Victoria Road edged out Silver Knott in a nail-biting finish to seal a double for jockey Ryan Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien at the Breeders’ Cup.
Moore just held on by a nose after the runner-up, trained by Charlie Appleby, gained ground in the Juvenile Turf.
Meditate earlier stormed clear to give O’Brien his first Juvenile Fillies Turf win at Keeneland, Kentucky.
Appleby kicked off a European treble on day one as Mischief Magic gave him a fourth straight Breeders’ Cup win.
Ridden by Britain’s champion jockey William Buick, he came with a dramatic late surge to win the Juvenile Turf Sprint from fellow British challenger Dramatised.
Appleby, who enjoyed a treble at the meeting last year, looked set for a fifth consecutive triumph as 11-10 favourite Silver Knott finally found a gap and joined Victoria Road (5-1), but was beaten on the nod.
Earlier, Meditate had to go wide but the No Nay Never Filly stormed clear of her rivals and is now around 6-1 (from 16-1) for next year’s 1,000 Guineas.
- ‘Legend’ Frodon triumphs for Frost
Forte, trained by Todd Pletcher, upset Cave Rock in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to become the early 2023 Kentucky Derby favourite.
The Breeders’ Cup, also known as the thoroughbred world championships, sees 14 races over two days with prize money of more than $30m (£26m).
Saturday’s much-anticipated feature race will see US wonder horse Flightline, who won by 19 lengths last time, bid to land the Breeders’ Cup Classic (21:40 GMT).
