Breeders' Cup 2024: The Panel's Tips & Best Bets For Friday & Saturday
There's a fantastic feast of high quality racing from the US on Friday and Saturday night this weekend as a crack team of European thoroughbreds take on the Americans in their own backyard.
The venue this year is the beautiful Del Mar racetrack in Southern California, a very sharp mile oval with a short straight of just over a furlong.
The program is split between turf and dirt and The Panel have chiefly studied the turf races, where the European horses have traditionally had their best results, and selected those raiders whom they believe can beat the Americans.
As always, you’ll find the most up-to-date odds at the best horse racing betting sites.
Please remember, The Panel's predictions are researched early in the day and prices could change but odds stated are correct at the time of publishing.
Juvenile Turf Sprint, Friday 21:45 - The Panel Selection: Aesterius
A race which saw the European juveniles take the first three places last year, and with no standout among the home team this should go to a European raider again according to betting apps.
The key form race is the Group 2 Cornwallis Stakes at Doncaster and the first three home that day meet again tonight. AESTERIUS came out on top that day and can confirm the form from the plum inside draw.
The break will be crucial but if James Doyle can bag the rail, a front running Aesterius should take some catching on this very sharp track. He can give trainer Archie Watson his first Breeders' Cup winner.
Juvenile Fillies Turf, Friday 23:05 - The Panel Selection: Lake Victoria
This looks to be at the mercy of Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten LAKE VICTORIA. Already a dual Group 1 winner and favourite for all next year’s fillies Classic races it’s impossible to find reasons to oppose her here.
She’s got the plum draw which will allow Ryan Moore to dictate how the race is run, and as a daughter of Frankel, the step up to a mile is surely guaranteed to show her in an even better light.
Odds better than evens look generous and she can add another page to the already illustrious record of the Ballydoyle operation at this meeting.
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Juvenile Turf, Friday 00:25 - The Panel Selection: New Century
The after midnight race to close out the Friday card can go to the Andrew Balding-trained NEW CENTURY.
The son of the trainer’s Guineas winner Kameko has improved all season and bagged the Group 1 Summer Stakes over a mile at Woodbine, Canada in September.
The draw hasn’t been kind to him but it’s not the coffin box it would be in a sprint. Jockey Oisin Murphy has spoken encouragingly about the colt’s progress and well-being and New Century rates a decent bet at overnight prices.
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Breeders' Cup Turf, Saturday 21:01 - The Panel Selection: Jayarebe
A fantastic purse for this 12f race worth over $2 million to the winner. Charlie Appleby sends Rebel’s Romance, the winner in 2022 while the Gosdens field top-class mare Emily Upjohn, but the value may lie with Brian Ellison’s JAYAREBE.
The 3yo has been improving all season and last time out added the Group 2 Prix Dollar at Longchamp to his Group 3 Royal Ascot win in June. In between those victories he finished two lengths second to Economics in France and now steps up to 12f for the first time.
His pedigree suggests it should suit and his trainer, who’s trained two previous winners of this race, expects him to improve for it. Regular jockey Sean Levey is on board and he can make a bold bid from a decent draw in stall five.
Breeders' Cup Classic, Saturday 21:45 - The Panel Selection: City Of Troy
Worth almost $3 million to the winner, this is the race which Aidan O’Brien covets above all, having tried on 14 occasions without success.
His representative CITY OF TROY is the son of Justify, the American Triple Crown winner whom Coolmore have purchased, believing him to be the perfect sire to cover their cohort of mares by the recently deceased super-sire Galileo.
City Of Troy is a product of this cross and victory tonight would be the crowning justification of this strategy. His price looks short enough given the caveat that this is his first attempt on dirt, but O’Brien is constantly refining his methods and can finally break his Classic hoodoo tonight.
He’s drawn well in box 3, has master jockey Ryan Moore on board and can be the first European winner of the Classic since 1993.
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