Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Ascot hosts final Breeders’ Cup prep

The 2026 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland is 18 days away. Catch up on the latest news and developments with our weekly Breeders’ Cup Roundup:

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series wraps up at Ascot

Two weeks out from the Breeders’ Cup, the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series will come to an end on Saturday with the running of the Champion (G1) at Ascot Racecourse in England.

A 1 1/4-mile qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), the Champion is expected to draw a strong field. Possible starters include defending Champion winner Calandagan, two-time Prince of Wales’s (G1) winner Ombudsman, reigning Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) victor Gstaad, Coronation Cup (G1) conqueror Bay City Roller, Irish Champion (G1) winner Hotazhell, Eclipse (G1) winner Constitution River, and Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) hero Almaqam.

The Champion is one of five Group 1 stakes taking place on Saturday at Ascot. Another prominent race is the one-mile Queen Elizabeth II (G1), which could potentially yield starters for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). Potential entrants include Gstaad and Constitution River, plus decisive Joel (G2) winner Talk of New York, Poule d’Essai des Poulains (G1) heroine Rayif, last year’s Vincent O’Brien National (G1) winner Zavateri, and Queen Anne (G1) 1-2 finishers Ten Bob Tony and More Thunder.

Early betting for the six-furlong British Champions Sprint (G1), a potential prep for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), has established Almeraq as an overwhelming favorite. The talented four-year-old boasts wins in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee (G1) and Sprint Cup (G1) this season.

The 1 1/2-mile British Champions Fillies & Mares (G1) is led by Yorkshire Oaks (G1) and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) winner Kalpana, who exits a respectable fifth-place finish in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1). Challengers in this possible Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) prep include 2025 Arc runner-up and Breeders’ Cup Turf participant Minnie Hauk, Irish Oaks (G1) winner Johanna Walsh, and narrowly beaten Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Sparan Nua.

The two-mile British Champions Long Distance Cup (G1) is unlikely to yield any Breeders’ Cup starters, but the race is shaping up as an exciting showdown between multiple Group 1 winners Caballo de Mar and Scandinavia, who were separated by a short neck when finishing 1-2 in the 2 1/2-mile Prix du Cadran (G1) on Oct. 3.

Sovereignty trains for Breeders’ Cup Classic

Sovereignty, the 2025 Horse of the Year who missed last month’s Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) due to a foot abscess, is back in serious training and gearing up for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

Last year’s Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont (G1), and Travers (G1) hero has posted a trio of recent workouts over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga. He went four furlongs in :49.40 on Sept. 25, four furlongs in :51.51 on Oct. 2, and five furlongs in 1:01.01 on Sunday.

Reigning Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Forever Young was likewise on the Sunday work tab, albeit at Belmont Park. Fresh off a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, he clocked half a mile in :51.98.

Knightsbridge, the runaway Pacific Classic (G1) winner who could race in either the Breeders’ Cup Classic or Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), worked six furlongs in 1:12.96 over the Oklahoma training track one week ago.

Golden Tempo, conqueror of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont this season, has been training at Keeneland, where he clocked five furlongs in 1:01.80 last Friday.

Magnitude, who defeated Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup (G1) and Sovereignty in the Stephen Foster (G1), sped five furlongs in 1:00.60 on Saturday at Keeneland.

Daryz retired to stud

As widely expected, two-time Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) winner Daryz had been retired to stud.

The first male horse to complete an Arc double since Alleged in 1977-78, Daryz retires with a 12-9-1-1 career record. In addition to his Arc triumphs, he boasts wins in the Prix Aga Khan IV (G1) and Prix Ganay (Prix d’Ispahan) (G1).

Daryz’s 2026 Arc triumph secured him a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but his retirement precludes a start at Keeneland.

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series qualifiers

The following horses have secured Win and You’re In berths to the 2026 Breeders’ Cup via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. Not all qualifiers are currently active or targeting the Breeders’ Cup.

Breeders’ Cup Classic

Baby Vino
Costa Nova
Forever Young
Forged Steel
Item
Knightsbridge
Magnitude
Skippylongstocking
Sovereignty

Breeders’ Cup Turf

Calandagan
Daryz
Eccentric
Hotazhell
Kalpana
Meisho Tabaru
Obataye
Ombudsman
Survie
Test Score
Tiffany

Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Claret Beret
Eunomia
Fully Subscribed
Herd Immunity
Immersive
Nitrogen
Super Corredora

Breeders’ Cup Mile

Bow Echo
Cabo Spirit
Deterministic
Notable Speech
Ombudsman
Rhetorical
Sixpence
Ten Bob Tony
The Real Prince
True Love

Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Dark Saffron
Dragon Welds
Imagination
Listenupshance
Nakatomi
T Kraft

Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Diktaean
Herr Kitten
Hymn
Iron Man Cal
Nysos

Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf

Blue Bolt
Diamond Necklace
Embroidery
Gimme a Nother
Kalpana
Kathynmarissa
Miss Scott
Se Va Colando
Thought Process
Wish List

Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint

Evanescence
Kerry’s Kiss
Ways and Means

Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint

Bacio
Comanche Brave
Kingdundee
Miss Yechance
Mission Central
Possiblemente
Reef Runner
Sorrento Sky

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

Agate
Al Hudaiba
Amusingly
Folsom Blues
Haffner
Let Em Know

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

American History
Hughes
U. S. S. Valor

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies

Domain Expansion
Emphatic
Summer Starlet

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf

Domestic Agenda
Green Empress
Moonrise
Serenas Ghost
Sun Goddess
Voyager

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

Good to Be King
Orthodox
Pershaada