Forever Young Pointing To 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic

Oh to be Forever Young, that’s a common goal for many. For one ultra-talented Thoroughbred, that’s absolutely the goal when it comes to the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Forever Young is a globe-trotting race horse that has displayed immense potential during his three years of competition. Running at eight different tracks on three separate continents, this Japanese-bred son of Real Steel has earned over $15.4 million whilst winning eight races and finishing third three times in eleven starts.

The earnings and the record speak volumes about the quality of this grandson of Congrats. The ability to ship and win races makes for a special race horse and boasting those type numbers makes Forever Young world renowned. But, the spirit of competitive excellence from his team has fueled an unquenchable thirst .

“I have great respect for his record”, says trainer Yoshito Yahagi. “At the same time, the fact he was defeated three times is quite frustrating and makes me reflect on whether there was something more I could have done.”

After going three for three as a two-year-old in his native Japan, Forever Young journeyed to the Middle East and began his three-year old campaign with a determined effort in winning the Saudi Derby. After an impressive score in the UAE Derby in Dubai, Yahagi took his talent to Louisville and the Kentucky Derby. With his huge late kick on display, Forever Young came up a nose and a whisker short of winning the world’s most famous race. Despite finishing third and tasting defeat for the first time, Japan’s jewel proved he was a real player and very capable against the best the world has to offer.

Full of confidence and eager to prove the worth of his colt, the veteran conditioner brilliantly prepared Forever Young for another run on American soil in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Coming to Del Mar off a waltzing win in the Japan Dirt Classic, Forever Young was again a little late getting in the race and finished a closing third just 2 ¾ lengths behind Sierra Leone.

As is the case with any athlete, the transition from one season to the next does not always produce the same results. Eager to continue cultivating his talent, Yahagi entered Forever Young in the Saudi Cup for his four-year-old debut race. Would Forever Young be the Forever Young people had become accustomed to? Facing a field that featured perhaps the world’s most successful active runner in Romantic Warrior on February 22, the answer was provided.

As the fourteen runners broke, there was Forever Young right at the front. Moving with ease down the backstretch, Japan’s darling maintained his position. On the turn for home, Romantic Warrior, the winner of eight consecutive races, bolted past the frontrunners and seemed to assume command. Staring at a two-length deficit, it was now showtime for Forever Young

With the finish line drawing ever closer, jockey Rysei Sakai guided his mount off the rail and urged him forward. Displaying a dynamic determination that legends are made from and with immeasurable horse power pulsing through his veins, Forever Young closed the gap with ground-gobbling strides. Refusing to accept defeat, Forever Young got up at the wire by a neck and netted his conditioner even more international glory.

“The Saudi Cup was an incredible performance that really showed his determination”, says Yahagi. “It gave the world an opportunity to see his power, talent, and potential. While my stable has had success overseas before, Forever Young’s victory in Saudi Arabia was an astounding achievement for us”.

Having proven that the four-year-old Forever Young is perhaps a better Forever Young, the focus turns to a return trip to the Breeders’ Cup. Contested again at Del Mar in 2025, the Cup truly offers a chance to be the “World Champion”. Qualifying races for the event are run throughout the year in fifteen different countries with eyes on bringing the best of the best in every division together.

As a trainer with a very worldly resume, Yahagi has played a major role in elevating the Japanese racing brand around the globe. As the conditioner that brought his homeland their first two Breeders’ Cup championships (2021 Filly and Mare Turf, Loves Only You 2021 Distaff Marche Lorraine), the Tokyo native will concentrate on bringing the best Forever Young to Del Mar on November 1.

“The Breeders’ Cup is now our main target”, says Yahagi. “We had hoped to prep in a race in the United States, but due to strict quarantine rules we will focus on Japanese preps instead. The Breeders’ Cup Classic provides an opportunity to be recognized as a world champion. I am fully committed to doing everything I can to help him become the first Japanese horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”

The Breeders’ Cup will be contested in Del Mar, California on October 31 and November 1. The $7 million Classic will be run on November 1, and if Yahagi has his way, the runner in the winner’s circle will be what we all want to be…Forever Young.