Forever Young rolls in Jockey Club Gold Cup on opening day at new Belmont Park

Sep 18, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Forever Young enhanced the historic occasion of Belmont Park's grand reopening by winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) (Photo by Chelsea Durand/Coglianese Photos)

Japan’s dirt superstar Forever Young added another historic trophy to his resume in the $935,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), making for a memorable opening Friday at the newly remodeled Belmont Park.

Susumu Fujita’s popular globetrotter was prepping to defend his title in the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland, but trainer Yoshito Yahagi had him ready enough to deliver for Belmont’s landmark occasion.

Forever Young was bet down to 0.48-1 favoritism against only three remaining rivals. The original field was reduced by the scratches of Chunk of Gold, Banishing, and Render Judgment, leaving just Baeza, Phileas Fogg, and Stars and Stripes to line up in opposition.

Although Forever Young didn’t get away cleanly from the outside post, he quickly put himself into a stalking second. In contrast, the habitually slow-starting Baeza lagged well behind.

Ryusei Sakai, Forever Young’s regular rider, kept it simple tracking Phileas Fogg through in the early going. As Phileas Fogg carved out fractions of :25.04, :48.34, and 1:11.96, Forever Young crept nearer at every call.

On the far turn, Sakai asked Forever Young to put Phileas Fogg away, and the transpacific champion responded. Stamping his authority by 2 1/2 lengths passing the mile in 1:36.03, he nevertheless showed some rustiness by clinging to his left lead.

Forever Young ideally should have switched to his right lead – that is, leading with his right leg rather than his left leg – down the stretch. But he still crossed the wire a 3 1/4-length winner while finishing 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.23.

Stars and Stripes, the 15.84-1 longshot, stayed on as best of the rest by 4 3/4 lengths. Baeza was all alone on third, 6 3/4 lengths clear of the tiring Phileas Fogg.

Forever Young increased his career earnings to $32,313,590, a little more than $3.1 million or so behind Hong Kong legend Romantic Warrior’s all-time record of nearly $35.5 million.

Yahagi didn’t give his pupil very high marks for his effort off the six-month layoff, instead focusing on how much he’s left to improve for the Breeders’ Cup.

“I’d like to say thanks to Belmont Park to support us, and we are really glad to have won the opening day Jockey Club Gold Cup,” the horseman told NYRA publicity. “That’s a special memory, our day. This achievement is great for us.

“Obviously, at the race side, I’m not satisfied with how he ran today. You know he had a big spell (since his last race in Dubai), but we will target the Breeders’ Cup next.

“Obviously we won this race, that’s of course 100 percent satisfied (with) that, but Forever Young’s performance-wise, I’m not happy about, around 50 percent satisfied how he performed like today.

“Physically, we think fitness is 80 percent, but inside for lungs or these things performance-wise, it wasn’t enough for me.”

Yahagi was asked about Forever Young’s sticking to his left lead.

“Obviously, the six-month spell made that happen because normally he switches leads.”

Sakai was pleased with Forever Young, but likewise looked forward to a stronger performance in the Classic.

“He doesn’t have any problems with a slow pace, but I wish we had a quicker pace to prepare for the Breeders’ Cup,” his jockey said. “He had a good response at the top stretch, because the pace was not quick enough. When I asked him, he responded well.

“How he breezed, I was very satisfied. He had a six-month spell, but we have to think about how much he can improve for the next race.”

"Today is a very important day for the @BelmontPark1905 opening day."

🎙️ @acacia_clement interviews @yahagistable after Forever Young's win in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/wkVlqbtlKF

— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) September 18, 2026

Yahagi confirmed plans to continue Forever Young’s Breeders’ Cup preparations at Belmont before shipping to the Bluegrass.

“You know Belmont Park complex has a great society and good for training, so we will try to stay until Oct. 20. Then we will fly from here to Keeneland on Oct. 20, so we will prepare here.”

If Forever Young repeats in the Classic, the $3.64 million winner’s check would propel him past Romantic Warrior as the top-earning horse of all time. He would also join Hall of Famer Tiznow as the only two-time Classic winner.

Forever Young has set a very high standard for himself with a record of 16-12-1-3. Japan’s Horse of the Year and the reigning Eclipse Award champion in the older dirt male division, he has won the past two runnings of the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1). His other major wins include the 2023 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, which set him apart as the highest-ranked Japanese two-year-old on dirt ever; the 2024 UAE Derby (G2), Saudi Derby (G3), Japan Dirt Classic, and Tokyo Daishoten (G1); and last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Even when Forever Young lost, he ran well enough to place in such marquee events as the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1), that fall’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, and in back-to-back editions of the Dubai World Cup (G1).

Yahagi paid tribute to Forever Young’s overall excellence.

“I think I will never see a horse like this again in my life and in my career.

“Normally when we travel all over the world, we felt a little away, but when we come to America, always American people welcome our horse, and we feel really warm from everybody, like we came back home, and appreciate that.”

Appreciation and applause at @BelmontPark1905 for champion Forever Young (Real Steel) winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup. pic.twitter.com/4Ng3ynlsNx

— TDN (@theTDN) September 18, 2026