Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf 2020: Who are the fastest contenders?

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf 2020: Who are the fastest contenders?
Photo: Coady Photography

As usual, the Europeans figure to have a strong hand in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Aidan O'Brien's Battleground could vie for favoritism, while stablemate St Mark's Basilica is one of a handful of other possible runners.

As the Europeans sort out who will ultimately contest the race, we take a look at the fastest North American based runners in the field to see how they stack up by comparing their Beyer, Brisnet and Timeform Figures below.

Horse Best/Last Beyer Best/Last    Brisnet Figure Best/Last Timeform Figure 
Mutasaabeq84/7588/8898/91
Gretzky the Great83/8392/8996/96
Outadore 82/8282/7896/96
Public Sector 76/7681/8186/86
Fire At Will80/8084/8387/87
Catman71/7186/8687/87
  Abarta71/7185/8589/89
 Ready to Repeat75/7590/8598/93
Into the Sunrise 78/6991/8496/93
 Ebeko67/6778/7893/93
Caisson65/6577/7776/76
  Dolder Grand73/7083/83 95/94
 Credit River70/5586/79 90/76

Who is the fastest: Mutasaabeq has the highest Beyer and Timeform figures in the field, but they came during his dirt debut. He received a surprisingly low number (75) for his Bourbon Stakes (G2) win on the turf though it was visually pleasing. Summer Stakes (G1) winner Gretzky the Great has consistently put forth the highest juvenile grass figures throughout the year with Outadore right on his tail.

One thing that stands out: There is tremendous balance in this field among the North American-based runners, which leads one to believe that this is a race ripe for the taking by the Europeans. The highest turf Beyer in the field is a modest 83 and no North American runner has yet to crack 100 on the Timeform scale. For comparison sake, Battleground has achieved a Timeform number of 110, while St Mark's Basilica has reached as high as 113.

[Related: Prospective odds and fields for all 14 Breeders' Cup races]

Odds and accomplishments for the 2020 Juvenile Fillies runners:

Horse Claim to Fame Last RaceHRN  Odds 
BattlegroundGroup 2 winner 1st in Vintage 7-2
MutasaabeqG2 winner on turf, debut winner on dirt 1st in Bourbon 4-1 
St Mark's BasilicaGroup 1 winner1st Dewhurst  9-2
Cadillac Champions Juvenile Stakes (G2) winner5th in Dewhurst 8-1
Gretzky the GreatG1 winner1st in Summer 8-1
Outadore Juvenile Turf Sprint (Kentucky Downs) winner1st in Juvenile Turf Sprint 12-1 
New Mandate Group 2 winner1st in Royal Lodge Stakes 12-1 
Public Sector Grade 2 placed 2nd in Pilgrim  12-1 
 Fire At Will Dual surface stakes winner1st in Pilgrim 15-1 
CatmanLRL Futurity winner1st in LRL Futurity 20-1
 AbartaG2 placed2nd in Bourbon  20-1 
 The Lir JetNorfolk Stakes (G2) winner5th in Middle Park  20-1 
 Ready to Repeat G1 placed2nd in Summer  20-1 
Into the Sunrise 2nd in Soarin Free Stakes4th in Bourbon  20-1 
 EbekoA win and a 2nd in two U.S. stakes tries   1st in Zuma Beach 20-1 
 Laws of Indices Railway Stakes (G2) winner3rd in Grand Criterium 30-1 
 Caisson Added blinkers while close 4th in stakes debut4th in Zuma Beach 30-1 
 Dolder Grand 800K purchase is a G1 placed maiden3rd in Summer Stakes 30-1 
 Credit RiverOntario Racing winner 6th in Cup Saucer 50-1

Juvenile Turf Updates

• Chad Brown's Public Sector was confirmed as one of his 13 Breeders' Cup runners.
• Mark Casse confirmed to HRN the Gretzky the Great and Dolder Grand would be among his eight Breeders' Cup horses.
• Albarta has been listed as a probable for the Juvenile Turf by Brad Cox.
• Aidan O'Brien has stated that Battleground is likely to ship for the Juvenile Turf and said St.Mark's Basilica is possible.

Who's already going: Gretzky the Great, Credit River, Public Sector, Battleground, Mutasaabeq, Outadore, Fire at Will, Atman, Abarta, The Lir Jet, Ready to Repeat, Ebeko, Dolder Grand

Who could be going: Into the Sunrise, St. Mark's Basilica, Cadillac, New Mandate, Laws of Indices

2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1)

*Rating is based on HRN fan votes, which rank the Top Active Horses in training.
RankSilksHorse / SireRatingTrainer / JockeyLast StartStatus
 Gretzky The Great
Nyquist
6.17
M. Casse
1st, 2020 Summer (G1) 
Probable
 Credit River
More Than Ready
6.07
B. Hayes
6th, 2020 Cup and Saucer (RS) 
Possible
 Public Sector
Kingman
5.87
C. Brown
2nd, 2020 Pilgrim (G2) 
Probable
 Mutasaabeq
Into Mischief
5.74
T. Pletcher
1st, 2020 Bourbon (G2) 
Probable
 Outadore
Outwork
5.67
W. Ward
1st, 2020 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint (LS) 
Probable
 Fire At Will
Declaration of War
5.59
M. Maker
1st, 2020 Pilgrim (G2) 
Probable
 Caisson
War Front
5.09
R. Mandella
4th, 2020 Zuma Beach (LS) 
Possible
 Ready To Repeat
More Than Ready
5.09
G. Cox
2nd, 2020 Summer (G1) 
Possible
 Abarta
Into Mischief
4.79
B. Cox
2nd, 2020 Bourbon (G2) 
Probable
 Ebeko
Awtaad
4.79
P. Miller
1st, 2020 Zuma Beach (LS) 
Probable
 Dolder Grand
Candy Ride
4.45
M. Casse
3rd, 2020 Summer (G1) 
Probable
 Go Athletico
Goken
4.45
P. Decouz
2nd, 2020 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte (G2) 
Possible
 The Lir Jet
Prince Of Lir
4.45
M. Bell-GB
5th, 2020 Middle Park Stakes (G1) 
Possible
 Battleground
War Front
A. O'Brien
1st, 2020 Vintage Stakes (G2) 
Probable
 Cadillac
Lope de Vega
M. Harrington
5th, 2020 Dewhurst Stakes (G1) 
Possible
 Into The Sunrise
Into Mischief
W. Ward
4th, 2020 Bourbon (G2) 
Possible
 Laws Of Indices
Power
K. Condon
3rd, 2020 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) 
Possible
 New Mandate
New Bay
R. Beckett
1st, 2020 Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) 
Probable
 One Ruler
Dubawi
C. Appleby
1st, 2020 Autumn Stakes (G3) 
Possible
 St Mark's Basilica
Siyouni
A. O'Brien
1st, 2020 Dewhurst Stakes (G1) 
Possible

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