Benvenuto Cellini and Ryan Moore prevail in $5m Breeders’ Cup Turf

Benvenuto Cellini, ridden by Ryan Moore, accelerated clear to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on the second day of the meeting. Attention then turned to the turf sprints, where Wesley Ward’s speedy Bacio stood out as a major threat to European hopes on the grass.

Race recap

Benvenuto Cellini produced a decisive late move under jockey Ryan Moore to take the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on day two of the Breeders’ Cup. Moore’s ride quickened the runner clear in the closing stages to secure the Grade One prize.

The victory added a high-profile international success to the meeting’s turf programme and highlighted the strength of entries from Europe on the grass. The Breeders’ Cup Turf remains one of the richest and most prestigious races on the global calendar, drawing top stayers from several jurisdictions.

Turf sprint ahead

Shortly after the Turf, attention shifted to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, a Grade One dash over 5½ furlongs scheduled for 17:48. Among the headline contenders was Wesley Ward’s Bacio, a sprinter familiar to European punters after victories in both the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot and the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August.

Ward’s representative was widely viewed as a significant obstacle to any prospect of a European clean sweep of the grass races, given his proven speed and track record in top-level sprints. The Turf Sprint promised to be a critical test for sprinters on both sides of the Atlantic as the second day of the Breeders’ Cup unfolded.