AIDAN O’Brien has three strong favourites for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf races at Del Mar next Friday night, and on Saturday his team is headed by Minnie Hauk in the Turf. Final declarations will be made on Monday and O'Brien says he hopes to have eight runners in total.

His Friday team of True Love, Precise and Gstaad look to have outstanding credentials on Friday’s card.

Winner of the Queen Mary, Railway and Cheveley Park Stakes already this season, True Love is by far the most accomplished entry in the Juvenile Turf Sprint over five furlongs. She could be again challenged by Cheveley Park runner-up Havana Anna (trained by Donnacha O’Brien), while Wesley Ward is aiming his $950,000 yearling purchase Schwarzenegger at the race.

Precise appears to be the Ballydoyle first string for the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Already the winner of the Moyglare Stud Stakes and the Fillies’ Mile - both Group 1 contests - she has little to fear from the locals if taking the trip to California well.

Gstaad - like Precise, by Starspangledbanner - has been another very reliable two-year-old for O’Brien this season, winning the Coventry Stakes and finishing close up in both the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes and the Dewhurst. He is the even-money favourite for the Juvenile Turf, a race the stable has won for the past three seasons with Victoria Road, Unquestionable and Henri Matisse.

The Juvenile Turf is over a mile, a trip not yet tried by Gstaad.

O’Brien said: “He came out of the Dewhurst well. We think the fast ground and a mile will suit him.”

Saturday squad

O’Brien’s Saturday squad is headed by the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Minnie Hauk.

The filly, a three-time Group 1 winner, missed out by just a head at ParisLongchamp earlier in the month and now has the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf in her sights.

“Our races have been nicely spaced out this year and she came out of the Arc well; everybody seems happy with her so that’s what we’re thinking at the moment,” the trainer said.

Of the fast ground, the trainer added: “Yes, she loves it. She’s a very good mover, she would love fast ground, absolutely.”

O’Brien is keen to see her take on the colts and geldings again, with Found in 2015 proving to O’Brien it can be done.

Tarnawa and Enable are other fillies who have come out on top in the race in recent years.

At Del Mar, Minnie Hauk will have to beat last year’s winner Rebel’s Romance. The Godolphin-owned seven-year-old has won a remarkable 20 races in his career, including nine at Group/Grade 1 level. He has been better than ever this season, scoring at Qatar, York, Royal Ascot, Cologne and Baden-Baden.

Another filly travelling from Ballydoyle to California is Bedtime Story, who finished fourth to Kalpana in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot last weekend.

O’Brien said: “She ran well, very happy. She’d probably have preferred a stronger pace, but ran very well. She definitely could go for the Filly & Mare Turf, that’s what we’re thinking.”

The likely favourites for that race are Andrew Balding’s See The Fire and Cherie de Vaux’s She Feels Pretty.

O’Brien also confirmed that The Lion in Winter could go for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile. The favourite for that race is Godolphin’s Notable Speech who finished third last year. The four-year-old has been in good form this season, most recently winning the Woodbine Mile easily.

ADRIAN Murray has a smart team of Amo Racing-owned sprinters en route to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup meeting.

Arizona Blaze leads the way, with the three-year-old son of Sergei Prokofiev last seen winning the Flying Five at the Curragh ahead of his third-placed stablemate Bucanero Fuerte.

It was a return to form for the former, who was unplaced in the Nunthorpe on his previous start but had enjoyed a fruitful season prior to that when winning the Sapphire Stakes and just missing out on the Commonwealth Cup by a neck.

He will contest the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in California, where he will aim to go one better than his second-placed run in the juvenile version last season and will likely cross paths with Bucanero Fuerte again.

“Arizona Blaze is in great form, we’re really pleased with him,” said Murray. “He’s going to go for the Sprint on the turf, Bucanero is entered in the same race and he’ll also be entered in the Mile.

“That’s only a second choice really, plan A would be to run them both over the shorter trip.”

The two colts could be joined by Valiant Force, who was been seen to good effect on the all-weather at Dundalk recently and is a reserve for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on the dirt.

“We’re very happy with him, he’s had a great year,” Murray said. “He’s pretty handy on these surfaces, so we hope it’ll suit him well.”

Valiant Force has also experienced a Breeders’ Cup near-miss in the past, as he was second to Big Evs in the 2023 running of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita, and Murray would love to see at least one of his squad prevail this time.

“We’re really looking forward to going out there, we know it’s very competitive racing, but we go there with a competitive team,” he said.

“Arizona Blaze was second last year, Valiant Force was second to Big Evs two years ago, it would be brilliant if they could go one better. It’s tough racing, but they’re a great team.”

THE likely field for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic includes six superstars of US dirt racing.

The defending champion Sierra Leone is back for more, as is last year’s runner-up Fierceness and the third-placed Forever Young. All three horses have been in top form this season, but taking them on next Saturday are the brilliant three-year-olds Sovereignty and Journalism.

Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, has proven himself to be a notch above Preakness winner Journalism, but it remains to be seen if both horses can produce their best form at this stage of the year.

Added to the mix is Mindframe, a four-year-old who missed the classics last year but has since proven himself a star with two Grade 1 victories this season, including when defeating Sierra Leone at Churchill Downs in June. Last time out, Mindframe unseated his rider in a controversial edition of the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Mindframe is part-owned by Mike Repole, who also owns Fierceness. The outspoken owner was critical of Coolmore’s tactics of using a pacemaker for Sierra Leone in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which Repole claims led to Mindframe losing his rider.

The Classic winner is virtually certain to be voted Horse of the Year.