As euphoric as Forever Young's victory in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) may have been, there was one bittersweet moment for trainer Yoshito Yahagi on Nov. 1.
He was happy to see the Los Angeles Dodgers with Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamato win Game 7 of the World Series that night, yet he knew it would impact the reaction back home for his 4-year-old's huge accomplishment at Del Mar.
"I am very happy the Dodgers won the World Series," Yahagi said through a translator Nov. 2. "But there's a sadness because the Dodgers are stealing from our achievement back home. So that's sad."
On a much more enjoyable note, at least Yahagi and the racing world will get to see Forever Young create more news.
At the moment, plans call for the Classic winner to run in both the Feb. 14 $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) and March 28 $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) next year, with anything beyond that hinging on how well the son of Real Steel comes out of his two rich races in the Middle East.
"We will give him a little spell between now and the Saudi Cup. We'll go straight to the Saudi Cup. We want to give him space to recover from this. We only have plans through the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup," Yahagi sad. "If he's fresh after that, he will continue racing."
He even opened the door to running Forever Young running on turf once. But only once.
Prior to a return trip to the Saudi Cup, Forever Young will be involved in a different type of race. By virtue of his half-length triumph over Sierra Leone in one of the best Classic fields in decades, he could net an Eclipse Award as the champion older male and it may put him in the mix for Horse of the Year honors.
Earlier in the year, Forever Young won the Saudi Cup and finished third in the Dubai World Cup.
Godolphin's 3-year-old dual classic winner Sovereignty, who missed the Classic due to a fever, seems the likely Horse of the Year especially with Forever Young racing in North America only once this year.
Yet, after he finished third in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, a strong case can be made he was the best horse of either sex to race here this year.
"It's meaningful not for me, but for Forever Young," said Yahagi, who now has three Breeders' Cup wins. "I hope he will be Horse of the Year."
At some point in the days to come, a stallion deal for Forever Young will also be consummated by owner Susumu Fugita and Yahagi invited the world to be a part of it.
"We are not ready yet but we are trying to open the door for all of the people in the world to syndicate Forever Young," he said. "So, if people are interested, please knock on the door."
Journalism's future should be decided soon
The connections of the 3-year-old Journalism were proud of their colt's fourth-place finish behind older rivals Forever Young, Sierra Leone, and Fierceness . Especially after an eight-race 2025 campaign that included winning the Preakness Stakes (G1), running in all three legs of the Triple Crown, and capturing a trio of grade 1 stakes as well as finishing second in three top-level stakes.
"I thought the horse ran admirably in the Classic. He had an incredible year," said Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' president Aron Wellman, managing partner of the ownership group which includes the Coolmore partners who have the son of Curlin 's breeding rights. "I am not sure if there's a horse in the country or the world that has been campaigned as heartily as he has. He's been in seven consecutive grade 1 stakes. He traveled cross-country several times. We are really proud of his effort.
"The race was being billed as a Breeders' Cup for the ages and I don't think it disappointed. It validated what incredible warriors (the top 3 finishers) were, and for Journalism to look them in the eye and give them all they could handle really speaks to his quality, class, and resilience. There were elite horses in front of him and behind him."
Wellman said he will take a red-eye flight to Lexington tonight to discuss Journalism's future with Coolmore officials.
"We believe the best is yet to come with him. The world can be his oyster," Wellman said. "I hope we get the opportunity to campaign him."
Trained by Michael McCarthy, Journalism is also owned by Bridlewood Farm, Robert LaPenta, breeder Don Alberto Stable, and Elayne Stables Five.
The status of Sovereignty for next year is also uncertain at the moment while Sierra Leone, Fierceness (both to Coolmore) and Mindframe (Claiborne Farm) will begin new careers as stallions next year.
Nysos impresses with Dirt Mile win
As trainer Bob Baffert and the owners watched Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Nysos trot on a patch of grass in the Del Mar stable area, the Hall of Famer started laughing.
"He likes grass," he said. "We should run him on grass."
Baffert was, of course, joking.
If the 4-year-old son of Nyquist races next year, rest assured it will only be in the year's top dirt races after a highly determined win by a head in 1:34.71 for the mile.
It was the first time he won by less than 2 3/4 lengths and he has prevailed by 5 1/2 lengths or more in 4 of his 6 wins.
"He is probably the closest I have had to (2015 Triple Crown winner) American Pharoah in the last few years," Baffert said. "He could have won the (Breeders' Cup) Sprint (G1), he won the (Dirt Mile), and, if he was ready, he could have been right there in the Classic."
Baffert said he would meet with the 4-year-old's owners, the Boama Corp., to decide on whether the winner of 6 of 7 career starts would race next year, though none of them voiced any objections when the idea was informally raised.
In the Dirt Mile, Nysos prevailed narrowly over stablemate Citizen Bull , the champion 2-year-old male of 2024 who has been retired from racing and will stand at Coolmore's Ashford Stud next year.
Baffert, who also won the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) with Splendora to tie Aidan O'Brien for the most Breeders' Cup wins with 21, said plans were uncertain for Brant, a 2-year-old who suffered his first loss when third in the Oct. 31 Juvenile (G1).
White Abarrio connections unhappy with scratch
The connections of White Abarrio were visibly upset Sunday in the aftermath of the 6-year-old being a gate scratch in the Dirt Mile.
Both trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and co-owner Mark Cornett said they did not receive an explanation for the scratch until Sunday morning when Joseph was sent an electronic message saying the horse was off in his left front fore.
"The only thing I have to say is that we've had this horse since he was a 2-year-old and he has never missed a day of training. He has never missed a race. Period," Cornett said. "Where the story lies is with the vets. Not us."
Cornett said White Abarrio, winner of the 2023 Classic, would return to Florida with Joseph and race again.
"There's no reason he shouldn't race," he said.
White Abarrio, a son of Race Day, is owned by C2 Racing Stable, Gary Barber, and La Milagrosa Stable.
