Modern Games beats Bass-bred Annapolis, 12 others in Breeders’ Cup Mile; Flightline dominates in Classic

William Buick celebrates after riding Modern Games to victory in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland Race Course. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Irish-bred Modern Games defeated Bass Racing’s homebred Annapolis and 12 other world-class thoroughbreds Saturday in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.

The race was contested as part of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, an event highlighted by the highly anticipated and widely expected victory of undefeated Flightline, a career-finale romp in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The undefeated 4-year-old won the 1¼-mile race by a record 8¼ lengths and now will be retired to a breeding career at Lane’s End Farms in Versailles, Kentucky.

Modern Games, trained by British trainer Charles Appleby and ridden by England-based jockey William Buick, was the 6-5 betting favorite in the BC Mile and prevailed by three quarters of a length over long-shot (55-1) runner-up Shirl’s Speight on the Keeneland grass course.

Annapolis, a product of the thoroughbred breeding and racing operation run by Fort Worth philanthropist Ramona Bass and her son Perry Bass II, was second choice in the wagering (5-1) but never managed to get into contention and finished 11th after breaking toward the back of the 14-horse field under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. It was the first time the Todd Pletcher-trained 3-year-old colt has finished worse than second in an eight race career that has produced five wins and two seconds.

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While local fans were focused on Annapolis and the BC Mile, much of the racing world was fixated on the marquee race of the day, the Classic, and Flightline left no doubt about the identity of this year’s top thoroughbred.

The much-praised colt overtook pacesetter Life Is Good entering the top of the stretch and coasted to victory in the $6 million race, all but locking up honors as Horse of the Year.

“Brilliant is his normal,” trainer John Sadler said. “He didn’t disappoint, and never has. … This race, he’s just a remarkable, remarkable horse.”

Flightline entered Saturday’s action with 5-0 lifetime record and an average victory margin of nearly 13 lengths, making him the overwhelming 2-5 favorite in an eight-horse field that included second choice Epicenter (5-1) and Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike.

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“He’s just that rare horse that happens every 20 or 30 years,” Sadler added. “One of the best American racehorses we’ve seen in a long, long time. And I’m talking back to Secretariat, Seattle Slew, you go through the list.”

Ridden by Flavien Part, Flightline covered the mile and a quarter in 2:00.05 and paid $2.88 for a $2 win bet. His winning time was just off Authentic’s record of 1:59.60 set at Keeneland two years ago.

Olympiad finished second at odds of 26-1, Taiba (8-1) was third and Rich Strike (24-1) was fourth.

The nine-race Breeders’ Cup card went off with partly sunny skies and stiff crosswinds blowing across the infield and backstretch. It became more overcast as the Classic neared before a crowd of 45,973 but no rain fell.

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In other Breeders’ Cup races:

  • $4 million Turf: Rebel’s Romance swept past the leaders with a furlong left and ran to a 2¼-length victory over fellow Irish bred Stone Age. The race featured nine Irish horses, one from Brazil and another from China.
  • $2 million Filly and Mare Turf: Tuesday caught In Italian at the 1/16th mark and ran to a one-length victory. The Irish-bred won for the third time this year and ended a four-race drought.
  • $2 million Sprint: Elite Power won by 1¼ lengths over C Z Rocket, one of two wins for trainer Bill Mott.
  • $1 million Dirt Mile: Favorite Cody’s Wish caught and then outdueled Cyberknife in the stretch to win by a head. The colt was named for Cody Dorman, 17, who has Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. A postrace inquiry initially delayed the finish becoming official as stewards examined possible interference between Cyberknife, Slow Down Andy and Law Professor. The finish was upheld.
  • $1 million Turf Sprint: 42-1 long shot Caravel pulled the upset, going wire-to-wire in beating British bred Emaraaty Ana by half a length.
  • $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint: Goodnight Olive moved to the front entering the stretch and won the seven-furlong Breeders’ Cup opener by 2½ lengths over Echo Zulu. She earned her sixth consecutive victory and fourth as a 4-year-old.

Three horses suffered medical issues and were pulled up in separate races:

  • Jockey Joel Rosario pulled up Hall of Famer trainer Steve Asmussen’s Epicenter on the backstretch of the Breeders’ Cup Classic with a fractured right forelimb. Epicenter walked onto the equine ambulance and was taken to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, where he underwent surgery. Asmussen said veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage inserted two screws to stabilize the injury. Epicenter will be retired from racing but Asmussen said “the prognosis is excellent for him to be a healthy sire.”
  • Bob Baffert-trained Messier, competing for the first time since finishing 19th in the Kentucky Derby, was pulled up after the second race after jockey John Velazquez observed bleeding. The 3-year-old colt was taken to the barn for evaluation and was stable and comfortable.
  • British gelding Domestic Spending was pulled up by jockey Flavien Prat just off the far turn during the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile. Trainer Chad Brown later tweeted that the horse sustained a serious pelvic fracture and was in stable condition at Rood & Riddle.