Game Winner takes charge late to win Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Game Winner surged down the stretch and pulled away from Knicks Go after a bump to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 2 1/4 lengths Friday at Churchill Downs, giving trainer Bob Baffert an early Kentucky Derby favorite just five months after winning his second Triple Crown with Justify.

The race favorite broke from the No. 9 post and lagged in the middle of the 14-horse field before pushing forward on the outside and into contention at the top of the stretch. Game Winner and Knicks Go brushed before the colt got away for the win to improve to 4-0 lifetime. Signalman was a length back in third.

“He likes Churchill Downs, and that’s a good sign,” Baffert told NBCSN.

The thrilling finish in the $2 million, Grade 1 race capped a first day devoted to 2-year-olds at the season-ending world championships. Game Winner also emerged as one of the year’s top Juveniles.

Ridden by Joel Rosario, Game Winner covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.67 and paid $4, $3.20 and $2.80. Knicks Go returned $21.40 and $11.20, and Signalman paid $15.80.

Said Rosario, “I just wanted to put him in the right spot he wanted to be.”

Game Winner’s victory provided some irony for Baffert, who didn’t race Justify as a 2-year-old but struck gold last spring when the colt went on to become racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner. An ankle issue forced Justify to retire unbeaten in July, leaving Saturday’s marquee Breeders’ Cup Classic without the sport’s most notable horse.

Going forward, Game Winner just threw his name in the mix as the next possible star.

His victory comes just over a month since winning the Grade 1 American Pharoah, named for the 2015 Triple Crown winner that Baffert also trained. This one required more work before 42,249 on a cold, overcast day on a track that was fast after two days of heavy rain.

It ended with Baffert’s fourth Juvenile victory and 15th Breeders’ Cup overall.

Other Breeders’ Cup first-day winners:

Line of Duty survived a lengthy postrace review before stewards upheld his half-length victory over Uncle Benny in the $1 million Juvenile Turf. Line of Duty charged from outside down the stretch to pass Somelikeithotbrown and hold off Uncle Benny in a three-wide ending, giving the Irish colt his third consecutive win after two seconds. Trainer Charlie Appleby earned his third Breeders’ Cup win, following last year’s victory with Wuheida in the Filly and Mare Turf.

Jaywalk went wire to wire to win the $2 million Fillies, leaving the field behind down the stretch for a 5 1/2-length margin.

Newspaperofrecord rolled to another dominant victory, pulling away down the stretch for a 6 3/4-length win over East in the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf. The Irish bred paid $3.20, $2.60 and $2.40 and improved to 3-0 lifetime, winning each time by at least six lengths.

Bulletin opened the Breeders’ Cup by pulling away to a 2 3/4-length victory over Chelsea Cloisters in the $1 million inaugural Juvenile Turf Sprint, earning a graded stakes win in just his second career start. Ridden by Javier Castellano, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt covered 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.54 and gave Justify co-owners Winstar Farm and China Horse Farm another significant win six months after winning the Derby.