Aidan O’Brien does it again! Benvenuto Cellini storms Breeders’ Cup Turf for record 24th win as Sovereignty lands $7m Classic

Aidan O’Brien left Keeneland with yet another slice of Breeders’ Cup history on Saturday night. Benvenuto Cellini, the Irish Derby winner, came from well back under Ryan Moore to land the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, giving the Ballydoyle trainer his 24th win at the meeting and moving him clear of Bob Baffert as the most successful trainer in the event’s history.

It capped a weekend in which O’Brien had already struck twice on Friday with juveniles Sun Goddess and Haffner. Saturday’s Turf was the only European success on a day that otherwise belonged to the Americans and, in one race, Japan.

A late swoop from a tight spot

The 3-1 favourite did not have things his own way. According to the Irish Times, Benvenuto Cellini found himself stuck on the rail in a difficult position before Moore extracted him and produced a strong finishing run to get up. The French-trained outsider Map of Stars, from the Francis-Henri Graffard stable, came from behind to take second, with O’Brien’s Arc third Diamond Necklace in third.

Moore had chosen Benvenuto Cellini over Diamond Necklace, and the decision proved right. RTÉ reported it was O’Brien’s record eighth win in the Turf and a record sixth in the race for Moore. O’Brien paid tribute to his jockey afterwards, saying Moore had given the colt “a brilliant ride”.

The win is also a landmark for Ballydoyle’s season as a whole. The Irish Times noted that it equalled O’Brien’s own 2017 world record of 28 Group or Grade One victories in a single year, with two months of 2026 still to run.

Redemption after a stop-start season

For Benvenuto Cellini, a son of Frankel, this was a return to the form that won him the Irish Derby. His campaign had been far from smooth. He was withdrawn from the Epsom Derby after a stalls mishap, was placed in the King George and was beaten two and a half lengths in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Ballydoyle also endured a summer slump that the Irish Times reported was put down to a low-grade infection in the yard.

Other Irish runners in the Turf struggled. Willie Mullins’s defending champion Ethical Diamond, who won the race last year with a late run, finished sixth, and Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell, ridden by Johanna Walsh, faded to 11th, RTÉ reported.

Near misses for Ireland and Godolphin’s Classic glory

Elsewhere on the card, Willie McCreery’s 25-1 shot Jancis ran a cracker to finish third in the Filly & Mare Turf behind Chad Brown’s Kathynmarissa, the best of the European challengers. Donnacha O’Brien’s Comanche Brave was fifth in the Turf Sprint won by Wesley Ward’s Bacio, and Godolphin’s defending champion Notable Speech finished second in the Mile behind Deterministic.

The night’s richest prize, the $7 million Classic, went to Sovereignty, trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado. The Godolphin colt, who had been scratched from last year’s Classic with a temperature, won by a length and three-quarters from The Puma, with Mott’s other runner Knightsbridge third after leading for much of the way. Forbes reported that the highly touted Forever Young could only manage fifth.

The Irish Times reported it was Godolphin’s first win in the Classic and Mott’s third, following Cigar in 1995 and Drosselmeyer in 2011. Forbes reported that Sovereignty will now retire to stud in Lexington.

What happens next

With the flat season in Europe winding down, attention at Ballydoyle turns to whether O’Brien can push past his 2017 mark of 28 top-level wins before the year ends, with any further Group or Grade One success elsewhere in the world now a record-breaker. Connections have not yet confirmed future plans for Benvenuto Cellini, but a colt with an Irish Derby and a Breeders’ Cup Turf on his CV will be a valuable stallion prospect if he does not race on at four.

For Irish racing fans, the focus now switches firmly to the jumps, with the National Hunt season gathering pace after the weekend’s Grade One action at Down Royal.

Sources

• RTÉ: Ballydoyle’s Benvenuto Cellini lands Breeders’ Cup Turf (31 October 2026)
• The Irish Times: Benvenuto Cellini delivers for Aidan O’Brien to win Breeders’ Cup Turf (31 October 2026)
• US Racing: Breeders’ Cup 2026 results and payouts (31 October 2026)
• Forbes: Breeders’ Cup Classic 2026 results, Sovereignty wins (31 October 2026)

Featured image: Keeneland racetrack by Kaplansa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.