The road to the 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winds through Saratoga Race Course one final time this weekend on Saturday, Sept. 2, as older male dirt horses race 1 ¼ miles in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup.

The Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

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The Jockey Club Gold Cup will be held for the 105th time in 2023 and is one of the Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious races. For decades before the creation of the Breeders’ Cup, the race served as a de facto fall championship race in the handicap division. In the Breeders’ Cup era the race has served as one of the key national prep races for the Classic. As such, the Jockey Club Gold Cup has been won by a roll call of legends through its illustrious past, including Man o’ War, Gallant Fox, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Citation, Hill Prince, Nashua (twice), Sword Dancer, Kelso (five times), Buckpasser, Damascus, Arts and Letters, Shuvee (twice), Forego, Exceller, Affirmed, John Henry, Slew o’ Gold (twice), Easy Goer, Cigar, Skip Away (twice), Mineshaft, Funny Cide, and Curlin (twice), just to name a few. Last year’s winner was Olympiad, who went on to finish second behind Flightline in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

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The Jockey Club Gold Cup was moved from its traditional home at Belmont Park to Saratoga in 2021. At Saratoga, the race is now a proper two-turn, 1 ¼-mile event instead of around being run around 1 1/2 turns in its former configuration at Belmont. Prior to 1990 the race had been contested at 1 ½ miles. Before 1976 it had mainly been run at two miles.

This 2023 renewal of the Jockey Club Gold Cup drew a competitive field of eight horses aiming to secure a berth into the Breeders’ Cup Classic with some interesting up-and-comers.

Read on for information about the Jockey Club Gold Cup contenders.

Sue Kawczynski/Eclipse Sportswire

1. Proxy (2-1 morning-line odds) 

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Mike Stidham

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 18 starts – 6 wins – 6 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $2,024,970

Earnings per start: $112,498

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Tapit – Panty Raid, by Include

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter/Press the pace/Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Proxy is a versatile runner who has the ability to give his best efforts with a stalking or closing trip, but also has the ability to go to the lead if the situation calls for it as he did last time out when going to the front and leading from start to finish to win the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes on July 22 by 2 ½ lengths over Whelen Springs. Whelen Springs then returned to flatter Proxy by winning the Grade 3 Phillip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth on Aug. 19 in his next start. It is Proxy’s pace versatility, combined with his distance ability to be at his best between 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 miles, that has made him a top performer in the 2023 handicap division and one of the horses to beat in Saturday’s Jockey Club Gold Cup. Proxy earned his career breakthrough victory last fall in the Grade 1 Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare at Churchill Downs and has since added a win in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 22. Relevant to today’s race, he ran a big effort to just miss by a neck in March in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at this 1 ¼-mile distance when second in between the likes of winner Stilleto Boy third-place finisher Defunded while facing those horses on their home track. Proxy’s owner, Godolphin, won the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2006 with Bernardini under Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Darley Stable banner. Jockey Joel Rosario has won the race twice in the past aboard Flat Out in 2012 and Tonalist in 2014. Proxy’s best chance to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup will be to use his pace versatility to get stay closer to the pace than Rattle N Roll, thereby getting the jump on the other favorite who will be closing from farther behind.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

2. Unbridled Bomber (15-1) 

Jockey: Dylan Davis

Trainer: James Ryerson

Owners: Edward C. Potash, Brad Yankanich, and James T. Ryerson

Career record: 17 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $328,350

Earnings per start: $19,315

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Upstart – Unbridledexplosion, by Eddington

Age: 4

Color: Dark Bay or Brown

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: He is a proven allowance-level winner at distances ranging from one mile to 1 3/16 miles, but this horse has struggled in the past when tested in class against stakes company. He lost his three stakes tries earlier this year in lesser races, with the best finish of those coming when third, beaten by 8 ¾ lengths in the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park on July 8. Clapton was second in that race while four lengths clear of this horse, so he will have his work cut out for him to turn the tables on that rival, let alone trying to outfinish Proxy and Rattle and Roll, both of whom should be able to beat him at his own late-running game.

Coady Photography

3. Warrior Johny (20-1) 

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Trainer: Philip Bauer

Owner: Rigney Racing

Career record: 12 starts – 3 wins – 3 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $320,288

Earnings per start: $26,691

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: Cairo Prince – Warrior Girl, by War Chant

Age: 4

Color: Dark Bay or Brown

Running style: Pacesetter/Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: He took a step up in class last time out into the $275,000 Hanshin Stakes Presented by JRA at Ellis Park and was not embarrassed when finishing third, six lengths behind winner Zozos. Warrior Johny seems a notch below the top horses in the field for the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but he has shown the ability in the past to jump up with occasional explosive winning efforts, which he did most recently on June 4 at Churchill Downs when he returned from a six-month layoff to blow the doors off a one-turn, 7 ½-furlong allowance race with a 106 Equibase Speed Figure. Another encouraging sign is that his other career-best effort came last year right here at Saratoga when he dominated allowance horses wire-to-wire to win by 8 ½ lengths at 1 1/8 miles with a 109 Equibase figure. If the pace in this race is slow to develop and they leave him all alone on the lead, this horse could get brave and go a long way in front. Jockey Junior Alvarado won this race last year aboard Olympiad.

Eclipse Sportswire

4. Rattle N Roll (9-5) 

Jockey: Brian J. Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Ken McPeek

Owner: Lucky Seven Stable

Career record: 19 starts – 8 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $1,697,741

Earnings per start: $89,355

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 116

Pedigree: Connect – Jazz Tune, by Johannesburg

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Rattle N Roll burst onto the scene in the first half of 2023 to become one of the premier older horses in training this season with a string of good-looking stakes wins, including the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland, the Grade 3 Pimlico Special Stakes Presented by Bulleit Bourbon, and the Grade 3 Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 3. Rattle N Roll has never been this distance of 1 ¼ miles, but perhaps he was never better than in his back-to-back wins at 1 3/16 miles this year in the Ben Ali and Pimlico Special. Those races indicate he will only get better as the distances get longer as this race’s 1 ¼-mile distance hits him right between the eyes. His winning streak ended last time out when second in the $1 million, Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes in which his trademark furious late rally came up a half a length short at 1 1/8 miles behind West Will Power. Even in defeat, however, Rattle N Roll continued his upward career trajectory in the Foster when he posted a career-high 116 Equibase Speed Figure, which is tops in the Jockey Club Gold Cup field. He’s out to prove he is the best U.S-based older horse still in training, but he will need to address the one glaring omission on his resume this weekend at Saratoga by notching his first Grade 1 win in order to do so.

Eclipse Sportswire

5. Clapton (8-1) 

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Chad Summers

Owner: RRR Racing

Career record: 22 starts – 5 wins – 4 seconds – 6 thirds

Career earnings: $522,890

Earnings per start: $23,768

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Brethren – Alexandra Rylee, by Afleet Alex

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Was privately purchased since his last outing, which was a runner-up finish behind Charge It in the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park, and now runs in the colors of Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi’s RRR Racing and will be trained by Chad Summers. Before embarking on an expected Middle Eastern campaign this coming winter, the new connections will take a shot at getting into the Breeders’ Cup Classic with a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Clapton’s signature win this year was in the Grade 3 Ghostzapper Stakes at Gulfstream Park on April 1 for Gulfstream-based trainer Juan Alvarado, and he topped-out at a career-high 105 Equibase Speed Figure two races before that in a third-place finish at Gulfstream behind Charge It. He can be an effective late runner at 1 1/16 miles but has lacked punch late in his more recent races going longer, including the second-place finish in the 1 ¼-mile Suburban and two races ago when beaten 4 ¼ lengths in a third-place finish in the 1 3/16-mile Pimlico Special Stakes Presented by Bulleit Bourbon behind Rattle N Roll, whom he will need to turn the tables on in this race. May have a difficult time matching the Jockey Club Gold Cup’s two favorites and his upside in this spot would probably be to compete amongst the other contenders for a spot in the exotics. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is a two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2017 aboard Diversify and 2020 on Happy Saver.

Woodbine/Michael Burns

6. Tyson (5-1) 

Jockey: Manny Franco

Trainer: Josie Carroll

Owners: Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures

Career record: 5 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $225,205

Earnings per start: $45,041

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Tapit – Honouring, by Smart Strike

Age: 4

Color: Gray or Roan

Running style: Press the pace/Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Tyson is the x-factor of the 2023 Jockey Club Gold Cup, and an intriguing one at that. He has been a heavyweight champ in back-to-back wins at Woodbine in his last two outings when taking the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes July 1 and the Grade 2 Seagram Cup Stakes July 29. If this race were held on Woodbine’s synthetic Tapeta Footings surface, this horse definitely might be the horse to beat. The question, however, is whether or not he will be the same horse on dirt and against Grade 1 competition at Saratoga as he was in his other very good recent outings. On the plus side, he has been very consistent in four races so far this season, earning between a 106 and a 110 Equibase Speed Figure in each race. Another plus is his pace versatility, which, similar to Proxy, gives him the ability to either lead, press the pace, or rally from behind. His connections picked a difficult assignment for first career dirt outing, but there’s no doubt he’s dangerous if he handles the surface. Jockey Manny Franco helped author one of the great upsets in the history of the Jockey Club Gold Cup when he guided Discreet Lover to victory at 54.50-1 odds in 2018.

Coady Photography

7. Duke of Love (15-1) 

Jockey: Luis Contreras

Trainer: Josie Carroll

Owner: MyRacehorse

Career record: 12 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $443,817

Earnings per start: $36,985

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Pedigree: Cupid – Tell the Duchess, by Smart Strike

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Based at Woodbine and has done much of his running on Woodbine’s synthetic main track surface but undoubtedly seems to be at his best when he escapes the artificial surface and gets onto the dirt. Therefore, his preference for this surface makes him an interesting longshot play in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, at least in the exotics. He enters the race off a win in the $200,000, Grade 3 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort Aug. 6, and that outing was his first on the dirt since his victory last year in the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie in the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown. His overall career record of 4 wins in 12 starts begins to look a lot better when you consider his dirt record is 2-for-2 with both of the victories coming in quality stakes spots. His Equibase Speed Figures top out below the level of the principal contenders in this field and he hasn’t been facing this caliber of competition, but he’s an interesting longshot if you are looking for a good price on the tote board or a good-priced horse to throw underneath in your exotic bets.

Gulfstream Park/Coglianese photos

8. Bright Future (6-1)

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable

Career record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $166,940

Earnings per start: $27,823

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Curlin – Sophia’s Song, by Bellamy Road

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The future indeed looks bright for this Todd Pletcher trainee coming out of his career-best race in an allowance-optional claiming win at Saratoga earlier in the meet by 4 ¾ lengths over a solid field with a 108 Equibase Speed Figure. The only question is whether or not the future is now. We’ll see. He stepped into stakes company once before in his career and it did not work out well when this horse emptied out and finished eighth when distanced in the 1 ½-mile Grade 2 Brooklyn Stakes on June 10. He certainly deserves another chance after such a strong rebound effort last time, and 1 ¼ miles is potentially a more suitable distance. Bright Future owns a two-turn win on this track with a big speed figure and has top connections in his favor — all of that adds up to a horse that is a legitimate contender from what should be a comfortable pace-pressing or stalking position. Surprisingly, trainer Todd Pletcher has only won the Jockey Club Gold Cup once in his career with Happy Saver in 2020. Jockey Javier Castellano has also won this race only once, coming way back in 2006 aboard Bernardini.