Forever Young claims Classic prize for Japan

Forever Young provided Japan with their first ever success in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Saturday night when fending off the late challenge from Sierra Leone.

A winner of the Saudi Cup prior to his third-place finish in the Dubai World Cup earlier in the season, Forever Young enjoyed a routine success in his homeland before heading back out to Del Mar in a bid to reverse the placings with Sierra Leone and Fierceness from their meeting twelve months ago. 

Under an aggressive but well-planned Ryusei Sakai ride, Forever Young, who also finished third in last year's Kentucky Derby, moved up to press Sierra Leone's pacemaker Contrary Thinking from the outset, with Japanese contingent clearly intent on spoiling things for the defending champion.  

As Contrary Thinking backed out of things, Fierceness, Journalism and Sierra Leone all looked in with a shout of running down the new leader Forever Young but the Japanese-trained four-year-old kicked entering the straight, taking a couple of lengths out of his rivals.  

Sierra Leone arrived out wide to throw down a challenge in the straight and it momentarily looked as though he might run him down. However, Forever Young dug deep, repelling the bid by a diminishing margin. Fierceness finished back in third to ensure the same horses from last year's renewal would fill the top three spots on the podium once more. 

Winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who has already enjoyed Breeders' Cup success in Del Mar having landed both the Distaff and Filly & Mare Turf at the California track previously, said: "This is like the Japanese football team winning the World Cup,"  

"Horse racing people never expect to win the Breeders' Cup Classic, so this means a lot for us. 

"Obviously this time we made sure he was at 100 per cent condition, so if he got loose this was what he could do. 

"We really appreciate our horse, and we have now come first in America." 

On future plans, Yahagi added: "We plan to go to Saudi maybe next year, which will be his last year. I'd like to challenge all over the world in the big races too. I'd like to win all of it."