BC Juvenile Likely to Impact Championship Honors

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) has been a championship-defining race since it began in 1984, with its victors ultimately earning Eclipse Awards in 29 of the 37 years. In addition, six straight Juvenile winners became champions, a valuable prize for a horse, but especially for a 2-year-old colt, whose stud value rises with the achievement.

With this year's leading contenders carrying similar qualifications, the result of the $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare at Del Mar Nov. 5 again seems likely to tip the scales in victor's favor. The 1 1/16-mile race is a key measuring stick in a division that has had few head-to-head meetings among its divisional leaders.

Entrants Corniche , 9-5 favorite Jack Christopher , and Pinehurst  are all grade 1 winners, but strangers to each other's racing company. Corniche and Pinehurst are California-based stablemates from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert but have never lined up in a race against one another. Meanwhile, Jack Christopher recorded his black-type victories in New York.

The California-stabled Corniche and Pinehurst possess Del Mar experience, having notched victories there this summer.

Speedway Stable's Corniche scored first out at Del Mar Sept. 4 before improving to 2-for-2 in the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park when routing Oct. 1.

Pinehurst, who races for the Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables, SF Racing, Siena Farm, Starlight Racing, Stonestreet Stables, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Robert Masterson, and Jay Schoenfarber, also is 2-for-2, though without the route experience. Both of his wins came at Del Mar this summer, an Aug. 1 maiden race before the Sept. 6 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1) at seven furlongs.

Both horses were pricey auction buys—Corniche a $1.5 million acquisition from the de Meric Sales consignment at this year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and Pinehurst a $385,000 buy from the Woods Edge Farm consignment at last year's September Yearling Sale at Keeneland.

Baffert is a four-time winner of the Juvenile and is the second-winningest trainer of all-time at the Breeders' Cup (17 wins), trailing only D. Wayne Lukas (20). This year, he is under scrutiny after Medina Spirit  showed the prohibited race day presence of betamethasone in winning the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs earlier this year.

As a condition for his Breeders' Cup participation in 2021, following five of his trainees having positive drug tests in a year, his stable will undergo unprecedented Breeders' Cup screening and testing.

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile provides qualifying points on a 20-8-4-2 scale on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, highest of any race in the series run yet this fall, though Baffert trainees are ineligible for points, with the Hall of Fame trainer currently barred from participating there through mid-2023.

Chad Brown, third behind Baffert and Lukas with 15 Breeders' Cup victories, brings Jack Christopher to Friday's race, with the trainer seeking to replicate the result from the last time the Breeders' Cup was at Del Mar in 2017. That year, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables Good Magic   triumphed in the Juvenile, defeating the Baffert-trained Solomini  .

Jack Christopher, perfect in two starts, just like this year's Baffert trainees, also exits the same Breeders' Cup prep as Good Magic: the one-mile Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. While Good Magic was second in that race, Jack Christopher did one better, winning by 2 3/4 lengths over fellow Juvenile participant and maiden Commandperformance .

It is the latter, a Union Rags   colt owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, whose form most resembles that of Good Magic when he came to Del Mar, having been second in both of his starts, topped by a Champagne runner-up finish.

His trainer, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, has won 11 Breeders' Cup races, including two runnings of the Juvenile. He first took the race with Uncle Mo   in 2010, followed two years later by Shanghai Bobby . Both colts were Champagne winners that with their Juvenile victories capped unbeaten freshmen campaigns.

What Jack Christopher and Commandperformance lack is two-turn experience. Two-turn routing proved a stumbling block for some recent Champagne winners, including last year's victor, Jackie's Warrior .

"He gives me a good feel that he should be able to handle it just fine," Brown said of the longer distance for Jack Christopher. "I'm not sure exactly what his limit will end up being, but I don't believe a mile and a sixteenth at Del Mar will be the limit."

The son of Munnings   out of the Half Ours   mare Rushin No Blushin  showed Brown immediate promise when he first breezed him this summer.

"He stood out like those mountains at Santa Anita the first time I worked him," he said.

His talent was apparent to others after his debut, which he won by 8 3/4 lengths at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 28.  Between that race and the Champagne, Coolmore and Peter Brant secured an interest in the colt with original owners Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister.

Entries: TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1)

Del Mar, Friday, November 05, 2021, Race 9

• Grade I
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $2,000,000
• 2 yo Colts and Geldings
• 4:50 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Jack Christopher (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	Chad C. Brown	9/5
2	2Jasper Great (KY)	Yuichi Fukunaga	122	Hideyuki Mori	15/1
3	3Oviatt Class (VA)	Kent J. Desormeaux	122	J. Keith Desormeaux	20/1
4	4Pappacap (FL)	Joe Bravo	122	Mark E. Casse	15/1
5	5Double Thunder (KY)	Flavien Prat	122	Todd A. Pletcher	20/1
6	6American Sanctuary (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Christopher Davis	30/1
7	7Giant Game (KY)	Joseph Talamo	122	Dale L. Romans	30/1
8	8Barossa (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	122	Bob Baffert	10/1
9	9Pinehurst (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Bob Baffert	8/1
10	10Commandperformance (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
11	11Tough to Tame (KY)	Sophie Doyle	122	Christopher Davis	30/1
12	12Corniche (KY)	Mike E. Smith	122	Bob Baffert	5/2