Gulfstream Park Well-Represented at Breeders’ Cup

Two-Day World Championships Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Including nearly half the pre-entries for the $7 million Classic (G1), Gulfstream Park once again finds itself well-represented in the 43rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

A total of 255 pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup Oct. 30 and 31 at Keeneland were announced Wednesday including 222 individual horses, both event records.

The 1 ¼-mile Classic drew 11 pre-entries led by defending champion Forever Young. Five of his rivals have Gulfstream connections including Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott stablemates Knightsbridge and Sovereignty.

Knightsbridge won the Mr. Prospector (G3), Fred Hooper (G3) and Gulfstream Park Mile (G3) during the 2025-2026 Championship Meet and has since won two more stakes including the Aug. 22 Pacific Classic (G1) in his most recent start. Sovereignty won the Fountain of Youth (G2) and was second in the Florida Derby (G1) to launch his 2025 Horse of the Year campaign.

Gulfstream’s perennial leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. pre-entered Forged Steel in both the Classic and $1 million Dirt Mile (G1). Forged Steel made eight of his first 10 career starts at Gulfstream, five of them on turf, and earned an automatic spot in the field with his victory in the Sept. 26 Goodwood (G1) at Santa Anita under Gulfstream-based jockey Edwin Gonzalez.

Other Classic contenders with Gulfstream ties are Napoleon Solo, fifth to open his 3-year-old season in the Feb. 28 Fountain of Youth before going on to win the Preakness (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, May 16 at Laurel Park; and The Puma, winner of the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3) who ran second in his Jan. 10 unveiling and the March 28 Florida Derby at Gulfstream. Both horses are also pre-entered in the Dirt Mile.

In addition to Forged Steel, Knightsbridge and Napoleon Solo, Dirt Mile pre-entries include Full Serrano, third-place finisher in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 24.

Burnham Square and Test Score were both pre-entered in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). Burnham Square, trained by Ian Wilkes, ran second in an optional claiming allowance on the Fountain of Youth undercard Feb. 28 before going on to reel off four consecutive wins, all in stakes, three of them graded led by the Aug. 1 Arlington Million (G1). Test Score began his 4-year-old season with a victory in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Jan. 24 over Graham Motion-trained stablemate One Stripe.

Among the pre-entries in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) are Eunomia and Nitrogen. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Nitrogen opened her 2025 3-year-old filly championship season with a victory in Gulfstream’s Ginger Brew going a mile on the grass – the first of nine career stakes wins, eight graded, including Grade 1s on turf and dirt. Joseph-trained Eunomia got her 2026 season under way running third to stablemate Claret Beret in Gulfstream’s Feb. 14 Royal Delta (G3) and most recently won the Clement Hirsch (G1) Aug. 1 at Del Mar.

Casse-trained 4-year-old filly Classic Q was pre-entered in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. After finishing 12th in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) Jan. 24, she was beaten less than a length in the Feb. 28 Honey Fox (G3) and since won three graded-stakes including the Just a Game (G1) and First Lady (G1) last out Oct. 3 at Keeneland.

Other Mile pre-entrants include Pegasus Turf veterans Cabo Spirit and Formidable Man, while among the pre-entered Filly & Mare Turf field is a pair of Brendan Walsh trainees – Expensive Queen, a Jan. 18 optional claiming allowance winner at Gulfstream that won Keeneland’s Jenny Wiley (G1) two starts later; and 2026 Honey Fox winner Lush Lips, undefeated in three career Gulfstream starts.

Joseph, winner of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) with eventual 2024 champion Soul of an Angel, will have a pair of contenders this year in Kerry’s Kiss and R Disaster. Kerry’s Kiss has put together three straight wins since being privately purchased, all in Gulfstream stakes, capped by the Sept. 12 Princess Rooney (G3) that earned her an automatic berth. R Disaster was a front-running winner of the Hurricane Bertie (G3) March 7, later winning the Derby City Distaff (G1) in Kentucky and Gallant Bloom (G2) in New York.

Also pre-entered in the Filly & Mare Sprint was two-time Grade 1-winning millionaire and leading contender Ways and Means, who ran second in the 2024 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) in her third career start and first as a 3-year-old.

Joseph’s fifth and final Breeders’ Cup pre-entrant comes in the $1 million Turf Sprint (G1) – In Our Time, who ran third in the 2025 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf and ninth this year before being cut back to one-turn where she most recently won the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint (G1) Aug. 29. Shisospicy, trained by Gulfstream-based Jose D’Angelo, was pre-entered to defend her title from last fall at Del Mar. Pre-entrant Possiblemente won the 2024 Sabal Palm overnight handicap on Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course.

In the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), July 26 Bing Crosby (G1) winner Listenupshance was fourth in a June 2025 maiden claimer at Gulfstream for original trainer Luis Gonzalez, and Roll On Big Joe graduated in January 2023 and won an optional claiming allowance in March 2024 at Gulfstream. Second on the also-eligible list is multiple graded-stakes winner Mad House, who has trained since mid-May primarily at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.