//European challenge comes up short on opening day of Breeders' Cup

European challenge comes up short on opening day of Breeders' Cup

For the second year running, the European challenge on the first day of the Breeders’ Cup came up short on Friday, as second-place finishes for Aidan O’Brien’s Battleground and Mother Earth were the best that a strong list of contenders could muster.

Battleground finished strongly from well off the pace but was still three lengths adrift of Mike Maker’s Fire At Will in the Juvenile Turf, while Jessica Harrington’s Cadillac finished fourth in the same race.

Mother Earth, meanwhile, ran a similar race to Battleground’s behind the easy winner Aunt Pearl in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, with Miss Amulet, from Ken Condon’s stable in Ireland, back in third.

Bookmakers saw no reason to alter Battleground’s price for next