Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ryan Moore decided to race with Benvenuto Cellini over stablemate and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe third-place finisher Diamond Necklace
- Published52 minutes ago
Ryan Moore won the Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland for a record sixth time on Saturday in Kentucky.
The English jockey triumphed in the £3.7m ($5m) feature race with Benvenuto Cellini, timing his final push perfectly and powering home by three-quarters of a lenght ahead of compatriot James Doyle on Map Of Stars in second.
It gave Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien a record-extending eighth victory in the race, with another of his horses Diamond Necklace finishing in third.
Moore was appointed MBE for services to racing and British sport in June, is widely regarded as the best jockey of his generation and rode Estimate to victory in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 2013 for Queen Elizabeth II.
O'Brien, who was equalling his own record of 28 top-level victories in a calendar year, praised his horse, who was 3-1 favourite.
"He's a horse that showed a lot of class. Ryan was calm and relaxed on him and let it happen. He was brilliant on him. He did it again, he had to come out and come round," he said.
"Time after time he produces on the day. He accepted early he let them go, but he had one bullet to fire which he executed perfectly."
"It's so special that everyone is here. It's a special day."
Benvenuto Cellini's dam Newspaperofrecord herself won the Breeders' Cup in 2018.
'Spectacular' victory for Sovereignty
In the Breeders' Cup Classic, Venezuelan jockey Junior Alvarado won with Sovereignty.
The four-year-old horse was scrapped from competing last year because of fever, but swept aside the competition including Japan's Forever Young who was going for his second successive win but finished in fifth.
Trained by American Bill Mott, Alvarado said his victory with Sovereignty was "spectacular".
"We really wanted to run so bad the Classic last year. I'm just so glad the Godolphin team gave us a chance to keep him in training and get to do what he did today," he said.
