If five wins from the seven turf events, one short of the record, felt like a standard return for European runners at the 2025 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, then the identity of the biggest winner of all was a huge, and very refreshing, surprise.
Willie Mullins blew into Del Mar with Ethical Diamond, his first ever runner at the meeting, and left with the $2m first prize in the Turf, nearly five times as much as he banked when Nick Rockett landed the Grand National in April. And the style of his win was equally memorable. Punters who backed the proven Group One form of Minnie Hauk and Rebel’s Romance might beg to differ, but it gladdened the heart to see an Ebor Handicap winner leave the pair of them standing with a stretch run for the ages.
