Jockey Club Gold Cup Field Shrinks to Five, Leaving Forever Young an Even Heavier Favorite
The road to Friday’s $1 million Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup became considerably less crowded Tuesday, and for anyone looking to take a swing at Japanese superstar Forever Young, considerably more complicated.
Banishing and Chunk of Gold will both bypass the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup at Belmont Park, reducing what had been a seven-horse lineup to five. Their departures remove two horses with enough tactical speed to have potentially influenced the shape of the race, leaving Forever Young in an increasingly commanding position heading into one of the centerpiece events on Belmont’s reopening program.
Forever Young was installed at 3-5 on the original morning line, and there is every reason to expect the defending Breeders’ Cup Classic winner to be considerably shorter when the wagering gets serious Friday afternoon.
Banishing, trained and co-owned by David Jacobson, will instead head toward a Sept. 26 engagement at Churchill Downs. NYRA reported Tuesday that Jacobson was considering either the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at nine furlongs or the Grade 3 Ack Ack at one mile. Daily Racing Form subsequently reported the Lukas Classic as the target. Banishing, a 6-year-old son of Ghostzapper, has earned more than $3.2 million while compiling an 11-7-3 record from 32 starts.
Chunk of Gold is also headed away from Belmont, with trainer Ethan West returning to his original plan of running in the $500,000 Lukas Classic. Connections cited logistical issues surrounding the trip to New York. The 4-year-old Preservationist colt, owned by Terry Stephens, has earned $951,511 after being purchased for just $2,500 as a yearling.
Those defections change more than the size of the field.
They change the pace picture.
With Banishing and Chunk of Gold out, Phileas Fogg appears to hold a major tactical advantage as the most obvious front-runner remaining. Gustavo Rodriguez’s 6-year-old has already demonstrated how dangerous he can be when permitted to dictate terms, most recently running his rivals off their feet in the Grade 2 Suburban at Saratoga on July 4. Phileas Fogg controlled that 1 1/4-mile race throughout and drew away to win by 10 lengths.
Kendrick Carmouche retains the mount aboard Phileas Fogg, who drew post 4 and was originally listed at 4-1.
The intriguing question now is how aggressively Carmouche elects to use that advantage. Allow Phileas Fogg to settle into an uncontested rhythm and the Gold Cup could become a much more tactical affair than the connections of Forever Young would prefer. On the other hand, Forever Young has traveled the world successfully and has shown repeatedly that he does not require one specific race shape to produce his best.
The Japanese star gave his connections another encouraging sign Tuesday morning.
With regular rider Ryusei Sakai aboard, Forever Young warmed up over Belmont’s new Tapeta training surface before moving onto the main track for a solo five-furlong breeze. NYRA clockers caught him in 1:02.17 after a deliberately easy beginning, with the 5-year-old progressively increasing his tempo through the work. Racing manager Hiroshi Ando described the plan as essentially allowing Forever Young to finish with a strong blowout after his lengthy layoff.
Friday will mark Forever Young’s first start since March 28, when he finished one length behind Magnitude in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan. Earlier this season he successfully defended his title in the $20 million Saudi Cup, defeating Nysos by one length.
His record now stands at 11 victories, one second and three thirds from 15 starts, with career earnings exceeding $31.7 million. His résumé includes the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic, back-to-back Saudi Cups and a pair of memorable thirds on American soil in the 2024 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was named Japan’s Horse of the Year for 2025 and earned the Eclipse Award as North America’s champion older dirt male.
The remaining opposition is headed by Baeza, who drew the rail for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and Junior Alvarado. The Grade 1 winner was made the original 9-2 second choice and has repeatedly shown that he belongs with top company, but poor beginnings have compromised him in all three of his starts this season. He finished third in the Alysheba, second in the Stephen Foster and fourth behind Sovereignty in the Whitney.
Mott also sends out Stars and Stripes from post 2 with John Velazquez. The Not This Time colt enters off a nose victory in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone Stakes at Saratoga and was listed at 15-1 on the original line.
Render Judgment completes the five-horse field for trainer Ken McPeek. Manny Franco rides the 4-year-old son of Blame, who comes into the Gold Cup after finishing second in a second-level allowance at Saratoga on Aug. 21. Originally 20-1, Render Judgment will be making an ambitious return to Grade 1 company.
The scratches leave the field, by original post position, as Baeza from the rail, Stars and Stripes in post 2, Phileas Fogg in post 4, Render Judgment in post 6 and Forever Young on the outside in post 7. Chunk of Gold, originally post 3, and Banishing, post 5, will be scratched. All five remaining starters are assigned 126 pounds.
Beyond the $1 million purse and Grade 1 status, there is a significant prize waiting for the winner. The Jockey Club Gold Cup is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, awarding its winner a fees-paid berth in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31. Forever Young is already being pointed toward that race as he attempts to defend his Classic title.
The Gold Cup is Race 5 on Friday’s nine-race Belmont Park program, with an approximate post time of 4:14 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:30 p.m., and FOX will televise Belmont’s return in a 90-minute broadcast beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern.
What initially looked like a deeper test for Forever Young has become a compact, fascinating five-horse race. He is unquestionably the horse to beat on accomplishments, but smaller fields have a way of turning straightforward handicapping into a chess match.
And with Phileas Fogg suddenly holding the keys to the pace, Friday’s Gold Cup may be decided as much by what happens during the opening half-mile as what happens when Forever Young finally gets turned loose.
