Eight Europeans Face Six Americans in 2018 Breeders' Cup Mile

It’s looking like a classic North America vs. Europe showdown in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I) on November 3rd at Churchill Downs, and while the raiders hold a slight advantage in numbers, the Americans appear far from being overmatched.

Fourteen horses plus two also-eligibles have been entered in this competitive one-mile turf race, which is arguably the most wide-open of any Breeders’ Cup race this year. The fact that the morning line favorite is 5-1 tells you all you need to know.

That 5-1 favorite is the three-year-old filly Polydream, who ships in from France for trainer Freddie Head, who won three straight renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Mile with the great Goldikova. While Polydream isn’t quite up to Goldikova’s level yet, she did win the 6 ½-furlong Prix Maurice de Gheest (Fr-I) this summer to prove her class at the Group 1 level, and she also stayed a mile fairly well when finishing second to the high-class Wild Illusion in the Prix Marcel Boussac (Fr-I) as a two-year-old.

Unfortunately, Polydream endured a traffic-filled trip when finishing seventh in the Prix de la Foret (Fr-I) on October 7th, a race that was won in game fashion by fellow filly and Breeders’ Cup mile entrant One Master. Trained by William Haggas, the daughter of Fastnet Rock was a longshot on the day but produced a big finish to win by a nose over a strong field, securing her second consecutive group stakes win. Can she continue her ascent in the Breeders’ Cup Mile?

The leading North American hopeful is surely Oscar Performance, who has already tasted success at the Breeders’ Cup, winning the Juvenile Turf (gr. I) in 2016. The son of Kitten’s Joy has only run three times this season, but his efforts include an impressive win in the Poker Stakes (gr. III)—where he clocked a mile in the North American record-equaling time of 1:31.23—and a front-running score in the Woodbine Mile (gr. I), where he ran the final quarter-mile in a brilliant :21.63.

Next Shares, upset winner of the Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. I) last time, has been an admirable competitor at the Grade 1 level this year and will seek to continue his winning momentum. Chad Brown, the most successful trainer of turf horses in North America, will saddle the Arlington Million (gr. I) runner-up Almanaar and the Belmont Derby (gr. I) runner-up Analyze It, while the California shippers Hunt (winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile) and Catapult (who unleashed strong rallies to win the Grade 2 Eddie Read and Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap this summer) complete the list of American runners in the main body of the field.

They comprise a nice group, no doubt, though the rest of the Europeans promise to offer a stiff challenge. Happily won two Group 1 races as a juvenile last fall, and while she’s gone 0-for-7 since then (including a last-place finish in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf), she was beaten just a head in the Sun Chariot Stakes (Eng-I) last time out and appears to be rounding back into form. Expert Eye and I Can Fly have yet to win at the Group 1 level, but they’ve been competitive against high-class company in Europe, with Expert Eye finishing second in the Sussex Stakes (Eng-I) and I Can Fly coming home just a neck behind European superstar Roaring Lion in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-I).

Lightning Spear, who defeated Expert Eye in the Sussex, will attempt to rebound from his disappointing seventh-place effort in the Queen Elizabeth II, while the multiple Group 1-placed Gustav Klimt and the up-and-coming Shadwell Joel Stakes (Eng-II) winner Mustashry complete the main body of the field.

The two also-eligibles are Divisidero, a two-time winner of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (gr. I) at Churchill Downs, and Clemmie, a Group 1 winner last year who has gone 0-for-5 this season.

The Breeders’ Cup Mile is the eighth race on the card, with a post time of 3:36 p.m. Eastern. Check out the complete schedule of Breeders’ Cup races here!

2018 Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I)

#	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	One Master	James Doyle	William Haggas	12-1
2	Next Shares	Tyler Gaffalione	Richard Baltas	10-1
3	Happily	Wayne Lordan	Aidan O’Brien	15-1
4	Polydream	Maxime Guyon	Freddie Head	5-1
5	Oscar Performance	Jose Ortiz	Brian Lynch	6-1
6	Almanaar	Joel Rosario	Chad Brown	12-1
7	Expert Eye	Frankie Dettori	Sir Michael Stoute	8-1
8	I Can Fly	Jamie Spencer	Aidan O’Brien	10-1
9	Hunt	Flavien Prat	Phil D’Amato	30-1
10	Catapult	Drayden Van Dyke	John Sadler	6-1
11	Lightning Spear	Oisin Murphy	David Simcock	20-1
12	Analyze It	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	Chad Brown	6-1
13	Gustav Klimt	Ryan Moore	Aidan O’Brien	10-1
14	Mustashry	William Buick	Sir Michael Stoute	15-1
AE15	Divisidero	Unknown	Kelly Rubley	N/A
AE16	Clemmie	Andrea Atzenni	Aidan O’Brien	15-1