2011 Breeders' Cup: A Look at Results from Saturday Night

The last few races of Saturday's Breeders' Cup were not for the faint of heart as excitement reigned the track and history was made. From the youngest jockey ever winning the Breeders' Cup Turf to Drosselmeyer shocking the Classic, it was a fun-filled night that will never be forgotten. Let's take a look back at the results of the last few races of the 2011 Breeders' Cup.

Breeders' Cup Turf

When Aidan O'Brien named his son Joseph O'Brien on St. Nicholas Abbey for the Breeders' Cup Turf, some people wondered if it might be a publicity stunt, but those in Europe knew the 18-year-old jockey was good.

The younger O'Brien rode an excellent race that saw his mount sitting midpack around the track before moving up in the last furlongs of the race. The pair finished two-and-a-quarter lengths in front of another British invader named Sea Moon with American Brilliant Speed in third.

Both O'Brien and St. Nicholas Abbey had unique stories. The four-year-old colt had an awesome two-year old season before only running once as a three-year-old due to injury. He came back this year to either win or hit the board in all of his races by the Quat Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in his last out where he finished sixth.

"We didn't run that bad in the Guinness.  I think he finished sixth.  Then he sustained an injury.  We just kept him off for the rest of the year.  The following year ‑‑ it's been a while since he showed the brilliance of the post.  We knew it was there.  Everything came together today.  He's always been a brilliant horse.  We always had immense confidence in him," said owner Derrick Smith.

Jockey Joseph O'Brien looked to be an outstanding rider on the colt, but at 5'11" the jockey may be moving on to another position in the horse industry in the next few years.

"I'll keep riding for as long as possible," Joseph O'Brien said. "Obviously, I can't control my height and weight.  I'll try to control it as long as possible and take it from there."

Breeders' Cup Juvenile

The three major strongholds in racing made up the Top Three placings in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile as Kentucky-based Hansen proved to be the best over New York-based Union Rags with California horse Creative Cause coming in third a length behind the two. The rest of the 13-horse field finished five lengths back.

The end of the race proved to be exciting as Union Rags and Hansen duked it out in the final strides with Union Rags getting to Hansen the stride after the wire in what many hope is a preview of next year's Kentucky Derby. But it is questionable if the horses will meet with Hansen, who possibly making his way south for the winter.

"My guess is we'll go to Florida.  Obviously, we'll have that next on our topic," trainer Michael Maker said.

Hansen is the son of the hot sire Tapit out of the Sir Cat mare Stormy Sunday who went three-for-four in lower-level races.

Breeder's Cup Mile

The Breeders' Cup Mile looked to be another crown for three-time winner Goldikova. But while Goldikova was expected to win, the Mile looked as strong as it had in years.  Nonetheless, the winner wasn't anyone that most people would expect.

Court Vision, a long shot that hadn't won since September of 2010, looked to be content racing in the back of the pack.  Suffice it to say, it was a surprise when the horse flew past the Queen of the Mile to assume the lead.  However, Court Vision wouldn't get the win easily as Turallure fought him every step of the stretch to end the race in a photo finish.

In the end, Court Vision would squeak out the win by a nose with Goldikova back in third.  An inquiry would be launched into an interference by Goldikova with the last-place horse Courageous Cat, but in the end the order would stand.

But just like others in the Breeders' Cup, both Court Vision and Goldikova would be making their way to the breeding shed after the race.

"We've already made plans for him to go to Canada, and that's what he'll do," Spendthrift's general manager Ned Toffy said. "He'll come to the farm.  We'll let the breeders take a look at him during the November sale, and then he'll ship up to Canada and Park Stud."

It was no surprise that the Breeders' Cup Mile would be Goldikova's last race, but the news of who she may be bred to was a welcome surprise to listeners.

"I think they plan to send her to Galileo," trainer Freddy Head said.

Breeders' Cup Classic

Mike Smith's heart was broken after last year's Breeders' Cup Classic when he was on the wrong side of a head bob with Zenyatta. This year he started the healing process with a one-and-a-half length victory on Winstar's Drosselmeyer over Game On Dude.

In addition to Smith's revenge, it was also Bill Mott's second "Classic" win of the weekend as he captured the Ladies' Classic with Royal Delta.

Drosselmeyer may be best known for a win in the Belmont Stakes last year, although he did win the May 2011 One Count Stakes at one-and-a-quarter miles. Incidentally, this year's Belmont Stakes winner Ruler on Ice finished third in the race.

After the Classic win, Winstar seemed to rethink their retirement plans for the stallion.

"We're probably going to retire him, but we'll sit down and huddle up tomorrow and talk about making that decision then.  But the plans were to retire him after this race," Winstar president Elliott Walden said. "You know, as Bill said, he won the Belmont, and this puts him in a very unique position to win the Belmont and the Breeders' Cup Classic."

Favorites Havre de Grace and Uncle Mo finished in fourth and 10th respectively, opening up a new can of worms for Horse of the Year discussions in the coming months.