cup win at Del Mar this weekend. The veteran trainer expressed nostalgia for the track's familiarity and noted that nothing seems to have changed since his last visit as a young man.
Sovereignty, initially set to be the favorite in the Classic, has been ruled out by Bill Mott due to an infection. As a result, Sierra Leone and Fierceness are now vying for favoritism at around 3-1, with Japan's Forever Young and Journalism also featuring prominently in the betting.
The O'Brien team dominates the markets for the juvenile turf races, with two short-priced favorites – Precise and Gstaad – providing Christophe Soumillon with valuable opportunities to improve his record. The French jockey's sole Breeders' Cup winner came 20 years ago, when he rode Shirocco to victory in a thrilling contest.
Soumillon faces an uphill battle given the unfavorable draw for both Precise and Gstaad. However, Joseph O'Brien believes that his talented filly Queen Of Hawaii could outrun her price of around 14-1 and exploit Dylan Browne McMonagle's tactical speed from a favorable draw in stall two.
In contrast, Soumillon may have more success aboard Gstaad, who possesses slightly more early speed than Precise. The Juvenile Turf Sprint looks like an event where Wesley Ward's Schwarzenegger could set the pace and overcome his wide draw to win the contest.
The two dirt races on Friday's card are also anticipated to be thrilling. Percy's Bar is seen as a value price for the rematch in the Juvenile Fillies' Stakes, while Ted Noffey boasts impressive credentials having won two Grade One events by a combined margin of nearly 11 lengths.
Aidan O'Brien's relentless pursuit of Breeders' Cup history is back in focus, with the Irish trainer aiming to claim a record-breaking 22 victories at this year's meeting. His team's steady progress through the season suggests that O'Brien still has it in him to defy the odds and write another chapter in his illustrious career.
While the excitement surrounding City Of Troy's potential Classic run last year still lingers, there is no single showstopper on display this time around. Instead, O'Brien's squad boasts a talented array of horses with Group One wins already under their belts. Minnie Hauk, Gstaad, Precise, and True Love are all expected to give the Europeans a strong hand in the three juvenile turf races scheduled for Friday.
O'Brien needs just one more victory this weekend to surpass D Wayne Lukas' record of 21 Breeders' Cup wins. The accomplishment would be nothing short of remarkable, given the caliber of trainers vying for success at Del Mar – Bob Baffert, Chad Brown, and Francis-Henri Graffard are all in the mix.
The stakes will be high on Saturday as Rebel's Romance looks to make history by winning a Breeders' Cup race three times. Charlie Appleby's star filly has amassed an impressive record, with her most recent success coming in a lucrative event over the summer.
Andrew Balding, meanwhile, is hoping for his first Breeders' Cup win at Del Mar this weekend. The veteran trainer expressed nostalgia for the track's familiarity and noted that nothing seems to have changed since his last visit as a young man.
Sovereignty, initially set to be the favorite in the Classic, has been ruled out by Bill Mott due to an infection. As a result, Sierra Leone and Fierceness are now vying for favoritism at around 3-1, with Japan's Forever Young and Journalism also featuring prominently in the betting.
The O'Brien team dominates the markets for the juvenile turf races, with two short-priced favorites – Precise and Gstaad – providing Christophe Soumillon with valuable opportunities to improve his record. The French jockey's sole Breeders' Cup winner came 20 years ago, when he rode Shirocco to victory in a thrilling contest.
Soumillon faces an uphill battle given the unfavorable draw for both Precise and Gstaad. However, Joseph O'Brien believes that his talented filly Queen Of Hawaii could outrun her price of around 14-1 and exploit Dylan Browne McMonagle's tactical speed from a favorable draw in stall two.
In contrast, Soumillon may have more success aboard Gstaad, who possesses slightly more early speed than Precise. The Juvenile Turf Sprint looks like an event where Wesley Ward's Schwarzenegger could set the pace and overcome his wide draw to win the contest.
The two dirt races on Friday's card are also anticipated to be thrilling. Percy's Bar is seen as a value price for the rematch in the Juvenile Fillies' Stakes, while Ted Noffey boasts impressive credentials having won two Grade One events by a combined margin of nearly 11 lengths.
so many talented ones out there like who's gonna win that last dirt race on friday? Percy's Bar is looking good but ted noffey seems super strong too...
aidan o'brien is literally going to win his record-breaking 22nd victory and i'm not surprised one bit!!! 
christophe soumillon needs to ride precise & gstaad with confidence, those horses are gonna give the Europeans a run for their money 
can't wait to see queen of hawaii in action too!! 
and he's got his sights set on breaking that record 
. I mean, who wouldn't want to see him win like 22 times? 
the European squad looks strong as well, they're not going down without a fight 
she's got a tough draw but Joseph O'Brien thinks she can give it a go 
. Can't wait to see all these talented horses run for their lives 
!
O'Brien gotta win this thing, it's almost like he's cursed or something lol, 21 is like his arch nemesis 
I'm literally FREAKING OUT over this one! Aidan O'Brien is like, SO CLOSE to breaking that record 
and it's giving me LIFE 
I mean, the guy is on FIRE 
And can we talk about how intimidating it is to be competing against Bob Baffert and Chad Brown? 
And can we please talk about how exciting the stakes are on Saturday? Rebel's Romance is like, totally breaking records left and right 
it's like, this track holds so many memories for these trainers and I'm loving every minute of it 
The Breeders' Cup 2025 is shaping up to be an intriguing event, with Aidan O'Brien on the cusp of history 
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. With O'Brien, Appleby, and other top trainers vying for success, I'm expecting a thrilling spectacle that will leave us all on the edge of our seats 
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. I'm curious to see how O'Brien's team handles the less-than-ideal conditions on the turf. And what's with all the talk about City Of Troy? Last year's "showstopper" didn't exactly pan out... 
remember the old days when you could see the likes of Funny Cide and Big Brown go head-to-head? Nowadays, its all about the Europeans dominating the scene. Aidan O'Brien's team is definitely a force to be reckoned with but can they handle the pressure on Saturday? I'm keeping an eye on Rebel's Romance, that filly is looking sharp 
But you know what's even crazier? The fact that he's got a whole team of talented horses already winning Group One races. It's like they're all waiting for him to make his move.
And let's not forget about the racing itself... I mean, it's not every day you get to see horses running at Del Mar.
and i think its seriously gonna happen! no single showstopper in the juvenile turf races but a solid team effort & they're still crushing it 
So I think O'Brien's got a good shot at making history 
! City Of Troy was a beast last year, and Minnie Hauk, Gstaad, Precise, and True Love are all so talented 
I made a little diagram to show how the odds are looking:
. Europeans looking fierce too, can't wait to see how Minnie Hauk and Gstaad stack up 
I'm loving this year's Breeders' Cup so far! 
Still, I'm intrigued by Charlie Appleby's Rebel's Romance – making history three times at Breeders' Cup? Talk about staying power 
but idk if dat's gonna happen 
o'brien needs just one more win to tie luke and it's crazy to think about how hard he must be pushing himself at this stage of his career