October 21, 2015
Throughout its more than three decades of history, no race in Breeders Cup history has had an many back stories, as many comebacks, as many heart filled performances, as the Mile and in this retrospective, we take a look back year by year at some of the important memories associated with this historic race. From fillies and mares besting the males, to winners back from the dead, to the emergence of true superstars from the ashes, this race has had just about everything in his history and now, we pay tribute to all of those winners and share their stories for the HRP community to cherish.
1984-Royal Heroine
A winner of the then Group II Prix de l’Opera in France, Royal Heroine shipped to the West Coast late in 1983 to win the Grade I Hollywood Derby, and catapulted to the top of the ranks as four-year-old. Mulitple Graded Stakes wins and a second in the Arlington Million to John Henry made her a logical choice in the inaugural Mile and she won in a North American record time of 1:32.60 before a win in the Grade I Matriarch to end her career.
1985-Cozzene
Cozzene was Grade I placed when he finished third in the 1984 Breeders’ Cup Mile to Royal Heroine, and came back to go two places better in 1985 when he won over a full field that included superstar Europeans Al Mamoon and Shadeed. He would go on to become a champion sire of stars including Star Of Cozzene, Tikkanen and Alphabet Soup.
1986-Last Tycoon
Before they became huge races for sprinters in Europe, both the King’s Stand and Nunthrope Stakes were won by Last Tycoon in 1986 but they still left him as a longshot in a full field of 14 and he rewarded his backers with a huge win. Much like Cozzene, he would go on to be a leading sire of champions including Ezzoud, Mahogany and Marju.
1987-Miesque
Already a multiple Group 1 winning juvenile and three-year-old, Miesque was sent to Hollywood Park for the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Mile and did not disappoint under a perfect ride from jockey Freddy Head. With a powerful run up the rail from just in behind rivals, she left the likes of Show Dancer, Milligram and Sonic Lady in her wake with one of the most devastating runs the championships had ever seen.
1988-Miesque
Lightly campaigned in 1988 with an eye on a return to the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs, Miesque encountered a very soggy turf course but had no trouble winning to become the first back-to-back winner in its short history. Belmont Stakes winner Bet Twice was no threat, Grade I winner Blushing John was far back and Steinlen would finish second in what was a precursor of things to come but on that day, no one was catching one of the greatest turf milers in history.
1989-Steinlen
Second in the 1988 Mile and a winner of both the Grade I Bernard Baruch Handicap and the Grade I Arlington Million, Steinlen was at his very best in the 1989 Mile and rode the rails to victory on a card that included Go For Wand, Prized and Sunday Silence as winners.
1990-Royal Academy
The 1990 Breeders’ Cup Mile was known for its winner, Royal Academy, as much for his jockey, the immortal Lester Piggott, who came out of retirement only ten days later to ride the lightly raced three-year-old to victory. Defending champion Steinlen could not get position over the one-turn mile at Belmont Park but Itsallgreektome was clearly second by a neck en route to a championship as top Male Turf Horse.
1991-Opening Verse
Fvaourite In Excess tried to go gate to win, Priolo tried to go better than his third in 1990 and Star Of Cozzene attempted to equal his sire in winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile as well but the 1991 winner was Opening Verse, an English import and Grade I winner on dirt who found his best footing on grass late in his career and scored a shocking upset at nearly 27-1.
1992-Lure
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Arazi was the absolute star of the 1992 Mile after his brilliant exploits and whirlwind career but someone forgot to tell Lure, who sprinted through incredible splits to win in wire-to-wire fashion. Eventual champion Paradise Creek was a game second at 31-1 while the favourite came up empty after pressing early and faltered in the lane to finish off the board.
1993-Lure
After a huge season that saw him finish first or second in all seven starts, and coming off a win in the Mile last year, Lure was made the deserving favourite in 1993 and did not disappoint from one of the widest posts, leading near gate to wire once again. Unfortunately he raced in the same year as Kotashaan, who was given not only Championship Turf Male honours but Horse Of The Year as well, although it took nothing away from the huge year Lure had.
1994-Barathea
Rightly so, Lure was made the odds-on favourite in the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Mile in search of a three-peat but the hard-knocking Barathea, a Group II winner in England who had been facing the best of his division all year, raced close to pace behind a pair of longshots and cruised home to a well-meant win. For his efforts, he was rewarded with European Horse Of The Year and would end up becoming a solid and much sought-after sire of multiple Group I winners.
1995-Ridgewood Pearl
There are very few three-year-old fillies who can say they are Group 1 winners in four different countries but Ridgewood Pearl is one of them, with scores in Ireland, England, France and the United States after her win in the 1995 Mile. Made the favourite in a field of internationals including Fastness and Sayyedati, she overcame a complete bog to win at Belmont Park en route to European Horse Of The Year honours.
1996-Da Hoss
Based over the towering turf at Woodbine Racetrack, the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Mile was supposed to favour the European entrants but Grade II winner Da Hoss, with his modest pedigree and low purchase price, outgunned all of his rivals to score by a length and a half from Group 1 winner Spinning World. This race would become the preamble to one of the greatest comebacks in horse racing history, and the start of a truly legendary affinity for this race around the world.
1997-Spinning World
After finishing second-best in the 1996 Mile, Spinning World went back to France for a pair of Group 1 wins in 1997 and came back to Hollywood Park for a repeat try, which would become his swansong. Sent off as choice against Woodbine Mile winner Geri and Kelso Handicap winner Lucky Coin, he stalked the early fractions and came charging home for victory in what would be the final start of his storied career.
1998-Da Hoss
The two major storylines from the 1998 Mile were Favourite Trick, the 1997 Horse Of The Year as a juvenile, and Da Hoss, the 1996 winner coming off a single start in two years, and while the former showed little in the lane, the latter became the biggest story of the season by coming back to beat a stubborn Hawksley Hill. Racecaller Tom Durkin called it “the greatest comeback since Lazarus” and it certainly was, as the then six-year-old would his second Mile to become the third duel winner in its first 15 years.
1999-Silic
An truly international field assembled for the 1999 Mile with Tuzla, Hawksley Hill, Jim And Tonic and Middlesex Drive among them but it was multiple stakes winner Silic who proved best with a resolute rally from well off the early pace. A minor stakes winner in France early in his career, it proved to be the biggest victory of his career and a return to the upper echelons for trainer Julio Canani.
2000-War Chant
War Chant is arguably the most intriguing Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, since his dam Hollywood Wildcat was a Breeders’ Cup Distaff champion and he himself raced in the Kentucky Derby before hitting the sidelines. Off a single win in seven months against Grade II competition, he was made the favourite over a star-studded field and came from nearly dead-last with a six-wide sweep to score in the closest finish in the race to date.
2001-Val Royal
Val Royal was proven on turf going into the 2001 Mile at Belmont Park but had shipped from the West Coast off only three weeks rest; still, that proved to be no problem for the five-year-old as he swept past the entire field down the lane to record the fastest win in its history. A son of 1990 Mile winner Royal Academy, he was retired to stud and died well before his prime but not before saddling a multiple classic winner Cockney Rebel.
2002-Domedriver
Rock Of Gibraltar came into the 2002 Mile riding a seven-race Group I winning streak but he broke slowly and got caught in the wild breakdown of Landseer, allowing Domedriver to sneak up the rail and score one of the biggest upsets in race history. For the winner, it would be his only top-level success after many close attempts but one that would signal him as a Breeders’ Cup champion forever.
2003-Six Perfections
As the only filly in the field, Six Perfections was still good enough to command attention as a Group 1 winning juvenile and three-year-old and got the jump on her main rivals en route to a popular win, and back-to-back scores for trainer Pascal Bary. Unfortunately, she would never prove victorious again but still retired with 12 first or second place finishes in her 14 career starts.
2004-Singletary
Defending champion Six Perfections tried to become another duel winner of the Mile in 2004 but could only finish behind Antonius Pius, who lost all chance by weaving down the lane, and Singletary, the hard knocking four-year-old with the small town connections. It became yet another feelgood story from the Breeders’ Cup as trainer Donald Chatlos Jr and owner Little Red Feather Racing were humble in their proceedings and found success with an unlikely superstar.
2005-Artie Schiller
All eyes were on multiple Grade I winner Leroidesanimaux in the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Mile but second-choice Artie Schiller, favoured in the previous edition but a lackluster 12th, upset by nearly a length with the favourite finishing a solid second. From an incredible family of Grade and Group 1 winners, he was destined for success and bested a high-class field in the process to notch, surprisingly, his only Grade I victory.
2006-Miesque’s Approval
For the first time, the purse for the Mile increased to $2,000,000 and Miesque’s Approval, from the same family as duel winner Miesque, rallied from nearly dead-last to upset an international field at odds of more than 24-1. The win was his first and only at the Grade I level but earned him year-end honours as Champion Male Turf Horse; the first time since Steinlen in 1989 that the accolade went to a winner of the Mile.
2007-Kip Deville
Kip Deville had a breakthrough season in 2007 and after finishing second in the Woodbine Mile, he shipped down to soggy Monmouth Park and overcame the bog to score a good win over a pair of well-meant three-year-olds in Excellent Art and Nobiz Like Shobiz. He would go on to become a world traveler with starts in Hong Kong And Dubai and would finish second one year later to one of the greatest milers in history, underlying this win as something special.
2008-Goldikova
While Kip Deville was the defending champion, the favourite in the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Mile was multiple Group I winner Goldikova and after finding room late, she rocketed home to one of the most impressive victories in Mile history. Her full value would not be known for many years and even in 2008, her exploits were overshadowed by those of fellow three-year-old Zarkava, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner and European Horse Of The Year.
2009-Goldikova
Defending champion Goldikova came into the 2009 Mile having lost a bit of her luster with a third at Longchamp going in but not even an outside post could stop her might and she rallied stoutly to score by a half-length in one of the fastest Miles on record. She finally earned honours one both sides of the continent as Champion Female Turf Horse in America and Champion Older Horse in Europe, and would cement her status as one of the bests the following season.
2010-Goldikova
In a battle of champions, Goldikova proved herself every bit as immortal as predecessors like Miesque and Lure with a third victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, beating Older Male and Turf Champion Gio Ponti by nearly two-lengths. It became the fifth Mile win for Freddy Head as either a jockey or a trainer and with another Eclipse Award in the United States, also earned her the Horse Of The Year title in Europe that she had so rightly deserved.
2011-Court Vision
Trying to win the Mile for an unprecedented fourth time, Goldikova actually had the lead at the head of the lane in 2011 but was run down by two sharp closers and for Court Vision, it would prove the biggest upset in history at odds of more than 64-1. As a multiple Grade I winner on turf including wins in the Shadwell Turf Mile and Woodbine Mile, he had all the makings of a winner but came in off six dismal efforts and was a truly shocking winner, especially against the legend herself.
2012-Wise Dan
Even with multiple Group 1 winners Excelebration and Moonlight Cloud, and Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, in the field, Wise Dan was made the favourite in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Mile and did not disappoint. Rocketing home to a 1 ½ length win over Animal Kingdom, it was his third straight Grade I score and cemented his status as Top Older Horse, Top Turf Horse and American Horse Of The Year.
2013-Wise Dan
Wise Dan returned to Santa Anita in 2013 in search of a repeat in the Mile to close out an outstanding season and as the 4-5 favourite, came charging home once again to score by nearly a length over a host of longshots including Silver Max, who had beaten him at Keeneland in his previous start. The same trio of honours were fetted to him after his accomplishments over the year, as he joined the likes of Curlin and Cigar as the only back-to-back winners of Horse Of The Year in the Breeders’ Cup era.
2014-Karakontie
Sent off as one of the longest shots on the board, Karakontie ran to his pedigree in the 2014 Mile and sprinted clear of all rivals down the lane to score the biggest win of his career, with multiple Graded Stakes winners Obviously, Tom’s Tribute and Toronado all finishing in midpack. He has been unable to live up to that form in recent starts but reports say that he will be returning to Keeneland on October 31 to defend his title as a fresh horse, and with significant improvement expected.
There you have it. A look back at all the winners of the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and the stories that have made it such a great race. In the next edition, look for a recap of the HRP Mile winners and their stories, with their many owners, many racetracks and many surprises.
Categories: BC 2015-17, THE BREEDERS CUP
