Jamie Lynch: Top 5 Breeders’ Cup Moments

5. 1996 TURF – PILSUDSKI

All of these are personal to a larger or lesser extent, but this one most of all, an awakening of sorts, as the primary route into the Breeders’ Cup tends to be the partisan element, a push by patriotism through the door into a wider world, something which still resonates whatever your age or appreciation. A super-heavyweight squad was sent from Britain in 1996 to plant a flag in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and it was the cleanest of sweeps, Pilsudski leading home stable-companion Singspiel, clear of Swain in third, with St Leger winner Shantou back in fourth.

Seeing those middle-distance monsters do what they were supposed to in a foreign land was both reassuring and revealing, their collective strength providing the substance and the winning rider sprinkling the style, Walter Swinburn in full artistic mode that day.

4. 2015 CLASSIC – AMERICAN PHAROAH

In the history of the Breeders’ Cup, other finishes have been more dramatic, and other winners have been more dynamic, but the 2015 Classic was such a momentous moment that it will be remembered and referenced for decades to come, because American Pharoah pushed the boundaries of thoroughbred achievement by breaking new ground with the ‘Grand Slam’.

The conclusion was climactic, but the conclusion wasn’t foregone, not after the shockwave of his reversal in the Travers, following to the letter the script of the hero’s journey, of adversity before atonement, and American Pharoah played his blockbuster part perfectly, into the history books as summed up by the caller’s climax: ‘a Breeders’ Cup winner, a Triple Crown winner; a horse of a lifetime.’

3. 2010 MILE – GOLDIKOVA

American Pharoah was retired at the very peak of his powers, at the end of his three-year-old campaign, the modern way with high-achieving colts, more often than not. They rely on their offspring to provide a legacy, rather than craft one themselves, the way that the magical mare Goldikova did by winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile not once, not twice but three times in succession.

Beholder equalled her record in 2016, but Goldikova was the first triple Breeders’ Cup winner, spawning a new word, not a repeat but a threepeat, and the 2010 Mile was as good as she ever looked, posting higher ratings on other occasions but fairly breathtaking in the way she took off in the straight, developing a real swagger by then. A fourth Mile the following year proved beyond her, by a length, but she’d already been inducted into the Breeders’ Cup Hall of Fame by virtue of the gold dust – or Goldikova dust – she’d sprinkled three years running.

2. 2003 TURF – JOHAR/HIGH CHAPARRAL

Now this was a horse race. Nine runners lined up for the 2003 Turf, and they’d amassed 26 Group 1 wins between them, an epic field that produced an epic finish, the first ever dead-heat in the Breeders’ Cup. And the way the drama unfolded in the straight, one power play after another, added to the compelling climax, Falbrav acting first, eventually worn down by High Chaparral, before Johar joined in just in time.

It’s incredibly rare for three horses to simultaneously break the 130 barrier on the Timeform scale, as happened here, speaking for the quality, as well as the stakes, but the sheer blood-pumping, adrenaline-rushing, spine-tingling thrill of a raw and rousing resolution on the biggest stage is the reason the 2003 Turf is in my top five Breeders’ Cup races.

1. 1991 JUVENILE – ARAZI

I could write paragraph upon paragraph about what Arazi did this day for the sport and for the soul. But if a picture paints a thousand words then what sort of tapestry is weaved by this one-race video of the ultimate one-horse race: