Purse:	$4,000,000	Grade:	1
Distance:	1 ½ Miles	Age:	3+

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Enable strong favorite in the $4 million 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf

An international stage will be a showcase for Juddmonte Farm's 4-year-old super filly ENABLE, who will likely go a strong favorite in the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at 1 ½ miles. The bay daughter of Nathaniel (IRE) won Europe's most historic race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (GI), for the second straight year Oct. 7 for trainer John Gosden.

Enable is 9-for-10 lifetime, which includes lopsided wins in some of Europe's more prestigious Group I races, including the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (GI) at Ascot to go with last year's Arc at Chantilly but has run just twice this year due to a minor injury in the spring that postponed her seasonal debut until September at Kempton's September Stakes (GIII) on the all-weather surface.

That, coupled with the fact she battled a slight illness leading up to the Arc, could portend to another outstanding effort as she tries to become the first horse to pull off the elusive Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup Turf double in the same year. Gosden tried it in 2015 at Keeneland with Arc winner Golden Horn (GB), who ran second to Found (IRE) in the Turf.

Andre Fabre has won the Breeders' Cup Turf three times. He returns this year with Godolphin's 5-year-old defending champion TALISMANIC (GB), 2-for-5 this year, and the 4-year-old WALDGEIST (GB), 4-of-6 this year, including wins in the Grand Prix de Saint-Could (G1) and the Prix Foy (G2). Waldgeist, a chestnut son of Galileo (IRE), was fourth in the Arc behind Enable, beaten just 1 ¾ lengths.

Trainer Michael Stoute has won the Turf four times, and this year brings over Sir Evelyn De Rothschild's CRYSTAL OCEAN (GB), a 4-year-old son of Sea The Stars (IRE) who won the Hardwicke Stakes (GII) at Royal Ascot in June and was second in this year's "Win and You're In" King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Crystal Ocean finished second in last Saturday's 1 ¼ mile QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot.

The American contenders are led by three horses who earned automatic berths into the race through the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. Convento Viejo's homebred ROBERT BRUCE (CHI) leads the way for trainer Chad Brown. The 4-year-old son of Fast Company (IRE), who is 8-for-10 lifetime, earned his Turf bid by taking the "Win and You're In" Arlington Million (GI) in August and was recently second in another automatic turf qualifier, Belmont Park's Sept. 29 "Win and You're In" Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (GI).

Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber's CHANNEL MAKER won the Hirsch for trainer Bill Mott and has been on the upswing of late, as the 4-year-old son of 2007 Turf winner English Channel dead-heated for the win in Saratoga's Bowling Green (GII) in July and was second in another Breeders' Cup Turf automatic qualifier, the "Win and You're In" Sword Dancer (GI).

Matthew Schera's GLORIOUS EMPIRE (IRE) earned a free spot in the Turf with a wire-to-wire win in the Sword Dancer for trainer Chuck Lawrence. Haras Do Morro's QUARTETO DE CORDAS (BRZ) earned an automatic berth into the Turf when he won the "Win and You're In" Grande Premio Brasil (GI) at Hipodromo de Gavea in June in Brazil for then-trainer Luiz Esteves, and is now in the barn of trainer Ian Wilkes at Churchill Downs.

2024 BREEDERS' CUP RACE SCHEDULE

What is the Breeders' Cup Turf?

The Breeders' Cup Turf (Grade 1) is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up since it's inauguration in 1984. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The forerunner for this race was the Washington, D.C. International Stakes at Laurel Park Racecourse. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced on turf at 1-1/2 miles and drew the best horses from North America and Europe. A winner of this race was the American legend Kelso, albeit on his fourth attempt, after being second three times in a row.

Analyzing the statistical records, it has been found that the European contingents find it suitable to hold their feet in this event ever since the race started. Possibly due to the Breeders' Cup racing schedule - it generally takes place at the end of October or beginning of November every year - that is just at the end of European Racing Season. Another possibility may be the hot and humid weather condition at the Florida or Southern California Breeders' Cup sites.

Though the American owners have groomed some outstanding grass runners in the past, they have been defeated by the top-level European competitors in recent years. While comparing these facts to the world racing calendar, the Breeders' Cup Turf seems a North American championship race. British jockey Frankie Dettori has registered the most number of wins in the Breeders' Cup Turf category with three - capturing the race in 1999, 2001 and 2006. The Breeders' Cup Turf has come to be dominated by European horses that are reflected by the first four horses in the 2005 contest. High Chaparral, the then Irish champion - clinched the winning title back-to-back in 2002 and 2003, followed by Conduit with back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009.

Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup developed "The Breeders' Cup Challenge," a series of races in each division that allotted automatic qualifying bids to winners of defined races. Each of the fourteen divisions has between three and six of these "Win and You're In" qualifiers. In the Breeders' Cup Turf Division there are five automatic births. In 2011, the Win and You're In races were: the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) at Hanshin Racecourse, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1) at Saint-Cloud Racecourse, the United Nations S. (Gr.I) at Monmouth Park, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S. (G1) at Ascot, the Arlington Million (Gr.I) at Arlington Park, the Del Mar Handicap (Gr.II) at Del Mar, the Irish Champion S. (G1) at Leopardstown, the Qatar Prix Niel (G2) at Longchamp, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (Gr.I) at Belmont Park, and the Pattison Canadian International S. (Gr.I) at Woodbine Racetrack.

Recent Breeders' Cup Turf Winners