Breeders’ Cup Mile Picks —Betting Preview and Predictions (Nov 1)

The world’s best turf horses over a mile will collide at Del Mar on Saturday, November 1, with a purse of $2 million up for grabs. Charlie Appleby and Godolphin have a strong record in the race, and the team combine with Notable Speech for this year’s edition. You can find the odds and our Breeders’ Cup Mile picks here.

Odds

Breeders’ Cup Mile Recent Winners

Breeders’ Cup Mile: Event Information

Race Preview

The G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile was one of the few turf races in which the U.S. claimed victory in 12 months. However, repeating that feat could be a challenging ask against a strong European contingent.

Charlie Appleby has trained three of the last four winners of the race, and he holds obvious claims with the talented Notable Speech at Del Mar. The four-year-old warmed up for this year’s race with a straightforward success in the G1 Woodbine Mile. He has won three from ten starts in stakes company, and was somehow beaten in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year when third behind More Than Looks.

The Lion In Winter and Sahlan both get the weight-for-age allowance this weekend. The former is fully exposed after coming up short on a number of occasions for Aidan O’Brien. Meanwhile, the latter could be interesting after scoring a career-best success in Group One company in France last time out.

Johannes is an interesting U.S. chance this weekend for trainer Tim Yakteen. The five-year-old was very impressive over a mile last time, but the substance of the form in that G2 City of Hope Mile Stakes could be questioned. However, he goes well at Del Mar, evident after finishing second in the Mile last year.

Qirat was a shock 150/1 winner in the G1 Sussex Stakes earlier this season, but his form has dipped sharply since. Jonquil also represents the Andrew Balding yard, but he has form to find on a couple of rivals after finishing only fourth on his U.S. debut in the G1 Turf Mile.

Breeders’ Cup Mile Picks

Notable Speech is the obvious standout runner in this year’s field, and he should take all of the beating. However, the speedy Rhetorical could be a value angle worth considering.

The William Walden runner was an excellent winner of the G1 Turf Mile at Keeneland last time out, and he seamlessly made the step up into graded company. There could be more to come, and Irad Ortiz is a strong booking for the four-year-old.