Author: Lindsay Griffin
The Breeders’ Cup races are North America’s year-end championship series. While the races have always been hosted in North America, and nearly always in the United States, they are intentionally designed to draw international competition.
At the inaugural running of the series in 1984, most of the races were over a dirt surface, which is preferred by American trainers and most American racehorses; however, two races, the Turf and the Mile, were created to showcase top runners from other countries, and Britain and Ireland in particular.
The two races proved so popular that racing fans all over the world called for a further expansion of grass racing in the series. Now, according to the 2023 Breeders’ Cup odds, the race still continues to be one of the most popular ones in the calendar.
The Breeders’ Cup complied, adding the Filly and Mare Turf, the Turf Sprint, and eventually not one but three turf races exclusively for two-year-olds.
This sparked even more competition from British and Irish horses, and of course, the jockeys who rode them.
These jockeys were not based in America, and so were not used to American conventions of racing, such as counterclockwise turns, intense gate-riding techniques, and the occasional pass through a dirt path on an otherwise full grass course. However, they overcame their challenges and posted victory on a worldwide stage.
Joseph O’Brien
Joseph O’Brien could be said to have been expected to display greatness on the racecourse; his father, Aidan O’Brien, is one of the most successful trainers of all time. Still, some were surprised not by Joseph’s achievements, but rather by how quickly he attained them.
When Joseph piloted St. Nicholas Abbey to victory in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, he was only 18 years old, making him the youngest winning jockey in the series’s history. The next year he won two legs of England’s Triple Crown aboard Camelot.
Joseph retired from riding four years later and instead took up training. His return to the Breeders’ Cup races as the trainer of Iridessa mirrored his 2011 experience: she took victory in the 2019 Filly and Mare Turf, and he became the youngest trainer ever to win a Breeders’ Cup race.
Michael Kinane
Unlike Joseph O’Brien, Michael “Mick” Kinane was a long-time veteran jockey by the time he achieved his first Breeders’ Cup victory. Indeed, his connections to the Breeders’ Cup series for many years seemed to be doused in frustration.
Though he rode aboard such noted champions as Stravinsky, Montjeu, and Giants Causeway, it wasn’t until Johannesburg came along in 2001 that he reached a Breeders’ Cup winner’s circle. What makes that victory even more interesting is that instead of coming in one of the grass races, Johannesburg had an overwhelming victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the dirt, a surface that requires far different riding tactics than grass.
Although Johannesburg provided that first sweet taste of victory, it was High Chaparral who was to give Mick his greatest Breeders’ Cup glory. Mick and High Chaparral surged to a clear victory in the 2002 Turf as a three-year-old, and they returned the next year to defend their crown.
They appeared to be well on their way to a second victory when Johar flew up at the last second. Twenty tense minutes passed as the judges examined the photo, but eventually it was decided the two could not be separated, and the race became forever known as the first “dead heat” (tie) for the winning position in a Breeders’ Cup race.
Lafranco Dettori
Born in Italy, Lafranco “Frankie” Dettori first rode in races in 1987, and only recently announced that instead of retiring, he plans to race in the United States in 2024 and beyond. However, most of his career and reputation has taken place in Great Britain. He gained international fame in the racing world when, on September 28th, 1996, he won all seven races on British Festival of Racing Day.
Frankie is one of the most successful jockeys in Breeders’ Cup history, with 14 wins in six different races on dirt and turf. His first win came aboard Barathea in the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Mile; as of 2023, his most recent was with the famed mare Enable in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. He is well known for utilizing a “flying dismount” at top-level races, and a photograph of him leaping from Daylami’s back after their 1999 Breeders’ Cup Turf win won an Eclipse Award.
Lester Piggott
One of the greatest jockeys of all time, Lester Piggott is most known for his record in England’s Derby Stakes, with nine victories in that storied race. His jockey career initially ended in 1985, and he was convicted of tax fraud and served just over a year in a British prison.
Years later, in 1990, Piggott rather abruptly decided to return to riding. A mere ten days later, he was aboard the Royal Academy in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Mile. It was his only win in the series, but given his history, age, and lack of conditioning, it was historic all the same.
