Al Shaqab Racing, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor et al’s favoured Unquestionable (FR) surged past My Boy Prince at the eighth pole and held off stablemate Mountain Bear (IRE) by 1 ½ lengths to win the 17th running of the $1 million Prevagen Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf for 2-year-olds to wrap up Future Stars Friday on the first day of the 40th World Championships at Santa Anita.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, Unquestionable covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:33.65.
For O’Brien, it is his 17th World Championships victory and the 13th for Moore.
The trainer-jockey combination has won this race six times with other victories coming with Wrote (IRE) (2011), George Vancouver (2012), Hit It a Bomb (2015), Mendelssohn (2017) and Victoria Road (IRE) (2022).
Air Recruit set the pace from the inside while being tracked by My Boy Prince with Unquestionable getting a ground-saving trip behind the top two. Leadership went unchanged to the top of the stretch where Moore swung Unquestionable off the rail and into the three path for clear running.
Unquestionable hit the front at the eighth pole, opened a daylight margin and had more than enough to hold off Mountain Bear, who finished a head in front of My Boy Prince.
The victory was worth $520,000 and increased Unquestionable’s earnings to $671,394 with a record of 6-2-2-1. Unquestionable is a son of Wootton Bassett (GB) out of the Sea The Stars (IRE) mare Strawberry Lace (GB).
The racing continues with a 19h20 start this evening.
Enjoy the replay:
