10/30/2026 06:25:00
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10/30 18:24 CDT Hughes wins Breeders' Cup Juvenile, establishes himself as
early Kentucky Derby favorite
Hughes wins Breeders' Cup Juvenile, establishes himself as early Kentucky Derby
favorite
By GARY B. GRAVES
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) --- Unbeaten favorite Hughes established himself as an
early Kentucky Derby favorite by taking control through the far turn and
pulling away for a 2 1/4-length victory over American History in the $2 million
Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Friday at Keeneland.
Named for U.S. Olympic men's hockey hero Jack Hughes, whose overtime goal
clinched the gold medal in last winter's Milan-Cortina Games, the bay colt
trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert seized the moment on his biggest stage to
date and didn't look back.
Tighter than three of his previous four victories, which came by at least six
lengths, Hughes nonetheless set himself apart from an eight-horse field
featuring three undefeated 2-year-olds. Jockey Flavien Prat guided the
even-money favorite into contention right away before surging past challenger
Coach Pope and widening the gap.
More tuneups lie ahead before the Derby next May at Churchill Downs, but Hughes
has set a high bar.
"He's just a really superior 2-year-old," Baffert said of the son of Into
Mischief and K P Dreamin by Union Rags.
"We brought him up slowly, and everything worked out. Today was his day to
shine."
Hughes covered 1 1/6 miles in 1:42.27 and paid $3.64, $2.58 and $2.10.
American History, trained by Todd Pletcher, was second by a head and returned
$3.30 and $2.54. Salahudin, trained by Baffert, finished third and paid $2.72.
Hughes' performance unfolded under a picture-perfect late afternoon sky and
headlined a slate of five million-dollar Grade 1 stakes races featuring the
world's best 2-year-olds on the first day of the season-ending World
Championships.
The status of Coach Pope jockey Jose Ortiz, who rode 23-1 long shot Golden
Tempo to victory in the Kentucky Derby, was questionable for a while after a
fifth-race spill aboard McCoy that involved Brian Hernandez Jr. on Fusta. Both
riders were eventually cleared and Ortiz told USA Network that he spent most of
the afternoon on an exercise bike to recover in time for the Juvenile.
Other Juvenile races:
--- $2 Million Juvenile Fillies: Unbeaten favorite Emphatic withstood Miss
Monica's furious rally from the back and held on by 1 1/2 lengths to give
trainer Brandan Walsh his first Breeders' Cup victory. Miss Monica once lagged
next to last through the backstretch before finding space in traffic and
darting outside to get close to Pennsylvania-bred Emphatic, who improved to 4-0.
--- $1 Million Juvenile Fillies Turf: Irish-bred favorite Sun Goddess won her
sixth consecutive start, rolling to a three-length victory over Green Empress
with Curracloe third.
--- $1 Million Juvenile Turf: Substitute jockey Ryan Moore guided 7-2 choice
Haffner to a 1 3/4-length victory, overtaking Avec Toi at the 1/16th pole and
holding off 5-2 favorite Folsom Blues for his third win in four starts. The win
over one mile gave trainer Aiden O'Brien the Breeders' Cup record for the
moment over Baffert after they entered the day tied with 21 victories. It was
the ninth race win and one of two Breeders' Cup victories Friday for O'Brien.
--- $1 Million Turf Sprint: Irish bred filly Libertango overtook Ruiva in the
final furlong and outdueled Hell of Spin and Harper's Corner for a 1 1/4-length
victory to lead off the five-race Breeders' Cup spate. The 5-2 favorite has won
four of six starts with two seconds this season. Harper's Corner was later
disqualified from third to eighth after an objection that elevated Mussab from
fourth.
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See AP's full horse racing coverage here
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