AN AIDAN O’BRIEN / BOB BAFFERT SHOWDOWN – A FASCINATING BREEDERS' CUP DUEL
By Graham Potter | Friday, October 30, 2026
The Breeders’ Cup deadlock between champion trainers Aidan O'Brien and Bob Baffert could be broken this weekend with each stable striving to gain the upper hand and sole bragging rights in the quest to have trained the most winners in Breeders’ Cup history.
They currently share that distinction with twenty-one winners apiece, so the next winner will edge ahead, for that moment at least, in what really is a clash of the titans of the sport.
O’Brien has the edge numbers-wise this year. He brings ten runners to the two-day meeting including the strongly fancied Sun Goddess in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Diamond Necklace in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Baffert is set to send out six runners headed by Hughes the favourite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Of these Sun Goddess is the first in play on Friday, followed just forty minutes later by Hughes … so that most winners tally could climb very quickly to twenty-two with still no outright leader.
That ‘give and take’ would be reminiscent of their duel last year when O’Brien entered the two day meeting on twenty winners, tied with D Wayne Lukas, and took the outright lead on twenty-one when Gstaad's won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on the Friday,
Baffert started the weekend on nineteen winners before striking with Splendora in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and with Nysos in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, making it a tie at the top of the leader board.
O’Brien and Baffert do not face off together in any race on the two-day card this year, sticking instead to their respective tried and trusted forte. All of O’Brien’s runners are on turf. All of Baffert’s runners are on dirt.
The full list of runners for the two stables this weekend (with Keeneland race times, horses and jockeys) are:
BAFFERT:
Fri 3:35 - Juvenile Fillies - Miss Monica - Flavien Prat – 5-2
Fri 4:55 - Juvenile – Hughes - Flavien Prat - 1-1
Fri 4:55 - Juvenile – Salahudin - Tyler Gaffalione - 6-1
Sat 1:10 - Filly & Mare Sprint – Explora - Jose L. Ortiz - 4-1
Sat 1:10 - Filly & Mare Sprint – Nooni - Mario Gutierrez - 30-1
Sat 4:58 - Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff – Splendora - Tyler Gaffalione - 9-2
O’BRIEN:
Fri 4:15 - Juvenile Fillies Turf - Sun Goddess - Ryan Moore - 6-5
Fri 5:35 - Juvenile Turf - Great Barrier Reef - Ryan Moore - 4-1
Fri 5:35 - Juvenile Turf – Haffner - Christophe Soumillon - 8-1
Fri 5:35 - Juvenile Turf - Man's Best Friend - Colin Keane - 15-1
Fri 5:35 - Juvenile Turf - Florida Bay - Wayne Lordan - 20-1
Sat - Filly & Mare Turf – Precise - Ryan Moore - 7-2
Sat 4:20 – Mile - True Love - Wayne Lordan - 8-1
Sat 4:20 – Mile - Puerto Rico – Ryan Moore - 10-1
Sat 5.36 - Turf - Diamond Necklace – Christophe Soumillon – 3-1
Sat 5.36 - Turf - Benvenuto Cellini – Ryan Moore – 6-1
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