Breeders’ Cup Friday at Keeneland: Comeback wins, a jockey takes two, and a betting record

Mischief Magic claimed the first of two come-from-behind victories to kick off the 2022 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland on Friday.

William Buick jockeyed the Irish-bred 2-year-old from the back of a 12-horse pack to take the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint for Godolphin Stables and trainer Charles Appleby, who won his seventh race in 12 career Breeders’ Cup starts.

“He didn’t do the horse any harm,” Appleby said. “As I said to William, the one thing he wants is to give him gaps. Give him daylight and the old bugger just might have a second chance. Fantastic ride by William and great effort by all the team. Great to be back.”

Mischief Magic came out of the gate at 6-1 odds but brushed Dramatised out of the gate and quickly fell behind his peers. The Irish-bred 2-year-old was 2 lengths behind Sharp Aza Tack headed into the first turn of the 5½-furlong run. He got the rail to pass Sharp Aza Tack and four others before cutting back to the middle of the track entering the final furlong. Mischief Magic held off Private Creed for positioning before a final burst to finish a length in front of Dramatised and about a length and a neck before Private Creed.

It was Mischief Magic’s fourth win in six starts and his first Grade I victory. The morning-line odds had him at 8-1, tied with Oxymore for the fourth-lowest odds. He paid $15.84 to win and $370.48 on a $0.50 trifecta.

Morning-line favorite The Platinum Queen finished 11th.

“It just didn’t work out for her,” said jockey Hollie Doyle. “A horse ended coming up on her outside and she got claustrophobic. She’s never ran round a bend before and it’s just found her out. She’s had a great season and deserves a break now.”

Love Reigns, trained by Wesley Ward, finished eighth. Ward-trained horses had won the three previous Juvenile Turf Sprints.

Wonder Wheel again

Wonder Wheel rallied for a 3-length win in a field of 13 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Ahead of only two horses going into the far turn, Tyler Gaffalione took her up the rail and passed seven others, among them morning-line favorite Chocolate Gelato (7-2). Wonder Wheel cut back outside to clear the remaining contenders to earn the $2 million purse and her second Grade I win at Keeneland in less than a month; the Kentucky-bred filly won the Darley Alcibiades Stakes on Oct. 7.

For Gaffalione, Wonder Wheel’s release out of the gate called to mind her maiden race at Churchill Downs in June.

“She didn’t break very well,” Gaffalione said. “I got pushed back a little further than I wanted to be. But when she broke her maiden, she took dirt and went in between horses and I wasn’t too concerned (today). Spots kept opening up inside so I just (kept) going forward and it just worked out.”

Wonder Wheel, owned by D.J. Stable, won for the fourth time in five starts. Her only other effort was a runner-up finish in the Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 4. She paid $15 to win.

Leave No Trace, which went off at 25-1 and defeated Wonder Wheel in September, finished second with Raging Sea closely in tow. A $0.50 trifecta paid $467.65.

“She got the lead. Wonder Wheel beat her,” said Phil Serpe, trainer of Leave No Trace. “We beat Wonder Wheel before. We’ll beat her again.”

Doubling up

Irish-bred Meditate returned to winning form in her stateside debut, taking the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf by two-and-a-half lengths.

Following two runner-up finishes in September and a string of four straight victories to start her career across the pond, Meditate entered Friday as the morning-line favorite and didn’t disappoint her connections. Trainer Aidan O’Brien indicated this race was a measuring stick for the Guineas, part of the British Classic series.

“No one comes here to get beat,” jockey Ryan Moore said. “The filly did it very easy and has lots of talent. She hasn’t run a bad race all year and gets better with every race. … She was much the best.”

She paid $6.08. A $0.50 trifecta with Pleasant Passage and Cairo Consort paid $203.25.

Moore closed out Friday with a thriller atop Irish-bred Victoria Road in the $1 million Juvenile Turf.

Owners Westerberg Limited, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith notched their second victory of the day after Victoria Road defeated Silver Knott (Great Britain) by a nose as the pair dueled down the stretch. Nagirroc showed.

It was the fifth Juvenile Turf win for both Moore and O’Brien.

“Pace was solid, Ryan had a nice position and knew he was going to be patient,” O’Brien said. “We knew he wasn’t going to try and get there too early with him. He’s a lovely and nimble horse. He handled the bends very well and handled the nice ground. Ryan gave him a great ride. Brilliant.”

A win bet paid $13.14 with a $0.50 trifecta payout of $170.13.

Appleby, Silver Knott’s trainer, took the place in stride.

“When they crossed the line, I thought Aidan had won it, to be honest, so well done to them,” Appleby said. “The more I watched (the replay), the more I got a little hope. He’s run well and lost nothing in defeat.”

Notes

An all-sources handle of $66,141,766 was collected, a record for a Breeders’ Cup Friday and a 7 percent increase over last year’s Friday handle at Del Mar. Friday’s on-track handle at Keeneland was $7,504,265.

Friday’s on-track attendance at Keeneland was 39,851.

When Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 2020, fans were not allowed to attend because of the COVID pandemic.

Lexington’s only previous Breeders’ Cup drew a crowd of 44,497 and an all-sources handle of $46,251,965 for Friday racing in 2015.

This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 7:19 AM.