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

Aidan O’Brien’s Battleground and Mother Earth take second
Essential Quality wins the Juvenile on dirt for Godolphin

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.