Sun Goddess seals superb season with Breeders’ Cup glory as Aidan O’Brien secures record 22nd win

Sun Goddess lived up to her billing in style and completed a superb season at the Breeders’ Cup in Keeneland on Friday night.

Acclaimed by Aidan O’Brien as the best two-year-old filly he’s trained, the triple Group One winner added a fourth top-flight prize to her CV in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf for fillies.

Sun Goddess led home an Irish 1-2-3, beating Joseph O’Brien’s Green Empress with Johnny Murtagh’s Curracloe a fine third. It was a record 22^nd Breeders’ Cup success for Aidan O’Brien.

The French filly Amusingly, predicted to be a major threat to Sun Goddess, broke a half-stride slow and was relegated to the back of the field from where she ran on to be a never nearer fourth.

Ultimately, though, it was a case of ‘barely a second’ as Sun Goddess dominated throughout. On the ninth start of a titanic campaign, the strapping filly was professionalism itself, breaking smartly to enjoy a dream passage in second behind a long-priced leader.

Ryan Moore moved before the straight and the 4/5 favourite powered home on her first start at a mile in the $1 million contest.

“What she’s done this year is very unique, four Group Ones and nine starts,” Moore commented. “It’s hard to know where the bottom of her is but she’s had a brilliant year. I don’t think you saw the best of her today.”

It was O’Brien’s third win in the race, 25 years after his first Breeders’ Cup victory with Johannesburg, who won four Group One contests himself as a juvenile. Moore was also on board Meditate (2022) and Lake Victoria (2024).

“A very special filly,” was O’Brien’s verdict and Sun Goddess cemented her status as favourite for Classic glory in next year’s 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. “Her mind, her athleticism, the way she moves. She’s very different.”

Earlier, Britain’s new champion jockey Billy Loughnane crowned his breakout season with Breeders’ Cup glory after an epic effort of will.

Making the 8.7 on his usual mount Libertango for the first of 14 Breeders’ Cup races was regarded as a non-runner so top local rider Flavien Prat was engaged for the 6/4 British favourite.

But less than an hour before the race, the Frenchman was informed that Loughnane had boiled his notably tall frame down to make the punitive weight, 3lbs lower than he’d done all year.

Trainer George Boughey had to apologise to Prat for giving him the elbow but could hardly have felt too sorry as one of racing’s most exciting new partnerships enjoyed another rare moment.

Having been mixing it with Sun Goddess at home, including beating her at Royal Ascot, Libertango was a form standout, even up against colts.

She overcame a momentary scare when Moonrise stumbled before the turn in an incident that did Irish hope Force Noir no good at all. But the favourite’s quality came to the fore down the outside and Libertango had too much for Adrian Keatley’s 33/1 outsider Hell Of A Spin.

“I’ve ridden this filly in every single race and in every piece of work she’s ever done, and I thought I was going to have to give up the ride on her today.

“I’ve watched my weight for the last two weeks. Obviously, condolences to Flavien but I managed to just get enough off in the sauna, and I’m sat on the smallest saddle I’ve ever ridden on.

“It was awful thinking someone else was going to ride her but big thanks to George and all the team, it was literally 45 minutes before the race it was confirmed,” said Loughnane who pointed to the racecourse sauna as a big help, a pointed reference to their absence in British and Irish racing.

Boughey’s alliance with Loughnane was cemented with the unbeaten Guineas winner Bow Echo this season and the Englishman’s judgment was vindicated here.

“Flavien was meant to ride and it was a very late decision. Billy had ridden her all year, and he text me when he got to the track saying he weighed in a lot lighter than he expected. I’d like to apologise to Flavien because he’d been booked a while and it was probably one of his better mounts of the day,” Boughey said.