#1 Forever YoungThe Defending Champion Is Still the Horse to Beat
He won the Classic last year, won the Saudi Cup again in February and won the Jockey Club Gold Cup off a six-month layoff. The only knock is a 105 Beyer, and there's a good reason for it.
Why He's #1
Forever Young is my number one horse in the Breeders' Cup Classic Power Rankings. He isn't the fastest horse in the field on recent Beyers, and I'll get to that. But when I put everything together, he's still the horse everyone else has to beat.
He's the defending champion. He has won the Saudi Cup, the world's richest race, two years running. And unlike Sovereignty, he got exactly the prep his connections wanted, winning the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1¼ miles on Sept. 18 to earn his Win and You're In berth.
- Nov. 1, 2025 · Del Mar · 1¼ miles Breeders' Cup Classic WON Beat Sierra Leone by half a length at 7-2. 111 Beyer.
- Feb. 14 · Riyadh · 1800 meters Saudi Cup WON Won by a length over Nysos, his second straight Saudi Cup.
- March 28 · Meydan · 2000 meters Dubai World Cup 2ND Beaten a length by Magnitude.
- Sept. 18 · Belmont Park · 1¼ miles Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup WON First start in nearly six months. Won by 3¼ lengths at 2-5. 105 Beyer.
- Oct. 31 · Keeneland · 1¼ miles Breeders' Cup Classic Trying to become only the second horse to win the Classic twice.
How He Won the 2025 Classic
Last year's Classic at Del Mar is the best evidence for this year's. Forever Young sat third behind Contrary Thinking and Fierceness through honest fractions:
2025 Breeders' Cup Classic, 1¼ miles at Del Mar, fast track.
He took the lead approaching the far turn and then held off Sierra Leone, the horse who had beaten him in both the 2024 Kentucky Derby and the 2024 Classic, by half a length. Fierceness was another length back in third. He earned a 111 Beyer, the best of his career.
He didn't win last year's Classic with a perfect setup from behind. He was close to an honest pace, moved first, and held off two Grade 1 winners. That's the toughest way to win a 1¼-mile race, and it's why I trust him in a race with this much speed.
The 105 Beyer Question
Here's the honest concern. His Jockey Club Gold Cup Beyer was 105, and the Classic will probably take more than that to win.
The Best Recent Numbers in the Classic Picture
Beyer Speed Figures from 2025–26 referenced in this series
Bars start at a baseline of 90 to make the gap between figures easier to see.
But I don't think the 105 tells the whole story, for three reasons:
- First start since March 28
- Trainer Yoshito Yahagi put him at about 80% fit
- Yahagi said he was only "50% satisfied"
- Slow splits of :25.04 and :48.34 up front
- Sat second behind lone speed Phileas Fogg
- Rider Ryusei Sakai wished the pace had been faster
A slow early pace tends to hold down the final figure, because the race turns into a sprint home. Add a six-month layoff, a brand-new main track at the reopened Belmont Park, and a horse his own trainer says wasn't fully cranked, and I think the 105 is the floor, not the ceiling.
That's the key point for me: he has already run a 111 in this race, and he did it after a full prep. If he moves forward off the Gold Cup the way his connections expect, he's right there with the fastest horses in the field.
A World-Class Résumé
No horse in this field has been tested against more top-level competition. Forever Young has run in the biggest races in four countries and has never finished worse than third in 16 career starts.
| Race | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Kentucky Derby | 3rd | Beaten a nose and a head by Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone |
| 2024 BC Classic | 3rd | Behind Sierra Leone and Fierceness at Del Mar |
| 2025 Saudi Cup | Won | By a neck over Romantic Warrior |
| 2025 Dubai World Cup | 3rd | Beaten 2 lengths by Hit Show |
| 2025 BC Classic | Won | By ½ length over Sierra Leone · 111 Beyer |
| 2026 Saudi Cup | Won | By 1 length over Nysos |
| 2026 Dubai World Cup | 2nd | Beaten 1 length by Magnitude |
| 2026 JC Gold Cup | Won | By 3¼ lengths · 105 Beyer |
He has won at 1⅛ miles and 1¼ miles, on fast tracks in Saudi Arabia, California and New York. With about $32 million in earnings, he's one of the richest horses in racing history.
The Running-Style Edge
Forever Young is a stalker. In last year's Classic he sat third, and in the Gold Cup he sat second. Both times he made his move on the far turn, before the closers could get going.
That matters because it makes him less dependent on the pace than the closers in this field. If the early pace is slow, he's close enough to it. If it's fast, he can sit a few lengths off it, the way he did at Del Mar.
Compare that with Sovereignty, who came from last in the Whitney, and Golden Tempo, who needs a pace collapse. Forever Young doesn't need anything to go his way. He needs to run back to his best.
Chasing Tiznow
Only one horse has won the Breeders' Cup Classic twice: Tiznow, in 2000 and 2001. A win at Keeneland would make Forever Young the second, and the first to do it for Japan.
He has won three of his last four starts, and the only loss was by a length to a horse ranked in my top five.
Yahagi hasn't held back on what he thinks of him: "I think I will never see a horse like this again in my career or my life."
The Road to Keeneland
Forever Young has stayed at Belmont Park since the Gold Cup and is scheduled to leave for Keeneland on Oct. 20. He closed as the 5-2 favorite in Pool 2 of the Classic Future Wager, ahead of Sovereignty at 9-2 and Knightsbridge at 6-1.
| Horse | Last Beyer | Best Beyer | Pool 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Forever Young | 105 | 111 | 5-2 |
| #2 Sovereignty | 112 | 115 | 9-2 |
| #3 Knightsbridge | 104 | 122 | 6-1 |
Forever Young is the only one of the three who has won the Classic, and the only one who got a fall prep.
✔ The Case For
- Defending Classic champion with a 111 Beyer
- Won the Gold Cup at 1¼ miles in his only prep
- Never off the board in 16 starts
- Stalking style fits any pace scenario
- Should improve second start off the layoff
✖ The Concern
- 105 Beyer last out, behind Sovereignty and Knightsbridge
- Has never run a Beyer higher than 111
- Will be the favorite, so there's little price value
Forever Young at a Glance
- Last race
- 1st, Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Sept. 18, Belmont Park (won by 3¼ lengths)
- Last-out Beyer
- 105
- Career-best Beyer
- 111, 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic
- Career record
- 16 starts: 12 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds
- Earnings
- About $32.3 million
- Trainer / jockey
- Yoshito Yahagi / Ryusei Sakai
- Owner
- Susumu Fujita
- Pedigree
- Real Steel – Forever Darling, by Congrats (5-year-old, bred in Japan)
- Future Wager
- 5-2 favorite in Pool 2
- Biggest question
- Can he move forward from the 105 to the level of his 111 last year?
The Bottom Line
The 105 is the number to watch, and if someone wants to argue that Sovereignty or Knightsbridge is faster right now, I won't fight them on the figures.
But Forever Young has already won this race. He got the prep he needed, he has the running style that holds up in any pace scenario, and he's coming off a layoff race that his own trainer says left room to improve.
Until someone beats him, he's the horse to beat. The question for bettors isn't whether he's the most likely winner. It's whether you want him at a short price, or want to take a shot against him with the horses that have run faster.
Watch: Forever Young's 2025 Classic Win
Here's last year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. Watch where he sits early, then watch him take over on the far turn.
Third early, in front on the far turn, and holding off Sierra Leone to the wire. That's the trip he'll be looking for at Keeneland.
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Reserve Yours → Breeders' Cup Saturday · Delivered by email during race weekForever Young: Quick Answers
Who is #1 in the Breeders' Cup Classic Power Rankings?
Forever Young, the defending champion. He won the 2025 Classic at Del Mar, the 2026 Saudi Cup and the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 18.
What Beyer did Forever Young earn winning the 2025 Classic?
111, the best of his career. He beat Sierra Leone by half a length at Del Mar in 2:00.19.
Is the 105 Beyer in the Jockey Club Gold Cup a concern?
It's the main knock on him, but it came in his first start in nearly six months, behind a slow pace, and his trainer said he was only about 80% fit. He has already run a 111 in the Classic.
Who are Forever Young's biggest threats?
Sovereignty, who comes in off a 112 Beyer in the Whitney, and Knightsbridge, who earned a 122 Beyer in the Monmouth Cup. Magnitude beat him by a length in the Dubai World Cup in March.
Has any horse won the Breeders' Cup Classic twice?
Only one: Tiznow, in 2000 and 2001. Forever Young would be the second.
