During the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Bayside Boy stuns the competition

Bayside Boy (IRE), bred by Teme Valley & Ballylinch Stud, shocked the field to win the QIPCO-sponsored Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile (Gr.1). The son of New Bay (GB) won at odds of 33-1 in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, earning him an automatic starting slot and fees paid into this year's FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (Gr.1). Bayside Boy, ridden by Tom Marquand and trained by Roger Varian, got out of the gate slowly, although not as slowly as the pre-race favourite, Inspiral (GB), who fell behind her competitors quickly. It appeared that the French horse Jadoomi and the Irish horse Modern Games, winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (Gr.1) in 2021, would be the ones slugging it out to the finish, but Bayside Boy had a remarkable turn of foot to catch up to the front runners and shock the competition. With only milliseconds separating them, Modern Games edged out Jadoomi for third place.

Varian, who was also responsible for fifth-placed El Drama (IRE), stated, “It’s a funny old game, a funny old game. I need to watch it again because I was shouting El Drama home, who I thought had a huge chance with 2 furlongs to run. Then I saw Bayside Boy coming! He was very good, wasn’t he? He was 33-1, so I’m not going to say I thought he was going to win, but we thought he was a lively horse. He had very good juvenile form but lost his way on the firm summer ground.”

One mile was completed in 1 minute, 45.53 seconds by Bayside Boy, a bay son of New Bay (GB) out of the Anabaa mare Alava (IRE). The track conditions were classified as good to soft, and soft in parts. The entry fees for both Bay Bridge and Bayside Boy to compete in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile will be covered by Breeders' Cup thanks to the Challenge Series. The Breeders' Cup will pay for the travel expenses of every international starter at the World Championships, up to a maximum of US$40,000. In order to collect the prize money, the Challenge victor must be entered into the Breeders' Cup Championships before the pre-entry date on October 24.