A STRONG gallop, fast ground, patient ride, turning track and a man called Mullins all adds up to an unlikely Breeders’ Cup glory. You know that the National Hunt season is underway when the NBC sports coverage of the Breeders’ Cup from Del Mar shows Ethical Diamond finishing fourth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham following his stunning victory in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf.
It was a surreal and amusing moment as the host broadcaster joined its viewers in clutching for an explanation for what they had just seen. Whilst we must acknowledge the vision and skill of Willie Mullins there were a few factors that collided in favour of Ethical Diamond that allowed him to record one of the best time performances of the meeting. His Beyer Speed figure of 107 was the best turf figure at the meeting and the second best achieved in North America in 2025. The ride he got on fast ground in an honestly-run race on a tight turning track the perfect mix for this talented horse.
Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (Grade 1)
Ethical Diamond set a new course record in recording a winning time of 2m 25.45s. Fast times are always achieved in evenly-run races. If they had run even 12s furlongs throughout the race the winner would have recorded 2m 24.40s. The fact that the race time was just over a second above that world class marker is an indication of just how evenly this was run.
Silawi took the field along through the first quarter-mile in 23.22s followed by 24.31s for the next quarter and 25.05s to get them through the first six furlongs. This even gallop was crucial for Ethical Diamond who is a strong travelling horse with a propensity to pull hard when the gallop is not honest, but he settled well in last place with Dylan Browne McMonagle making the crucial decision to switch to the rail from his wide draw in stall 13. Ethical Diamond was switched to the outside turning for home to avoid the traffic and he ran on strongly recording 23.47s for the final two furlongs to win by a length and a quarter from Rebel’s Romance. The even pace, the track record and the proximity of the multiple Group 1-winning runner-up makes this result believable. Make no mistake, this was not a fluke induced by a muddling gallop or underperforming rivals.
Over hurdles Ethical Diamond can pull too hard off steady gallops and his speed is blunted by deep winter ground but, when faced with good to firm ground at Royal Ascot in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes and the Sky Bet Ebor at York, he was able to take his flat form to a different level, courtesy of those races being well-run on ground that brings out the best in him.
At Del Mar last Saturday all the stars aligned. The gallop, the ground, the ride, the track and an intuitive decision from Willie Mullins to run a horse that could not win a Scottish Champion Hurdle in a $5 million-dollar flat race on the west coast of America.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Grade 1)
MUCH had been made of the draw at Del Mar with the common perception that a wide draw was a significant disadvantage. Results on Friday in the five Grade 1 contests did not back up this contention with two winners coming from stall 8, two from stall 10, and Gstaad from stall 14. Where horses were drawn was nowhere near as important as the pace of the races which dictated what sort of trips the runners got.
Gstaad did not help himself at the start as he jinked to the right leaving the stalls, thereafter he was inconvenienced by racing wide, but was still far too good for his rivals. He recorded a final time of 1m 34.93s which compares to 1m 35.07s achieved by Balantina in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. Both showed plenty of speed from off the pace with Gstaad quickening impressively. His final furlong of 11.41s under a hands and heels ride seeing him win by less than a length.
Strong race
This was not a strong race. The American turf juveniles are typically weak and Gstaad was not extended to win easily. Nonetheless he proved that he stays a mile when the emphasis is on speed, as it naturally was here because of the sharp, turning nature of the track. Whether he is targeted at the 2000 Guineas or the Commonwealth Cup may depend on the strength of the Ballydoyle classic team and that is reflected in the fact that he his is a similar price for both races (12/1 and 14/1).
Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade 1)
THE best time performance at Del Mar came from Forever Young in the Breeders’ Cup Classic where the first three home were the first three from last year, albeit in a different order. Unfortunately, Sovereignty was unable to compete having spiked a temperature before the race. His absence left the door open for Forever Young who boasts an impressive CV with overseas wins in the UAE Derby and Saudi Cup amongst his victories.
Forever Young was able to reverse last year’s form with Sierra Leone and Fierceness who, unlike the winner, have now been retired. The pace was strong, courtesy of a pacemaker who was in the race to secure a strong pace for last year’s winner, Sierra Leone. Forever Young was close to the pace throughout and won in a world class final time of 2.00.19s which was 0.59s quicker than in 2024. If Sovereignty had been in the race, he would have had to run a time under two minutes which is a very exacting standard when we remember that Secretariat’s iconic Kentucky Derby winning time was 1m 59.40s.
Forever Young recorded a Beyer speed figure of 111 in victory and that is the second best figure achieved this year. The best has come form Sovereignty who recorded a figure of 115 when winning the Travers Stakes at Saratoga by 10 lengths in August. Forever Young will head to the Middle East for the Saudi Cup and then the Dubai World Cup and it has to be hoped that we see an epic clash between him and Sovereignty in Dubai, given that it is the 30th anniversary of the Dubai World Cup next year and the first ever running of the race was won by Cigar who was trained by Bill Mott who also trains Sovereignty. Hopefully the stars are aligning.
Breeders’ Cup Mile (Grade 1)
THE most exhilarating performance at the meeting came from Notable Speech in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. His Beyer Speed figure of 103 was one of the better figures achieved, but it does not tell the full tale of his victory. He was ridden for luck from stall 2 and, when finding a gap against the rail, burst to the front with an electric turn of foot that has been a hallmark of his career. His final time of 1m 33.66s was 1.27secs faster than Gstaad, making him around five lengths quicker.
Once a gap appeared on the inside Notable Speech and William Buick courageously took it and surged clear to win by a length and a half. That surge comprised a penultimate furlong of 11.66s and then a rapid final furlong of 11.22s. This scenario was perfect for Notable Speech whose main weapon is his turn of foot. A turning track on fast ground where he can get some cover and be produced late is exactly what he needs and a campaign that sees him target this race again at Keenland next year is likely.
I WAS looking forward to seeing Romeo Coolio make his chasing debut at Down Royal on Friday, and he duly won impressively by 14 lengths. Unfortunately, six fences were omitted due to the dreaded low sun which meant that his jumping was not really tested.
The seven fences that he did jump produced some positive Race IQ data with him gaining 4.38 lengths on the field. A sterner test awaits, possibly in the Drinmore where we will learn a lot more.
Henry de Bromhead has his horse in fine form and Envoi Allen looked as good as ever when winning the Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday. He is a horse whose record is a delight for statistics lovers. He won the first 12 races of his career and has won 10 Grade 1s including this race three times.
BetVictor Champion chase (Grade 1)
The only surprising thing about this performance was Envoi Allen’s weakness in the market.
Everything that he did on the track suggested that he is as good as ever. He was faster than all his rivals and jumped better than all of them as well.
The race was run at a decent gallop with Envoi Allen finishing the race off strongly to record a finishing speed percentage of 109.15%.
In recording that figure he was the fastest horse in the race through each of the final four furlongs, outlining his dominance over this field. The first four home all hit their top speeds coming down the hill three furlongs from home, as detailed below.
1st Envoi Allen: 37.28 mph
2nd Affordale Fury: 37.09 mph
3rd Western Fold: 36.18 mph
4th Found A Fifty: 35.83mph
Envoi Allen gained 7.1 lengths on the runner-up Affordale Fury, with his jumping recording a Race IQ jump index of 7.1 out of 10.
His lifetime index, comprised of plenty of evidence, is 7.3, suggesting that - in terms of his jumping - he was as good as ever.
Whilst he may struggle against the very best this season, the data is clear that even at the age of 11 he is not in decline. Another tilt at the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham may be on the cards.
Wetherby headliner
At Wetherby on Saturday Djelo was the headline act, taking the Charlie Hall chase in the manner of a horse who is destined for better things this season.
This race was quite steadily run with a distinct injection of pace five furlongs from home.
The emphasis on speed suited both Djelo and the runner-up Pic D’orhy, both of whom have form at shorter.
Their FSPs of 106.98% and 104.24% highlight how well they finished, with none of the other three runners able to achieve a figure above 100%.
Djelo was fastest through each of the final three furlongs and was the only horse able to dip under 14 seconds in the third last furlong with a 13.95s split.
He backed that up with a 14-second penultimate furlong, ultimately proving to be too fast for Pic D’orhy.
In terms of jumping, the first two were efficient with respective jump index values of 7.4 and 7.9, values that are in alignment with their lifetime scores of 7.6.
Hewick not at his best
Hewick disappointed, turned out relatively quickly after his seasonal reappearance win at Thurles over hurdles.
He was readily outpaced turning for home and did not jump as quite as well as he can with an jump index of 7.8 comparted to his lifetime score of 8.2.
We need to be careful of evaluating this form as being solid three-mile form, given that it became a test of speed and the first two will probably continue to be at their best at shorter.