Breeders’ Cup 2025: Breeders’ Cup Classic analysis and preview 

The 2025 Breeders’ Cup gets underway this weekend and with it comes the running of America’s most valuable race – the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 

It is one of 14 championship races to run at the meeting, highlighting two days of elite racing action at Del Mar Racecourse.

Run over a distance of 1.25 miles, it awards seven million dollars in prize money – making it the richest race at the event. 

This year’s race looks set to be contested by the home side, though Japanese raider Forever Young is in the betting (9/1), as he looks to make his trainer Yoshito Yahagi the first non-American to win the race since John Gosden in 2008. 

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Forever Young

The four-year-old colt is a four-time Group race winner – two of which were Group One races – with the latest coming on his penultimate start, back in February, at Riyadh. 

It was the second of back-to-back Group One victories, after he shed his maiden tag in the aforementioned company, in his native Japan, in December. 

His most recent run came after a break, which he returned from to win comfortably at Funabashi racecourse, having last been seen finishing third in the Dubai World Cup. 

After the race, his jockey, Ryusei Sakai, said: “I was relieved, as it was a race that went as I imagined. 

“He was in perfect shape after the break, but we needed a good performance before heading to America. 

“I’ve come here to win in America, I want to use the support of all of you to get a good result in the race [Breeders’ Cup] with the strongest horse.”

Forever Young will travel to the US for the first time since finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year, which was his second time on American soil after he placed second in last year’s Kentucky Derby. 

Sovereignty

However, at the top of the market lies Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty, who is the (7/4) ante-post favourite. 

The Bill Mott-trained colt bypassed the Preakness Stakes and therefore forfeited the chance to become the first ‘Triple Crown’ winner since 2018. 

His win in the Kentucky Derby looked unlikely turning for home, as he overcame trouble in running to land his first Grade One victory. 

Subsequent Grade One wins in the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes bookend his victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes – a Grade Two contest – as he remains undefeated in four starts since finishing second in his maiden Grade One effort, at Gulfstream, in March. 

Mott said: “The Travers was my Triple Crown. The Derby, Belmont and Travers for me, personally, those were the three-year-old races we wanted to win.”

On the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he added: “It’s such a deep race, you look across the board and say a lot of these horses can win.”

Journalism

One such horse looks likely to be Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (10/1), who will resume his rivalry with Sovereignty should he run in the race. 

Trainer Michael McCarthy’s three-year-old took advantage of Sovereignty’s absence in the Preakness Stakes, after finishing second to the ante-post favourite in the Kentucky Derby. 

Though he had to play second-fiddle to the Godolphin-owned horse once more, when the two met at Saratoga, in the Belmont Stakes. 

Since that race, Journalism has gone on to claim another Grade One victory, before finishing second on his latest start, which came in a Grade One – at this course. 

On his chances, McCarthy said: “He’s had races where he’s shown himself to be very tactical in the past.

“I think we’re going to go ahead and kind of bounce on out of there and put him in a spot where we feel he’s within striking distance, should anyone move at any time.

“Always in these bigger and better races, it seems like they always go on kind of a half a step slower the opening quarter-mile and opening half-mile. 

“We’ll leave that up to Jose (jockey) to see how things unfold, but we’ll have a game plan in place, like we always do and see if we can execute that.”

Fierceness

Fierceness – the horse who beat Journalism on his latest start – is in the betting (5/1) and will look to go one place better than last year, in this race. 

The 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner went on to win last year’s Florida Derby and Travers Stakes, in amongst credible efforts in Grade One and Two company – some of which were wins. 

His hall of fame trainer, Bob Pletcher, said: “He’s doing really well. I thought he handled the trip to Del Mar for the Pacific Classic great, and he came back in good, good order.

“All the preparation has gone according to plan on the days that we wanted to do it.”

Sierra Leone

According to the ante-post betting, the chief threat to Sovereignty comes in the shape of the Chad Brown-trained, Coolmore Stud-owned Sierra Leone – at 9/2. 

The four-year-old faces the task of retaining his title in this race, following his victory last season, which was his second Grade One victory. 

Since last season’s success, he has added one more Grade One win to his name, which came on his penultimate start, before he finished second in another Grade One race on his most recent outing.

He has also finished second in a Grade Two race at Fair Grounds, which came on reappearance. 

Brown was very complimentary after Sierra Leone’s latest success in the Whitney Stakes, saying: “He’s the best horse I’ve ever trained, and that says a lot because I’ve trained some great horses.

“He’s just on a slightly different level. To be a real classic, high-level horse that’s running in some of the toughest races in the world and having success just puts him in another league.”

Others in the market include Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza (16/1), whose form ties in with the aforementioned horses in numerous races and Mindframe (10/1), the longer-priced of the two fancied Pletcher runners. 

READ MORE: Breeders’ Cup 2025: Dates, how to watch on TV, trainers and jockeys to watch