DAY one of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships will surely go down as one of the most satisfying that the O’Brien family has ever had in America, as Aidan O’Brien became the outright most successful trainer in Breeders’ Cup history (thanks to a stellar Gstaad) and Donnacha O’Brien notched his first victory at the meeting with Balantina.

This all came on a Friday at Del Mar that had begun on rocky footing for the Europeans. News had broken in the morning that Ballydoyle’s Fillies’ Juvenile Turf hotpot Precise was withdrawn due to an infection - removing from play what many felt all week was the overseas banker of the meeting. Arizona Blaze was also announced as a non-runner in Saturday’s Turf Sprint.