Bacio, Kalpana, Item among Breeders’ Cup qualifiers at York

A quartet of Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series qualifiers took place at York Racecourse in England this week. The action included three prestigious Group 1 prizes.

Nunthorpe (G1)

Bacio, a speedy three-year-old trained by Wesley Ward, emerged as a serious Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) contender when beating older rivals in Friday’s five-furlong Nunthorpe over good-to-soft turf.

Entering off a 3 3/4-length drubbing of the Palace of Holyroodhouse handicap at Royal Ascot, Bacio was always in control against 17 rivals at York. He dashed to the lead under jockey Juan Hernandez and maintained a decisive advantage throughout, eventually crossing the wire 1 1/4 lengths clear in :59.42.

Starlust, winner of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, edged Rumstar by a nose for second place. Time for Sandals, Rayevka, Night Raider, Jm Jungle, Asfoora, Cover Up, Heavenly Heather, Redorange, American Affair, Ain’t Nobody, Pershaada, Partisan Hero, Mission Central, Azure Angel, and Fitzella trailed the field.

Bacio now boasts a near-perfect 5-for-6 career record, with his lone defeat coming by half a length in last year’s Speakeasy S. He’s 3-for-3 this season.

Yorkshire Oaks (G1)

Kalpana continued a strong season by battling to a tenacious victory in Thursday’s 1 1/2-mile Yorkshire Oaks (G1), earning a ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).

Heavily favored after beating males in last month’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1), Kalpana had to work harder than expected to take top honors at York. She rated off the pace and chased down a runaway leader in the homestretch, but then drifted around and had to dig deep to repulse an inside challenge from Sparan Nua, winning by a short head in 2:36.00 over good-to-soft ground.

Defending Yorkshire Oaks winner Minnie Hauk finished third, 2 1/2 lengths behind the top pair, followed by Earth Shot, Tattycoram, Johanna Walsh, Sugar Island, Inis Mor, and Legacy Link.

Kalpana is a Juddmonte homebred trained by Andrew Balding. She was guided to victory by regular rider Colin Keane.

Juddmonte International (G1)

Balding and Keane also teamed up to win Wednesday’s 1 5/16-mile Juddmonte International (G1) with longshot three-year-old Item.

The up-and-coming son of Frankel entered in fine form, having previously won the York (G2) and Dante (G2) over the course and distance of the Juddmonte International. However, he was overlooked in the betting thanks to the presence of defending Juddmonte International winner Ombudsman and the exciting sophomore Constitution River, both victorious in multiple Group 1 races this season.

But Ombudsman failed to mount his strongest challenge, and Constitution River tired after tracking the pace and taking the lead in the homestretch. Close to home, it appeared as though Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) hero Almaqam would claim first prize, but then Item—who lacked racing room through much of the homestretch—launched a last-minute outside rally to prevail by a head in 2:08.44 over good ground.

Almaqam pulled 3 1/2 lengths clear of Constitution River, while Ombudsman, Zaydann, Hawk Mountain, Devil’s Advocate, and Action completed the order of finish.

Winning the Juddmonte International secured Item a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

Acomb (G3)

Haffner stamped his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) when conquering nine rivals in Wednesday’s seven-furlong Acomb (G3).

The Aidan O’Brien trainee was never far back while racing wide and took over when called upon by jockey Ryan Moore, ultimately winning by two lengths. He stopped the clock in 1:25.96 over good turf.

Gentle Hurricane, Trean, Alfred Wallace, Clash of Hearts, Stardom Glory, Big Cigar, Siouxperb, Fuel the Jet, and Vega King chased home the winner.

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