Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic: guide to the runners and tip

The $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Saturday (10.40pm) is the defining race at the Breeders’ Cup.

Usually the final race on the card, it has a new slot in the programme. This time it will follow straight after a compelling Breeders’ Cup Turf before being followed by the big sprints. That also means you won't have to wait until midnight to watch it!

Typically, the mile-and-a-quarter dirt showpiece will not feature any European runners, although British fans will be familiar with Missed The Cut, who won at Royal Ascot last year when trained by George Boughey.

Here’s a guide to all the runners plus a verdict. Remember, you can watch all the action on Racing TV on Saturday.

Is now a non-runner.

Prize-money won: $2,140,000. Odds: 18/1.

The nearly black four-year-old has been expensive to follow since finishing a close third in last year’s Kentucky Derby but snapped his eight-run losing sequence in style in the Grade Two Woodward at Aqueduct last month. He surged clear to win by more than four lengths and wasn’t winning out of turn after a string of solid efforts. Shipping across the country, he now has an extra furlong to cover and trainer Chad Brown has admitted: “He has to step up here against a much tougher group, but I love the way he did it in the Woodward and all of the relative speed figures say he we are within range with him.” Frankie Dettori takes the ride.

Prize-money: $1,826,350. Odds: 4/1.

The grey won the Florida Derby last year and, following something of a lull, took his form to a new level with a commanding triumph in the Whitney over 9f at Saratoga last time. He had Zandon six lengths back in second, with the odds-on Cody’s Wish a distant third. That was only his second start for Richard Dutrow Jr and it seems his new barn have revived him. Dutrow only returned to the training ranks this year from a ten-year suspension for medication violations and a general disregard for authority. “I don’t look back at that, I just look forward,” he has said. Gun Runner (2017) and Knicks Go (2021) won the Whitney en route to Classic glory in recent years and White Abario should make a bold bid to emulate them if he’s in the same kind of form.

Prize-money: $285,777. Odds: 66/1.

It feels like there is a little bit of Britain in this year’s Classic as Missed The Cut was trained by George Boughey in Newmarket up until the start of this year. He won four of his six starts on these shores, romping home in a handicap at Royal Ascot last year and lowering the colours of Algiers in the Listed Churchill Stakes at Lingfield later in the year. He belatedly got off the mark in America with a convincing win in the Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita last time but he's now in much deeper waters.

Prize-money: $1,162,164. Odds: 16/1.

The Japanese challenger was a leading hope for the Kentucky Derby in May after being a commanding all-the-way winner of the UAE Derby at Meydan but he fluffed the start at Churchill Downs and was left playing catch-up. In the circumstances, he was not disgraced in sixth, beaten an aggregate of about eight lengths. “The start was everything,” trainer Hidetaka Onotashi said afterwards. “The plan was to race toward the front, but he never even got the chance. It was just impossible to come back from where we were positioned.” Derma Sotogake now arrives under the radar, having not run since, although the UAE Derby form has been punctured more than once during his absence.

Prize-money: $817,085. Odds: 8/1.

Unraced at two, Saudi Crown won his first two starts over 6f at Keeneland and Churchill Downs before successive nose defeats in the Dwyer at Belmont Park and Jim Dandy at Saratoga. The grey stepped up on those efforts with a game all-the-way win in the Grade One Pennsylvania Derby on his latest start, when he won by half a length from Dreamlike. He’s probably got more to offer but he’s speedy and trainer Brad Cox, who won the Classic with Knicks Go a couple of years ago, has also been toying with dropping him back in trip for the Dirt Mile. The colt’s No 1 objective is the $20 million Saudi Cup at Riyadh in February, as he’s owned by the FMQ Stables, a Saudi-based group.

Prize-money: $823,450. Odds: 40/1.

He’s had plenty of racing and will need to find a chunk of improvement from somewhere to make an impact. The four-year-old finished behind Bright Future and Proxy in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga on his penultimate start before he belatedly got back to winning ways in the Grade Two Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on his latest start. That was only his second start for Chad Brown and new owner Sheikh Rashin bin Humaid Al Nuaimi (RRR Racing).

Prize-money: $9,540,345. Odds: 9/2

The six-year-old has been transformed since switching to dirt in the spring of 2022 and gives Japan bright prospects of a first Classic triumph. He has won seven of his eight races on the surface, putting up a mighty performance to win the Dubai World Cup at Meydan in March. He swept from last to first and had almost three lengths to spare over Algiers, who had been an impressive winner of the first two rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge, with Emblem Road, the 2022 Saudi Cup winner, back in third. Having had six months off, Ushba Tesoro won easily at Funabashi – a tight turning left-hand track – on his return in late September to tee him up for his biggest assignment. He has impressed onlookers with his breezes at Santa Anita and Japan’s champion jockey, Yuga Kawada, will be reunited with him. Kawada made Breeders’ Cup history in 2021 when guiding Japan's Loves Only You to Filly & Mare Turf glory.

Prize-money: $763,427. Odds: 50/1.

He beat only one home in the Dirt Mile last year and still has the option of again lining up in that race. The highlights of his year has been his victory in the $300,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar in late July where, typically, he pounced from off the pace, plus his fourth to the exciting Arabian Knight in the Pacific Classic last time. If he does run here, expect Geovanni Franco to drop him out and try and pick up some pieces late in the day.

Prize-money: $349,450. Odds: 40/1.

The son of Gun Runner was unraced at two and his only win came when landing a 9f maiden at Saratoga in mid-July. However, he did get to with half a length of Saudi Crown in the Pennsylvania Derby on a sloppy track last time, where he stayed on well without being able to land a glove on the winner. The gulf in prices between the pair looks too big and, at a big price in an open, he looks worth a second look with any bookmaker offering extra places.

Prize-money: $716,940. Odds: 9/1.

The chestnut has shown smart form without looking like a Classic winner in-waiting. He landed optional claimers at Gulfstream in April and Saratoga in July before winning what looked a very ordinary renewal of the Grade One Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga last time, where he clung on by a nose from Proxy with Clapton just over two lengths back in fourth. Todd Pletcher’s charge will need to raise his game if he’s to emulate his sire, Curlin, who powered home in the 2007 Classic.

Prize-money: $1,244,275. Odds: 11/4 fav

Bob Baffert has saddled four Breeders’ Cup Classic winners since 2014 plus had three runners-up in the same period. And the bad news for those with designs on halting him this weekend is that he looks to have an ideal candidate in Arabian Knight, who has quickly established himself as a top-class performer and is almost certainly capable of better yet. Like Baffert’s previous four winners - Bayern (2014), American Pharaoh (2015), Arrogate (2016) and Authentic (2020) – Arabian Knight is a three-year-old who seems in his element pounding rivals into submission from the front. The colt fetched $2.3 million in the sales ring and made an instant impression with two easy wins, only for a minor setback to convince Baffert to bypass the Triple Crown races. The Uncle Mo colt lost his unbeaten record when third in the Grade One Haskell at Monmouth Park after six months off – he was too fresh after his absence - but put that behind him when turning the tables on the winner in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar last time. “I loved the way he dug down and fought,” Baffert said. “He’s just going to keep getting better.” The Pacific Classic is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge event, earning Arabian Knight an automatic fees-paid entry into the Classic. “He’s healthy, he’s working well. There have been no hiccups,” Baffert said this week. “If he brings his ‘A’ game, I don’t really care who’s running against us. That’s my focus with him.” The downside is that he may well be overbet. He's not come up against a horse of Ushba Tesor's calibre.

Prize-money: $2,224,970. Odds: 20/1.

The five-year-old Godolphin homebred has been tremendously consistent over the past three years and seems likely to give it another good go, but we know his limitations and it will be a surprise if the son of Tapit can hit the jackpot. Trained throughout his 18-race career by Mike Stidham, Proxy has been first or second 13 times. On his latest start, he was beaten a nose by Bright Future in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. Proxy is drawn widest of all but perhaps that is no bad thing, as Stidham said: “The biggest thing we worry about is when he gets trapped down on the inside and is getting a lot of kickback. He tends to get disinterested in running into that, so we are conscious of that in a big field and are hoping he doesn’t get buried down on the inside and put himself in a position that takes his chances away.”

There’s not a Flightline, Gun Runner, Arrogate or American Pharoah in this year’s line-up but consequently we’ve got an open renewal that is reflected by the betting. Arabian Knight’s progressive profile makes him of great interest, especially given the yard he's representing, but the Japanese contender, USHBA TESORO, has achieved more and is taken to secure a famous success. White Abarrio was a revelation last time and also has to enter calculations.

1 USHBA TESORO. 2 ARABIAN KNIGHT. 3 WHITE ABARRIO.