Charlie Appleby and Aidan O'Brien continued to carve up the turf races early on day two of the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.
O'Brien captured the $2 million Group 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf with the 3yo Galileo filly Tuesday, and Appleby countered with the 3yo Dubawi colt Modern Games in $2 million Group 1 Breeders' Cup Mile.
Making her ninth start of the year, the Epsom Oaks heroine Tuesday defeated in the Fairway Thoroughbreds-bred In Italian, a 4yo daughter of Dubawi and the Redoute's Choice mare Florentina, by a length.
"We had to be very conscious that she was very immature," O'Brien said.
"And we had her pointed to this race all year. We knew that she had to compete from the Oaks to now, but we had it in our head that if we trained her hard, we would stop the physical improvement, stop her from maturing. We trained her ready for the races, but every race wasn't a be-all-end-all, if you know what I mean."
Modern Games has covered plenty of ground in his seven starts in 2022.
The winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf began the year with a win in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (2,000 Guineas), and added the Group 1 Woodbine Mile in September.
Ridden by William Buick, Modern Games defeated the 5yo Speightstown entire Shirl's Speight by three-quarters of a length with the 5yo Kingman gelding Kinross a nose back in third.
In the $4million Breeders Cup Turf, it was Godolphin, Appleby, and Dubawi with the 4yo gelding Rebel’s Romance against the Coolmore connection, O’Brien and Galileo with the 3yo colt Stone Age with the former coming out the winner by two and a quarter lengths.
After disappointing in his first two starts of the season in Dubai, Rebel’s Romance has reeled off five wins.
A first Breeders’ Cup winner for James Doyle, Rebel’s Romance was Godolphin’s second choice in the race. The 3yo Teofilo colt Nation’s Pride finished fifth after a troubled run.
