No stopping history maker Rebel’s Romance in New York

Rebel’s Romance added another significant win to his remarkable career as he dominated the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct, earning the evergreen seven-year-old a chance at a Breeders’ Cup three-peat.

Godolphin’s most successful horse was recording a 20th success, and he moves alongside Anamoe as the most prolific G1 winner in the royal blue silks with nine top-level victories. Crowned America’s Champion Male Turf Horse at the 2024 Eclipse Awards, he will now bid to add another chapter to his glittering profile as he looks to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf for a third time.

Since finishing fourth in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic two years ago, Rebel’s Romance has racked up a remarkable sequence of 11 wins in 14 starts. Highlights have included victories in the Dubai Sheema Classic, the Champions & Chater Cup and a pair of top-level wins in Germany, in addition to his second Breeders’ Cup Turf success.

Only two horses – Goldikova and Beholder – have won at three different Breeders’ Cups, and Rebel’s Romance appears to hold a strong chance of joining the brilliant mares at Del Mar in November.

Three-year-old Beiwacht may be at the other end of his career, but the Bivouac colt has already earned himself a spot at stud following a stunning all-the-way win in the G1 Golden Rose on Saturday, a race in which Tempted ran well in third.  

The Rosehill contest has been won by a host of subsequent stallions, including Beiwacht’s sire Bivouac (2019) and Broadsiding (2024). Beiwacht smashed the seven-furlong course record when scoring by four and a quarter lengths, and his immediate future could include The Everest, the Caulfield Guineas or the Coolmore Stud Stakes.

The G1 Middle Park Stakes is also a significant pointer to future sires, with the last eight winners retiring or set to take up covering duties – a list that includes Earthlight, Perfect Power and last season’s Champion Two-Year-Old Shadow Of Light.

Wise Approach added his name to the roll of honour at Newmarket on Saturday with a blistering win, despite the half-brother to Perfect Power suffering an early stumble leaving the stalls. He will be aimed at Europe’s top sprints next year, with the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot his first key target.

A good Cambridgeshire meeting for Godolphin also saw fellow two-year-old Distant Storm emerge as a Darley Dewhurst Stakes contender following an impressive win in Thursday’s G3 Tattersalls Stakes.

Silent Love notched her third straight win on her G3 debut as she gamely made all in Friday’s Princess Royal Stakes, while Opera Ballo finished second to Zeus Olympios in the G2 Joel Stakes on the same day. Zeus Olympios formed part of a sensational meeting for Night Of Thunder, who enjoyed Group-race success on all three days thanks to Distant Storm and G2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner Bow Echo.

Birr Castle nearly pulled off an upset in August’s G1 Juddmonte International, in which he made the pace before eventually fading to third behind Ombudsman. The five-year-old enjoyed a drop down in class on Saturday as he gained his third Listed victory at Strasbourg.