Forever Young Gives Japan a Breeders' Cup Classic Win

Having won the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Travers Stakes (G1), Godolphin's Sovereignty—scratched from the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) due to fever—is the front-runner to earn the most coveted prize in North America: the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year. But in winning the $7 million Classic Saturday before a crowd of 35,173 fans at Del Mar, Japan's Forever Young (JPN) showed he is a horse of the world, illustrating globe-trotting talents by outrunning Sierra Leone and Fierceness—rivals who had beaten him a year earlier on the same racetrack in the Classic. His half-length triumph over runner-up Sierra Leone Saturday gave Forever Young a second high-value grade/group 1 this year following his gritty score in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) over Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior (IRE) in late February. Forever Young also ran third in the April 5 Dubai World Cup (G1) and won the Oct. 1 Nippon TV Hai in his native Japan in two other starts in 2025. His victory set off a celebration from Japanese attendees at Del Mar, both in the stands and those connected with the horse as they awaited Forever Young to return to the winner's circle after the race. Some of those affiliated with Forever Young were in tears in witnessing the first Japanese-trained horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in the event's 42-year history. Forever Young's regular rider, Ryusei Sakai, worked out a favorable trip aboard Forever Young, placing him in second for more than the first half of the race, as Sierra Leone's stablemate, the overmatched pacemaker Contrary Thinking, shot to the lead to his inside with fractions of :23.04, :45.97, and 1:10.48 in the 1 1/4-mile Classic. The pace was honest—what Sierra Leone's trainer Chad Brown said he wanted by placing Contrary Thinking in the lineup—but not as fast as last year with a speedier lineup without a dedicated pacemaker, known in horse racing as a "rabbit," in the field. When Contrary Thinking threw in the towel on the second turn, Forever Young became the new leader with a mile in 1:35.70. Mindframe and Journalism, who had stalked the pace, then offered bids at that stage, but their rallies would stall through the stretch. Instead, it was Fierceness and Sierra Leone who would threaten down the stretch, with the former securing running room after being pocketed in a tracking position on the inside for much of the race, and the latter swooping wide in contention. Neither could get past Forever Young in the stretch. The latter, in front by 1 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining, outlasted Sierra Leone's closing punch. He hit the wire in a final time of 2:00.19 on a fast track, bettering Sierra Leone's winning time of 2:00.78 in 2024. His Classic time was the fastest since Flightline sped 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.05 at Keeneland three years ago. Sakai credited Forever Young's conditioning, "so automatically the horse took me there," he said in comments translated from Japanese by Hiroshi Ando, racing manager for winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi. A close second favorite behind Pacific Classic (G1) winner Fierceness, Forever Young paid $9 to win. Sierra Leone, Fierceness Brave in Defeat Flavien Prat, aboard Sierra Leone, said, "I thought I was going to get there and the winner just didn't stop." Brown felt that the main-track conditions at Del Mar Saturday were favorable to speed horses, a disadvantage for a late runner like Sierra Leone. "I'm so proud of my horse's effort. So courageous to run against the bias and nearly get there," Brown said. "Listen, him and Forever Young are closely related and they've had a wonderful rivalry from the (2024 Kentucky) Derby on, and today it was Forever Young's day to find the winner's circle and hats off to them." Fierceness, the champion 2-year-old male of 2023 during his Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1)-winning season and a top-level winner at 3 and 4, fought on to show, 2 1/4 lengths head of fourth-place Journalism, the top-performing 3-year-old in this year's Classic. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher noted that Fierceness' inside draw placed him in a "difficult position," with jockey John Velazquez having to decide whether to commit to going with Contrary Thinking early or take his chances stalking inside. He praised the 7-for-14 career of Fierceness, calling him a "brilliant horse." "You have a horse that shows up in the Breeders' Cup three years in a row, runs really well all three times," he added. Fierceness and Sierra Leone will join the stallion lineup at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky next year. A decision on whether Journalism goes to stud there next year or in 2027 will be made after the Breeders' Cup. Dream Comes True for Fujita Forever Young's owner, Susumu Fujita, called it "my dream" to win the 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic. Forever Young had experienced two tough losses in a pair of starts in the United States, losing by 2 3/4 lengths when third in the 2024 Classic and by two noses behind Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone in a three-horse photo finish in a roughly contested Kentucky Derby last year. "Also, Fierceness and Sierra Leone will be retired," he said in translated remarks. "So this (was) the last chance against these two guys together." After the top four, Mindframe, slow-starting Baeza, Nevada Beach, Antiquarian, and Contrary Thinking completed the order of finish. Every horse but Contrary Thinking was a grade 1 winner in 2025. The Northern Racing-bred Forever Young is a 4-year-old son of Real Steel (JPN). He is one of two graded/group stakes winners produced from the graded stakes-winning Congrats mare Forever Darling. He and Sierra Leone have the same second dam, Darling My Darling. Forever Young was bought as a yearling by his owner in Japan for the equivalent of $720,603 Saturday's victory was worth $3,640,000, increasing his earnings to $19,358,590, achieved with a 10-0-3 record in 13 starts. He has three grade/group 1 wins. Horse of the Year Considerations Sixteen of the prior 41 winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic were later honored in voting as North America's Horse of the Year, most recently Flightline. Last year, Classic winner Sierra Leone finished second to Thorpedo Anna in Horse of the Year voting, although he secured the championship as outstanding 3-year-old male of 2024. Sovereignty is a near certainty to win the champion 3-year-old male prize this year. With just a single race in North America this year, Forever Young may not have done enough to outpoll Godolphin's Sovereignty for Horse of the Year, who has led polls since the summer in voting by national media, reflecting the views of some Eclipse Award voters. Voting in the Eclipse Awards is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and Daily Racing Form. Horse of the Year and other championships will be announced in a ceremony in South Florida Jan. 22, 2026. If Sovereignty races next year, their paths could cross. Yahagi said Forever Young would race next year as a 5-year-old, with a return appearance in the Saudi Cup planned this upcoming February. The Dubai World Cup would be considered afterward. Godolphin's founder, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is the ruler of Dubai and the creator of the Dubai World Cup. Next fall, the Breeders' Cup will be contested at Keeneland. Asked if Forever Young could run there, Yahagi—now a three-time Breeders' Cup-winning trainer from six starts—said, seemingly in jest, "Keeneland has really chilly weather. So let me think about that." Chillier than Southern California, but likely not cold enough to cool off Yahagi at the Breeders' Cup.