“It was the sport of kings, now it’s the sport of billionaires and that’s not nice,” G1 trainer Ger Lyons said about the rising prices in horse racing. The trainer said that he could buy houses for “five, 10, 15, 20 grand” back in the day. Unfortunately, the prices now are “stupid” and changed in favor of the “rich,” said the trainer chasing another Breeders’ Cup win.

Now, a statement like this would ruffle a lot of feathers in the racing world. However, Lyons has never been one to hold back what’s on his mind, no matter how controversial. Now, a year after winning his first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar with Magnum Force, the trainer is hungry for more, and so is his owner. So, after winning at Molecomb Stakes (G3), Lyons made a confident declaration.

Ger Lyons has been keen to replicate last year’s Breeders’ Cup success with Magnum Force with another horse. And this year, the trainer’s hopes are riding on Lady Iman, who made light work of the competition at Goodwood Racecourse. After the race, Lyons promised that, “If she’s alive and has a heartbeat, and I’m allowed to do it by the owners, that’s what she’ll do,” while speaking of his willingness to win the $1 million Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

However, replicating horses like Big Evs and Magnum Force won’t be easy. The 2025 Molecomb Stakes (G3) was one of the many Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In races still lined up. The competition will heat up as more horses win these challenge series events and qualify for the prestigious end-of-season event.

Maybe that’s why the owners want to take a shot at another challenge series event in Nunthorpe. “The owner, Roger, has nominated the Nunthorpe, so that’s that,” Ger Lyons told FanDuel after the win. With that out of the way, the anticipation for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic is building, with experts already predicting the top five horses to watch.

Two top rivals could meet again at the Breeders’ Cup

With the Triple Crown races behind us, it’s safe to say that Sovereignty and Journalism have emerged as the rivalry to watch this season. The rivalry kicked off with Sovereignty beating then-Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism. Michael McCarthy’s horse regained the hype after the Preakness. The rivals then ran an even closer race at Belmont, with the Derby champ coming out on top.

So, unless something big happens, the two Triple Crown race champions will meet once again at the Breeders’ Cup. In fact, FanDuel has already put Journalism at number four on their top five horses for the contest, with Sovereignty topping that list. Meanwhile, Journalism recently made a statement after winning the Haskell, while Sovereignty made a strong start to his summer.

The Kentucky Derby champion won the Jim Dandy (G2) and is leading the charge in the upcoming Travers Stakes. Yet, these are not the only contenders for the Breeders’ Cup title; other top horses on FanDuel’s list include Fierceness and Sierra Leone. But the most interesting entry on that list is Nysos. Yes, the Bob Baffert-trained horse that just won at San Diego.

“He’s a classic horse—he can go all day,” Baffert said after Nysos won the San Diego Handicap. The 72-year-old Triple Crown winner has been looking for a big win since the Kentucky Derby, and you can bet that he’ll train Nysos well enough to pull off the ultimate upset on the two rivals. So it looks like Ger Lyons will have one more trainer to watch in what should be a high-octane Breeders’ Cup edition.

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