Kentucky Derby alum Forever Young inspires the future with Breeders’ Cup win

Nov 05, 2025 J. Keeler Johnson/TwinSpires.com

Forever Young wins the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar 2025 (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

The triumph of Japan’s Forever Young in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar last Saturday reiterates the longstanding connection between the Classic and the Kentucky Derby (G1).

It also points toward a future in which Japan-based horses compete regularly in both races.

Success around the world

Forever Young is arguably the best dirt horse to come out of Japan. He’s 6-for-6 in his home country and competes with aplomb on the international stage. He rose to prominence as a three-year-old in 2024, winning the Saudi Derby (G3) and UAE Derby (G2) during a productive trip to the Middle East. Then he tackled the Kentucky Derby—a race Japan has yet to win—and finished third, beaten two noses in a three-way photo finish.

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Later in 2024, Forever Young returned to the U.S. to compete in a deep renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. His first appearance in North America’s richest horse race ended in defeat; he finished third against U.S. rivals Sierra Leone and Fierceness. But he soon gained redemption.

Under the care of trainer Yoshito Yahagi, Forever Young rose to greater heights as a four-year-old. In February, he won the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), the world’s richest horse race. And in his return to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he gallantly held off challenges from Sierra Leone and Fierceness to become the first Japan-based winner of the Classic.

Winning at Del Mar established Forever Young as the highest-earning racehorse to ever compete in North America—he’s banked $19,358,590. It also made him the 17th Kentucky Derby starter to win the Classic. The other 16 comprise an elite group packed with champions, including 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, and even Forever Young’s great-grandsire Sunday Silence.

These are horses who have permanently impacted and shaped the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Now, Forever Young is poised to do the same.

Continuing a trend that began in 2021

The success of Forever Young builds upon the trailblazing conducted by two previous Yahagi trainees.

In 2021, Yahagi scored Japan’s first two wins at the Breeders’ Cup, sending the five-year-old mares Loves Only You and Marche Lorraine to win the Filly & Mare Turf (G1) and Distaff (G1).

These victories marked a turning point for Japanese participation in major U.S. horse races. At that time, only three Japan-based horses had ever competed in the Kentucky Derby. Furthermore, in 2021, only five Japanese horses were early nominees for the Triple Crown series, comprised of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness (G1), and Belmont (G1).

In 2022, the number of Japanese Triple Crown nominees ballooned to 21. By 2024, the number was 47. After Forever Young’s near-miss in the Kentucky Derby, a record 69 Japanese horses were nominated to the 2025 Triple Crown.

During the same 2022-25 timeframe, seven Japan-based horses competed in the Kentucky Derby, including at least one every year.

Inspiration for future generations

Just as the Breeders’ Cup wins of Loves Only You and Marche Lorraine fueled a new era of Japanese participation in the Kentucky Derby, Forever Young’s triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic should supercharge the trend.

Forever Young has shown the Kentucky Derby needn’t be the only U.S. target for Japan’s male dirt horses—it can be the first of multiple U.S. starts, with the Breeders’ Cup Classic beckoning as not only a logical follow-up, but a winnable one. And since the Classic is open to horses aged three and older, Japanese horses can target the Classic multiple years in a row, just as Forever Young has done.

The journey isn’t over

The saga of Forever Young isn’t finished yet. Yahagi has indicated Forever Young will race as a five-year-old in 2026, giving him an opportunity to become only the second two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner after Tiznow in 2000-01.

But to complete the double, Forever Young may have to deal with challengers from his own country. Inspired by Forever Young, a new generation of Japanese racehorses—the three-year-olds of 2026—may target the U.S. in full force. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a Japanese winner of the 2026 Kentucky Derby confront Forever Young in a Breeders’ Cup Classic for the ages.