Sovereign Award winning-trainer KEVIN ATTARD is going back to the World Championships.
Attard entered Ontario-bred five-year-old GAS ME UP in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), part of the 42nd Breeders’ Cup World Championship at Del Mar Racetrack, where the turf meets the surf in California.
Gas Me Up was one of 207 pre-entries to the 14 Breeders’ Cup races which will be run on Halloween, October 31 and Nov. 1. The entry stage takes place Monday, Oct. 27, when post positions will be drawn live on FanDuel TV beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET. The draw will also be streamed on BreedersCup.com, the official Breeders’ Cup mobile app, and YouTube, Facebook, and X social channels.
The World Championships will feature 14 Grade 1 races and more than $34 million in purses and awards. The $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) is the marquee race featuring the top three from last year’s Classic (G1) – Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and Forever Young (JPN) – preparing to face off in a rematch for the ages, alongside leading three-year-olds Sovereignty and Journalism. Antiquarian, Baeza, Contrary Thinking, Locked, Mindframe, and Nevada Beach complete a deep cast pre-entered for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Sixteen horses that have won this race have gone on to earn Horse of the Year honours at the Eclipse Awards, reflecting the elite caliber of competition that defines the World Championships.
Gas Me Up, one of two Ontario-breds pre-entered for the Breeders’ Cup races along with Mission of Joy (and both, incredibly, were bred by Sam-Son Farms, which is no longer in existence) won Woodbine’s King Edward Stakes on August 16 at one mile on the turf. The dark bay gelding came back with a third-place finish in the Woodbine Mile (G1) behind fellow Breeders’ Cup pre-entry Notable Speech.
Gas Me Up is the lone ‘also eligible’ currently for the over-subscribed Mile, but with one fellow entrant, Bucanero Fuerte having first preference for the Turf Sprint, Gas Me Up is likely to draw in.
By Hard Spun – Chic Thrill by Smart Strike, Gas Me Up won his maiden on the Del Mar grass in 2022. The horse missed all of 2023 and raced just once in 2024 when winning a turf sprint at Woodbine before going on another year-long vacation. He has two wins in his four races this season for owners Exline-Border Racing (Ryan Exline and Justin Border, California), Michael Jawl (flooring company, BC), Aaron Kennedy, CEO of Des Moines, Iowa advertising firm Flynn Wright) and Tom Zwiesler, manager of Sam-Son Farm’s Ocala property.
Gas Me Up was purchased by the partnership as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale for $140,000. His dam Chic Thrill won three races and was stakes-placed. Chic Thrill is a daughter of Princess Elizabeth Stakes winner Catch the Thrill (daughter of champion Catch the Ring and granddaughter of Sam-Son foundation mare Radiant Ring).
Chic Thrill has a winning two-year-old this year, C’Est Chouette, a stakes-winning foal of 2021, Give It a Whirl, and one non-winning foal.
Sam-Son Farms is also represented by MISSION OF JOY who is American-owned and -trained. A daughter of Kitten’s Joy from Smart Mission by Smart Strike, Mission of Joy was also born in Milton, Ontario. She has raced predominantly in the U.S. and recently won the Rodeo Drive Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita.
EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PLANNED
NBC Sports will produce more than 10 hours of world-class racing coverage during the World Championships, airing live across NBC and USA Network. NBC’s full coverage will also be simul-streamed on Peacock, providing live, continuous coverage of all 14 Breeders’ Cup races. The programming is anchored by a 3.5-hour NBC broadcast window on Saturday (12:30-4:00 p.m. PT / 3:30–7:00 p.m. ET), featuring the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, alongside four other Championship races. FanDuel TV will also present live, continuous coverage of every Championship and undercard race through the Breeders’ Cup Players’ Show, available on FanDuel TV, BreedersCup.com, the official Breeders’ Cup app, Breeders’ Cup YouTube, Facebook, and X social channels, all major ADW platforms, and simulcast outlets worldwide.
The Championships will reach fans in more than 180 countries, including live telecasts on ITV4, Sky Sports Racing, and Racing TV in the UK; Virgin Media in Ireland; ESPN in Latin America; Green Channel, Abema TV, and Netkeiba in Japan; Sportsnet in Canada; SuperSport across Africa; FanCode in India; and more. For complete domestic and international broadcast details, visit BreedersCup.com/Watch.
Fans can learn more about their favourites via the contender profiles at BreedersCup.com, which provide extensive statistics, race replays, news, photos, and more, and via the official Breeders’ Cup mobile app. Additionally, information about each Breeders’ Cup race may be found at BreedersCup.com/Races.
Saturday, November 1, Del Mar, post time: 7:05 p.m. ET
FANDUEL BREEDERS’ CUP MILE-GI, $2,000,000, 3yo/up, 1mT
HORSE / SIRE / TRAINER
Almendares (GB) / Havana Grey (GB) / D’Amato
Argine (Jpn) / Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) / Nakauchida
Bucanero Fuerte (GB) / Wootton Bassett (GB) / Murrau
Formidable Man / City of Light / McCarthy
Gran Oriente (Chi) / Classic Empire / Alvarez
Johannes / Nyquist / Yakteen
Jonquil (GB) / Lope de Vega (Ire) / Balding
Notable Speech (GB) / Dubawi (Ire) / Appleby
One Stripe (SAf) / One World (SAf) / Motion
Program Trading (GB) / Lope de Vega (Ire) / Brown
Qirat (GB) / Showcasing (GB) / Beckett
Rhetorical / Not This Time / Walden
Sahlan (Ire) / Wootton Bassett (GB) / Graffard
The Lion In Winter (Ire) / Sea The Stars (Ire) / A O’Brien
Not Selected (in order of preference)
Gas Me Up / Hard Spun / K Attard
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