Six American horses have advanced to the winner’s circle along with the gilt edged European horses who are considered the best in this category.
Among the top contenders from across the Atlantic Ocean for this US$2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile is Expert Eye, owned by Juddmonte Farms and trained by Sir Michael Stoute.
In his last race, the 3-year-old was a close third in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, losing by 1 ¼ lengths.
Teddy Grimthorpe, the racing manager for Juddmonte owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, was pleased with Expert Eye’s effort in the one-mile turf stakes.
In that race, Expert Eye had rematch with BC Mile entrant Lightning Spear. The two met on Aug. 1 in the G1 Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge series race. Trained by David Simcock, Lightning Spear scooped up a free spot in the BC Mile by notching a 1 1/2-length win over Expert Eye.
The European contingent also includes Lael Stable’s One Master, who scored an upset victory in the G1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.
Other European pre-entrants in the main body of 14 starters are I Can Fly, Happily, Gustav Klimtand Polydream, who was seventh as the beaten favorite in the Prix de la Foret.
The American pre-entrants among the 14 slated to start include Next Shares, Oscar Performanceand Hunt, who won Breeders’ Cup Challenge races that awarded them free spots in the BC Mile.
Next Shares, trained by Richard Baltas, is coming off a surprising 23-1 win in the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland. Winless in his first seven starts in 2018, Next Shares was victorious in the $250,000 Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs prior to his first graded stakes win.
In his other 2018 start, he won the G3 Poker Stakes at Belmont Park.
The son of Kitten’s Joy ran in the BC Turf last year, setting the pace in the mile-and-a-half stakes before fading to ninth.
The other pre-entrants in the field of 14 are the dual Grade 1-winning mare A Raving Beauty, Analyze It, Catapult and Sharp Samurai.
Click here to Watch Breeder Cup Mile Winner Race 2017
1st World Approval (M. Casse,J. Velazquez), 2nd Lancaster Bomber (A. O'Brien,S. Heffernan), 3rd Blackjackcat (M. Glatt,K. Desormeaux), 4th Suedois (D. O'Meara,D. Tudhope), 5th Ribchester (R. Fahey,W. Buick), 6th Zelzal (J. Rouget,G. Benoist), 7th Karar (F. Graffard,F. Dettori), 8th Om (D. Hendricks,D. Van Dyke), 9th Ballagh Rocks (W. Mott,J. Lezcano), 10th Heart to Heart (B. Lynch,J. Leparoux)
1.One Master (W. Haggas,J. Doyle), 2.Next Shares (R. Baltas,T. Gaffalione), 3.Happily (A. O'Brien,W. Lordan), 4.Polydream (F. Head,M. Guyon), 5.Oscar Performance (B. Lynch,J. Ortiz), 6.Almanaar (C. Brown,J. Rosario), 7.Expert Eye (,S. Stoute,F. Dettori), 8.I Can Fly (A. O'Brien,J. Spencer), 9.Hunt (P. D'Amato,F. Prat), 10.Catapult (P. D'Amato,F. Prat)
Distance:One mile (8 furlongs), Surface:Turf, Track:Left-handed, Qualification:Three years old & up,Weight:Weight for Age, Purse:US$2,000,000
Credit: press releases to Breeders Cup