How's Al Today has emerged as the American horse with the clearest chance to interrupt Europe's recent grip on the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, while owner Al Gold's former stable star Napoleon Solo gives the same connections a second compelling storyline in Saturday's Classic at Keeneland.
Trained by Riley Mott and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., How's Al Today will break from post five as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in Friday's $1 million Juvenile Turf. The son of Munnings has won three of four starts, including a 1 1/16-mile allowance race and the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile, where he stopped the clock in 1:34.84. That victory made him the leading domestic contender, although the form comes with an important question: Keeneland's flatter, tighter turf course will present a different test from Kentucky Downs' expansive European-style layout. Daily Racing Form reported that the colt has not raced since his September 9 victory, creating both a fitness question and an opportunity for a fresh horse.
The international opposition is formidable. Folsom Blues arrives for Joseph O'Brien after winning the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes, while Aidan O'Brien has multiple runners entered as the European operation seeks a sixth consecutive victory in the race. Great Barrier Reef, drawn widest in post 14, remained a potential scratch because of a stone bruise, an important late variable in a race where position and the first turn can shape the entire trip. The field's international depth is reflected in the broader pre-entry list: DRF counted 75 foreign horses among 222 Breeders' Cup pre-entries.
Gold's weekend does not end with the Juvenile Turf. Napoleon Solo, sold privately after carrying Gold Square's colors to victory in the Preakness Stakes, will return to the Classic in the silks of Espoir USA. The Liam's Map colt has subsequently finished second in both the Haskell and Travers, and trainer Chad Summers chose the $7 million, 1 1/4-mile championship race over the Dirt Mile because he believes the three-year-old deserves another opportunity at the distance. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride. Paulick Report detailed the decision, including Summers' adjustments after he felt the horse briefly struggled for traction during an earlier Keeneland breeze.
The preparation has otherwise been encouraging. Napoleon Solo posted a five-furlong bullet in 58 seconds at Belmont Park on October 1, galloping out six furlongs in 1:10.26, then worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 at Keeneland on October 23. Summers described the latter move as intentionally controlled, and the colt's subsequent open gallop reportedly satisfied both trainer and exercise rider Emily Ellingwood. DRF's workout report noted that Velazquez was aboard for the faster Belmont move, giving the rider an early look at the horse before the Classic assignment.
Napoleon Solo will have to improve his finishing punch against a Classic field that includes defending champion Forever Young and fellow elite three-year-olds Sovereignty and Golden Tempo. The race's central handicapping question is whether his Preakness-winning tactical speed can carry him through 10 furlongs after runner-up finishes at nine furlongs in the Haskell and Travers. For Gold, the answer would provide a second chance at Keeneland after Cyberknife's narrow loss in the 2022 Dirt Mile. This time, his former horse is no longer in the barn, but Gold will still have a direct stake in the weekend's biggest race.
Keeneland's 43rd Breeders' Cup will feature 14 championship races and more than $34 million in purses and awards, with 72 Keeneland sales graduates entered across the program, according to Keeneland's official release. How's Al Today offers the most immediate American opportunity on Friday; Napoleon Solo supplies the higher-risk, higher-reward play on Saturday. Both races will test whether promising domestic form can withstand the sharper demands of a world championship.
