Oscar Performance Wins $1 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

ARCADIA, Calif. (Nov. 4, 2016) – The Amerman Racing Stables’ Oscar Performance ($15.20) took command at the head of the stretch and went on to win the 10^th running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) by 1 ¼ lengths over Lancaster Bomber to kick off the 33^rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday afternoon at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Oscar Performance covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:33.28. It was the first Breeders’ Cup victory for Lynch and Ortiz and the second for the Amerman Racing Stable, which won the 2003 Distaff with Adoration.

BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE TURF QUOTES

Winning trainer Brian Lynch (Oscar Performance) – “Absolutely fantastic. You always hope that it’s in the stars and it’s lovely when they all line up. He’s always been a little bit above the other 2-year-olds and we’ve worked him with the older horses and he sat and waited lovely and kicked it in in his works, so it was nice to see it all come to play today. Jose (Ortiz) got him to cruise down the backside and kicked it in.”

Winning jockey Jose Ortiz (Oscar Performance) – “I had a perfect trip. He broke very alertly. I put myself where I wanted to be, right behind the speed. Approaching the half-mile pole I felt I had a lot horse underneath me, so I just kind of waited until I crossed the quarter pole to unleash him.”

Second-place jockey Seamus Heffernan (Lancaster Bomber) – “He didn’t break quite as well as the American horses, but he ran a great race. I think he was as good as the winner, but the winner had a better trip.”

Second-place trainer Aidan O’Brien – “I was very pleased with that. He ran a super race and stayed on well at the finish.”

Third-place jockey Joel Rosario (Good Samaritan) – “On the first turn, it looked like the horse in front of me clipped heels so I had to take a hold of him and wait a little longer. After all of the (early trouble), he responded very nicely. He’s a good horse.”

Third-place trainer Bill Mott (Good Samaritan) – He (jockey Joel Rosario) said whoever was on the seven nearly clipped heels and he had to take back. He was shuffled back to next to last after sitting mid-pack heading into the turn. It might have been a good effort to finish third. It’s hard to say. I’d like to watch the replay to try and put it all together.”

Fourth-place jockey Rafael Bejarano (Ticonderoga) – “He was a little wide in the beginning so I took him to the inside to save ground. In the stretch, I took him back to the outside and he was flying.”

Breeders’ Cup and Santa Anita Park