Foreign Horses You Should Know at the Breeders’ Cup

Dank won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and is looking to repeat in the 2014 edition of the race. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire unless otherwise noted)
Looking at any competitive race can be a difficult task, but even more so when horses ship in from other countries. This year, the Breeders’ Cup has a record number of foreign horses pre-entered in the event, making it even harder to know who to pick in each race.
I’ve gone through the 10 races that have European (and in one case Hong Kong) entries and highlighted some of the foreign invaders I think will stand out in this year’s event, so let’s get to know some of the horses flying over here for the Breeders’ Cup, including two of last year’s winners. 
Juvenile Turf
Commemorative is lightly raced but is undefeated at the one-mile distance of the Juvenile Turf. The colt, a homebred for Juddmonte Farm, ran a little greenly in the closing stages of the Group 3 Autumn Stakes on Oct. 11 but still won the race by a length.
He is the first foal out of a full-sister (same dam [mother], same sire [father]) to Grade 3 winner Visit and is from the family of 2006 Broodmare of the year Hasili, who produced five Grade/Group 1 winners, including Breeders’ Cup winners Banks Hill and Intercontinental.
War Envoy was highly regarded earlier this year after breaking his maiden and hasn’t had a bad season, but may be looking to gain some of his reputation back in this spot. He has been close at the end of most of his races, finishing second or third in three group stakes events and is coming off of a fifth-place finish in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in Paris, where he was only a length behind the winner.
War Envoy is out of a stakes-winning granddaughter of 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors, who also finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. He is trained by Aidan O’Brien, who has finished first or second with five of his nine runners in this race.
Other foreign invaders holding first preference entries in this race are Group 3 winner Aktabantay and Wet Sail.
Juvenile Fillies Turf
Osaila will have the distinction of being the first horse to start in a Breeders’ Cup race for the fast-rising Al Shaqab Racing when she starts in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The filly has won three of her last four races, including a Group 3 at Royal Ascot in July, but came up short in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes in September. Osaila will be coming into the Breeders’ Cup off a 1 ½-length victory in an Oct. 4 race.
Osaila is a full-sister to 2010 Group 3 Dance Design Stakes winner Obama Rule. But that’s not where the stakes winners in her family stop as her second dam, Detroit, is a French champion and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner who also produced Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Carnegie. A con with Osaila is the same thing as we ran into with War Envoy, perhaps not yet living up to high expectations, but the talent is there that she should be a factor here.
Qualify is coming into the Breeders’ Cup with a Group 3 victory at the Curragh but that win comes off of two races where she was beaten by 3 ¾ lengths each time. The filly was aiming for the Dubai Fillies’ Mile on British Champions Weekend two weeks before the Breeders’ Cup but was rerouted to the Breeders’ Cup when the ground came up soft at the event.
Qualify’s third dam is the matriarch of horses well known on both sides of the ocean with both Arc winner Workforce and Kentucky Oaks winner Flute hailing from the family. Qualify also has some Breeders’ Cup experience in the family with Sea Moon finishing second in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Turf. 
QUALIFY

Prize Exhibit is coming to the Breeders’ Cup without a group stakes win but she proved in her latest race that she can compete at the level when she was only half a length behind the winner in a Group 3. Prize Exhibit has two wins in her career, one on turf and one on a synthetic surface, but both were equally as good with her finishing nine lengths in front of the runner-up in both runnings.
Prize Exhibit’s sire, Showcasing’s, first crop is only two but he already has three stakes winners. Her dam, Roodeye, was stakes placed as was her grandam and many of that mare’s progeny, including Gallagher, who finished second in the Group 1 Prix Morny. Prize Exhibit will be trainer Jamie Osborne’s first starter in the Breeders’ Cup with the trainer making his second start with Toast of New York in the Classic.
Distaff
L’Amour de Ma Vie is the only European taking on the dirt females in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and will also be adding in the complication of never before making a start on dirt. However, the mare isn’t unqualified to run in the Breeders’ Cup as she has won a Group 2 event over 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Flotilla this year.
Also included on her 2014 resume are second-place finishes in the Group 2 Cape Verdi stakes and the Duke of Cambridge Stakes. L’Amour de Ma Vie does have four starts on a non-turf surface, winning two races on synthetic surfaces at Deauville in France, including at the nine furlongs (1 1/8 miles) she’ll cover in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
L'AMOUR DE MA VIE IN DUBAI

Photo by Dubai Racing Club
Filly and Mare Turf
Dank is one of four horses looking to add another Breeders’ Cup win to their resume in 2014. The 5-year-old mare has had a dramatic season, making only two starts as she was injured in the middle of the year, and will be racing for the first time since June in the Breeders’ Cup. She did finish third in the Dubai Duty Free on Dubai World Cup night in March after winning four races last year, including the Beverly D. and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, earning her U.S. champion turf female honors.
Just The Judge earned her breakthrough win of the year last out when she won the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine. But even though she was winless in four starts previous to that in 2014, she by no means disgraced herself. She was third behind Thistle Bird in two starts in the U.K. and Ireland before finishing third by a length to Euro Charline in the Beverly D.
A small worry about the filly is that she will be coming into the race off only two weeks of rest, but she has raced well off of three weeks rest in the past, so it shouldn’t be a significant disadvantage.

Photo by WEG/Michael Burns
Fiesolana’s biggest career win came in September of this year when she won the Group 1 Matron Stakes on Irish Champions Day. However, the 5-year-old mare has had group success dating back to June 2013, when she won the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes. Fiesolana has also had success against males, winning the Dubai Challenge Stakes last October against a field of eight others that included males. She has only been worse than fourth twice this year, coming in her season debut in May and in her most recent race in France.
Europe will also be represented by Group 1-placed Secret Gesture and Veda.
Turf Sprint
Caspar Netscher hasn’t had a great season in Europe, finishing off the board in every start. But the 5-year-old horse proved that he likes North American turf on Oct. 19 when he won the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine. He does bring some back class to the race as well as he won multiple group stakes races in 2011 and 2012 but the Nearctic was his first win since taking the Group 2 German Two Thousand Guineas in May 2012.
CASPAR NETSCHER BEFORE THE 2011 BREEDERS' CUP 

Juvenile
Also entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf as his second preference, The Great War seems like he might fit in this race better than at first glance. He won his first two starts back in the spring and also won the Blenheim Stakes last out, but all of his starts have come from 5 to 6 ½ furlongs on turf. However, looking at his pedigree it isn’t surprising his connections are trying him here.
The Great War is by War Front, whose son Declaration of War finished third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, and out of the Pulpit mare Guide. His grandam is Tour, who is also the dam of Grade 3 winner Trip and grandam of top sprinter Zensational in addition to multiple graded stakes winner Departing. If The Great War does well in this race, it won’t be a surprise to see him in the United Arab Emirates Derby and possibly the Kentucky Derby.
Turf
Magician joins the list of Breeders’ Cup winners looking for a repeat this year. The Irish classic winner won last year’s edition of this race and looks to get back to his winning ways here. He only has one win in six starts this year but has been second in three of those other races, including the Arlington Million and the Princes of Wales's Stakes at the Royal Ascot meet, where winner The Fugue set a track record. If Magician wins this year’s Turf, he will be the second two-time winner for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who won two editions of the race in 2002 and 2003 with High Chaparral.
MAGICIAN AFTER WINNING THE 2013 BREEDERS' CUP TURF

Telescope has been aimed at this race for quite a while as the 4-year-old prefers the firm ground that he will find in Southern California. He airmailed in the Hardwicke Stakes on the final day of the Royal Ascot this meet, beating Canadian International winner Hillstar by seven lengths. Telescope only has four wins in his career, but the colt has never been off the board, and has only finished worse than second once in his life, with many of those placings (and wins) coming in group stakes races. Telescope is trained by Sir Michael Stoute, who has four wins in the Turf.
Europe is well represented in the Breeders’ Cup Turf this year with classic winners Brown Panther and Chicquita and 2014 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Flintshire also entered for the race.
Sprint
An Irish-bred, Rich Tapestry started his career in Ireland but has spent the past few years in Hong Kong and Dubai. He was a Hong Kong Group 2 winner last year but leaving the country seems to have boosted his resume this year. He won the Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal in Dubai on March 8 before finishing second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen later that month. Rich Tapestry came over to America this fall to run in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in October and beat out 2013 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents by a nose on the same track that will host the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
OLIVIER DOLEUZE CELEBRATES AFTER WINNING ON RICH TAPESTRY

Mile
Winner of the 2014 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Toronado made his season debut in that race after being sidelined since August 2013. Even with the layoff, Toronado has bounced back to top form this year with two close finishes in his two other starts of 2014. The 4-year-old finished only a length behind Kingman in the Sussex Stakes before finishing second by a head to Charm Spirit in his Breeders’ Cup prep. The mile is Toronado’s preferred distance, so he’ll be one to watch in the race.
Trade Storm earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile when he came over from England and won the Woodbine Mile in September. The 6-year-old also has been second three times this year from seven starts and has traveled to four different countries, including spending the winter in the United Arab Emirates and placing second during one of its races during the winter festival. His two starts before the Woodbine Mile were both second-place finishes with his losses coming by a combined three-quarters of a length.
TRADE STORM WINS THE WOODBINE MILE

Photo by WEG/Michael Burns
Europe is sending quite a few horses for the Breeders’ Cup Mile with five Europeans listing the Mile as their first preference. Also included in those entries are three-time Mile winner Goldikova’s full-brother Anodin, French classic winner Karakontie, and multiple group stakes winner Mustajeeb.
Classic
The only horse to get closer than five lengths to Shared Belief in the Pacific Classic Stakes was Toast of New York, and he’s returning for a rematch. Toast of New York will be trying dirt for the first time in this race and is using it as a test for the Dubai World Cup. The colt is a Group 2 winner on the main track, winning the UAE Derby in the spring at Meydan at nine furlongs. His first and only try at the 1 ¼ miles of the Breeders’ Cup Classic came in the Pacific Classic, which was also his first time against older horses.