Benvenuto Cellini delivers for Aidan O’Brien to win Breeders’ Cup Turf

Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby hero Benvenuto Cellini swooped from an almost impossible position to land Saturday night’s Breeders’ Cup Turf in Keeneland.

Under an inspired Ryan Moore ride, and after a chequered season, the chestnut colt delivered in the $5 million contest with his victory meaning O’Brien has equalled his 2017 world record tally of 28 Group/Grade One successes in a year.

It was also an eighth win in the Turf for the Irishman who enjoyed a double on Friday’s Breeders’ Cup programme with Haffner and Sun Goddess. O’Brien is now clear of Bob Baffert in the history of US racing’s biggest meeting with 24 wins in all.

The focus will now switch to whether O’Brien can set a new top-flight standard before the year is out – a remarkable feat considering the Ballydoyle team was out of form for weeks during the summer due to a low-grade infection – although Moore’s spin will be lauded for some time to come.

Stuck on the rail, and with just two behind him on the turn into the short Keeneland straight, Moore’s sangfroid was impressive even by his own famously chilly standards.

At one point it seemed like O’Brien’s other runner, and Moore’s discard, Diamond Necklace might do the honours. But as the field eventually spread out, Benvenuto Cellini kicked into top gear up his stable companion’s inner and scored as a 3-1 favourite.

The French outsider Map Of Stars also came from the rear of the field and overtook Diamond Necklace for second. The Irish Oaks winner Johanna Walsh faded after running prominently as did Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell. Defending champion Ethical Diamond couldn’t repeat his late swoop this time.

The result was vindication of the regard that Benvenuto Cellini has always been held in, although he has sometimes not helped his own cause, most notably with an infamous Epsom Derby performance in June that technically never even happened.

After the colt opted to put a back leg on a running rail in his stall just as the gates opened, he missed the break by a stride. If it hardly seemed an insurmountable setback, the Epsom stewards remarkably declared him a non-runner as they judged he didn’t have a fair start.

Bets on Benvenuto Cellini were refunded. The horse that passed the Epsom post in 10th officially didn’t run despite a blunder of his own making.

A tendency to loiter at the start has continued through the season although it did not prevent him winning Ireland’s main classic or stop him being placed in the King George. But he did not help his cause in the Arc earlier this month and was hardly quick away this time either.

Benvenuto Cellini’s dam Newspaperofrecord was a spectacular Breeders’ Cup winner and the regally bred colt justified O’Brien’s faith that Keeneland would suit him ideally.

“Ryan gave him a brilliant ride. We always felt he was a horse for this race, and they went a good gallop, which really suited him,” the trainer said.

“He was a little slowly away [in the Arc] but came home strong and only beaten two-and-a-half lengths by the filly.

“He’s a horse that showed a lot of class. Ryan was calm and relaxed on him and let it happen. He was brilliant on him. He did it again, he had to come out and come round. Time after time he produces on the day. He accepted early he let them go, but he had one bullet to fire which he executed perfectly,” O’Brien added.

Having won all three turf Breeders’ Cup contests 24 hours earlier on “Future Stars Friday” confidence of another European clean sweep on the grass on Saturday night proved misplaced until Benvenuto Cellini.

Willie McCreery’s 25-1 outsider Jancis outran her odds to do best of the European runners by finishing third in the Filly & Mare Turf.

Both Aidan O’Brien’s Precise and the English favourite Blue Bolt failed to fire in the race which fell to a US winner in the Chad Brown-trained Kathynmarrissa.

The main European hopes faced a major task from the rear of the field up the short Keeneland straight, but it was Jancis who made the best fist of it under Ireland’s new champion jockey Billy Lee.

“She’s run a blinder and wouldn’t have been far away if things had worked out for her. She wasn’t sharp enough to hold her position early and got shuttled back too far,” a rueful McCreery said. “Billy thought Blue Bolt would take her into the race, but she hasn’t.”

Blue Bolt was a major disappointment after four Group One victories at a mile in Europe this season, including Leopardstown’s Matron Stakes over the Irish Champions Festival.

“It’s the end of a long season and she has done us proud,” her trainer Andrew Balding commented. “She got a bit upset in the gate which is unlike her, but you never know until you try it when bringing a horse here. It would be great to have her for another year, but that’s down to the owners to decide.”

A dual-Group One winner over straight courses in Europe, Donnacha O’Brien’s Comanche Brave found sprinting around a bend a very different kettle of fish and ultimately had to settle for fifth behind the US flyer Bacio.

The latter’s superiority was undoubted, especially since his summer exploits included winning in Britain over straight courses at Royal Ascot and in the Group One Nunthorpe at York on easy going.

Once again Juan Hernadez got the Wes Ward-trained star out fast from the gate and the result wasn’t in much doubt from some way out.

Ward described his horse as the fastest in the world, a view that fans of Hong Kong’s Ka Ying Rising might dispute, along with Australians whose sprinters are traditionally top-notch. To his credit though Ward is prepared to back his belief down under in February.

“We have big plans for him going to Australia in February [Lightning Stakes at Flemington] and he will go into quarantine for that this evening,” he said. “I hope he can go there and conquer something we never have, and we will of course be going back to Britain.”

Billy Loughnane, fresh from his first Breeders’ Cup success on Libertango the previous night, reported: “It was a bit tight for him, while Bacio had experience of the track. I would love to take him on in a straight line. We will see the best of him next year.”

Godolphin’s defending champion Notable Speech was another European star to miss out in the Mile, finishing fast but too late to run down Deterministic, a horse he’d beaten on his previous start at Woodbine.

“I could see after about 100 yards that he didn’t break well. From there onwards it was all going to be hard work because the speed was down the inside and we didn’t get the position we would have liked.

“It’s also frustrating that he came home as strongly as he did, but he’s lost nothing in defeat and everyone knows what a good horse he is,” Notable Speech’s trainer Charlie Appleby.

Deterministic was a first Breeders’ Cup winner for both jockey Kendrick Carmouche and Miguel Clement. It was the latter’s first Grade One success following the death earlier this year of his father Christophe.

Godolphin did pick up the ultimate Breeders’ Cup prize as the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty landed the $7 million Classic on dirt. The Bill Mott colt trained star was forced to miss last year’s Classic with a late injury, but redemption came in some style a year later.