DEL MAR, CA – Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young (JPN), who finished third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic behind Sierra Leone and Fierceness, flipped the script Saturday at Del Mar, capturing the 42nd running of the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) by a half-length over Sierra Leone.
Trained by Yoshito Yahagi and ridden by Ryusei Sakai, Forever Young covered the mile and a quarter over a fast Del Mar track in 2:00.19. The win marked Yahagi’s third Breeders’ Cup victory and his first in the Classic, while Sakai earned his first-ever Breeders’ Cup triumph.
How the Race Unfolded
Forever Young, more forwardly placed than in 2024, tracked in third early behind pacesetters Contrary Thinking and Fierceness through fractions of :23.04, :45.97, and 1:10.48.
Approaching the far turn, Sakai gave Forever Young his cue, and the Japanese star swept to the front as Mindframe and Journalism launched their bids, with Fierceness saving ground along the rail. Forever Young maintained command into the stretch, fending off a furious late run from Sierra Leone to secure a historic victory for Japan.
Sierra Leone finished a length in front of Fierceness, who was 2 ¼ lengths ahead of Journalism. Rounding out the order of finish were Mindframe, Baeza, Nevada Beach, Antiquarian, and Contrary Thinking.
A Champion’s Resume
Forever Young, a 4-year-old son of Real Steel (JPN) out of the Congrats mare Forever Darling, earned $3,640,000 for the win, boosting his career earnings to $19,358,590. His record now stands at 13-10-0-3, including three Grade or Group 1 victories.
Post-Race Quotes
Winner: Forever Young
Winning owner Susumu Fujita: “My dream has come true, winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic. It was also the last opportunity to race against great 4-year-old, Sierra Leone and Fierceness as they are going to retire. Great to win the race against them as well.”
Winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi: “Training horses doesn’t usually go as I planned. He was 75% fit in his last appearance in the Nihon TV Hai and we were aiming to get him 100% fit here for the Classic. It went as I planned and he is a great horse who can make my plan real. He will stay in training and we would like to win all races he will run all over the world. The 2026 Classic at Keeneland is of course one of our options but it will be chilly in Kentucky!”
Second-Place Finisher: Sierra Leone
Trainer Chad Brown:
“Huge run. Look, the winner ran a terrific race. He was up on the pace and kicked. I think the track played against us today. Not to take anything away from the winner, but it’s been speed all day. I’m so proud of my horse’s effort. So courageous to run against the bias and nearly get there. Listen, him and Forever Young are closely related and they’ve had a wonderful rivalry from the Derby on and today it was Forever Young’s day to find the winner’s circle and hats off to them. They’ve really done a good job of bringing this horse back and he really fought on. Even though the track played against us, Flavien (Prat) thought he had him measured and Forever Young just found a little more late. A deserving winner.”
Jockey Flavien Prat:
“I thought I was going to get there and the winner just didn’t stop. I was comfortable… turning for home, I really thought I was going to make a big run, which he did, but I just couldn’t get by the winner.
“I’m very grateful to have been around such a good horse. He ran a good race again today.”
Third, Fifth, and Eighth: Fierceness, Mindframe, and Antiquarian
Trainer Todd Pletcher:
“(Fierceness) was in a difficult position. He’s inside of the pacemaker, so you either have to commit to try to make the lead and have a pacemaker pushing you or try to settle into a spot. He settled into a comfortable spot. He seemed like he was handling it pretty well. Johnny said the Japanese horse was kind of pushing him around around the far turn. He finally, finally got clear when some horses went on the outside. He got a decent run at him. It wasn’t an ideal scenario, but when we drew the one-hole we knew that it kind of handcuffed us a bit. That’s just kind of the way it worked out.”
On Mindframe: “Irad thought he had an opportunity to try to go, try to go win the race and put some pressure on the horses up front. He made his move, and then he just flattened out.”
Antiquarian: “Luis (Saez) said he was going OK until the middle of the turn, then he sort of came off the bridle and said he didn’t push him too hard after that.”
Jockey John Velazquez (Fierceness):
“It’s part of the racing, you know, the rabbit is there for a reason, and he (connections) wants me to put him in the lead. I can’t go with a rabbit, head and head with a rabbit, so I sat there. And then, the rabbit cost me, because he stopped in front of me and that was that.”
On the eventual winner:
“I know he had me there. I would have done the same thing. I’m not going to let him out, if it was me. So (the winner) rode his race with a very good strategy and it worked out for him.”
Fourth: Journalism
Trainer Michael McCarthy:
“Very pleased. Bounced out of there, found ourselves in a great position down the front side. I thought Jose (Ortiz) did a wonderful job of keeping him with in contact of the leaders. Put in a big run around the turn to kind of get his head up for the lead. Bested by a 2-year-old champion, a (3-year-old champion) and a Japanese champion. So, he’s best of the 3-year-olds here today. Reload and see what we got for next year.”
Jockey Jose Ortiz:
“It’s (the trip) just what we wanted. We wanted to be a little bit forward today, he was there for me. He bounced out of there and Mike (McCarthy, trainer) had him ready. He ran a good race and I was very excited around the three-eighth pole. I was in a great position. We fell short, but we had very nice horses in front of us. The Japanese horse (Forever Young, winner) is a world-traveled champion, 3-year-old of the year (Sierra Leone), Fierceness is very nice … very nice horses. He’s 3 and hopefully he comes back next year. Very excited to be on a horse like this.”
Fifth: Mindframe
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.:
“We got a beautiful trip. I was waiting for the right time to go but he just got beat today. He tried.”
Sixth: Baeza
Trainer John Shirreffs:
“I think the start cost us a lot. (Jockey Hector Berrios) said he wasn’t standing still in the gate, and when they opened it, he hopped a little bit. I would say he lost all chance at the start. He wasn’t able to get into his rhythm. He made a little move, but he wasn’t like he was at the (Pennsylvania) Derby. It really isn’t that disappointing. He is a fabulous horse, and he ran some great races and this is just one race. He has his 4-year-old year ahead of him. I am one of those people that just turn the page. Move on.”
Jockey Hector Berrios:
“He was uncomfortable in the gate. He started to dance, and when they opened the gates, he jumped. From there I tried to get him comfortable again, and at first he responded, but I tried to ask in the stretch and he got tired.”
Seventh: Nevada Beach
Trainer Bob Baffert:
“It wasn’t the result we wanted. He got behind runners and he just didn’t take off. It was a tough race, he was in steep but we took a crack at it.”
Jockey Mike Smith:
“This is a tough bunch. He was there in a nice spot and at the three-eighths pole, the field quickened and left me (behind). He’s still lightly raced and this wasn’t to his best liking but he tried his best.”
Eighth: Antiquarian
Jockey Luis Saez:
“We picked up a beautiful spot but the horses in this field were so tough. They just kept going.”
Ninth: Contrary Thinking
Jockey Florent Geroux:
“All I wanted to do is make it fair for everyone, make sure we didn’t disturb anyone, but Sierra Leone just couldn’t get there.”
Forever Young’s victory cements his place as one of Japan’s all-time greats on the world stage — a year after falling short, he returned to Del Mar and conquered the Classic.
