LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. No, not the French Revolution – the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Charlie Appleby looked on as Albahr, a colt he trained, flipped in the gate at Del Mar and was scratched. So, too, was Appleby’s main chance, Modern Games. Whoops. A scratch mistakenly called into stewards, an epic fail, soon was righted – sort of. Modern Games raced for purse money only. Bettors who liked him watched, aghast, as he won easily. The larger point: Modern Games showed his comfort racing around a flat, turning North American racecourse. Woodbine’s turns are wider than Del Mar’s, but Modern Games’s second trip to North America late this summer reinforced what we’d seen last fall. Bulling his way out of traffic in upper stretch, Modern Games unleashed a blistering turn of foot that carried him to a 5 1/4-length Woodbine Mile win. No horse in North America has run a better grass race this year, and on Saturday at Keeneland, Modern Games can become the first horse to win the Juvenile Turf and the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2022: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division He has an ideal post position, 4, in this 14-horse field, and proved in Europe this season he’s a very high-class miler. William Buick rides him with utter confidence, and Modern Games in morning training this week looked fresh for a colt whose campaign began in May and who just raced Oct. 15. Struggling over a soft Ascot course, running a straight mile less suitable to his talents than a turning race, Modern Games gutted out a second-place finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. “William did say he never was comfortable on the ground, but typical Modern Games, he goes out there and runs with his heart on his sleeve,” Appleby said Wednesday morning. “He came out of the race well, and I was delighted with what I saw there this morning. Good horses can do that.” Many good horses populate this Mile, which drew five Europeans and nine North Americans. Front Run the Fed and Gear Jockey are also-eligibles. Neither has any logical chance, nor does King Cause, who made the field. The others can at least dream of hitting the board. Shirl’s Speight was fourth in the Woodbine Mile, hampered when Modern Games swung to the outside. His shaky case rests on a win April 15 in the Maker’s Mark Mile over a Keeneland grass course that has gone into deep autumn mode, loose and ragged. Malavath, the only French horse at this Breeders’ Cup, managed a second in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret and was second last year in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. A fourth-place finish here would qualify as huge success. :: Breeders' Cup Friday and Saturday Past Performances are available now! Save up to 36% on BC essentials with a DRF Package!  Beyond Brilliant brings California speed but climbs several rungs up the class ladder and faces other pace players. Pogo, who comes from England, almost has to try for the lead from post 1. Six-year-old Pogo has hit the form of his life in 2022 and possesses a fighting spirit, but is in slightly too tough. Smooth Like Strait, another pace player, finished a game second in the 2021 Mile. Missing an intended start here last month because of a cut on his leg doesn’t concern trainer Michael McCarthy, who says, with merit, Smooth Like Strait fires fresh. He could secure a good spot just behind Pogo and Beyond Brilliant, and Smooth Like Strait has finished third or better in 19 of 21 grass starts. Ivar, after a stop-and-start season, makes his third Mile appearance following a close fourth in 2020 and a third last year. His second in the Woodbine Mile came after a slow start; he could come closer to Modern Games than he did in Canada. “He can run better. Looking at him, I think he’s going to run a big race,” trainer Paulo Lobo said. English trainer Ed Walker sends the mare Dreamloper, who, Walker said, has not started since Sept. 5 by design. Her performance that day, a 5 1/2-length win over Order of Australia in the Prix Jacques Le Marois, says she fits here – but it’s her only race that does. Dreamloper went to the front in the Marois; she probably doesn’t have the speed to lead the Mile, but things could work out. :: Bet the Breeders' Cup with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs. Join DRF Bets. “The tempo will play to her strengths,” Walker said. “One reason she’s improved so much this year is she settles better. The faster the pace, the easier life becomes.” Order of Australia fell far short of Dreamloper in France, but stands a better chance than she Saturday. A shocking winner from post 14 of the 2020 BC Mile here, Order of Australia came out of a poor performance last fall in the 2021 Keeneland Turf Mile with an injury that required surgical repair and ample time off. His solid third here last month in the Coolmore Turf Mile was the final step in a campaign geared toward the BC Mile. “This has been his target all year, so he’s been gently, gently. We’ve raced him to keep him competitive, but we haven’t been really turning the screws,” trainer Aidan O’Brien said. “His work regime and the intensity of it has ramped up all the time, every week. It will be interesting. His last work we would be very happy with.” The rising 3-year-old Annapolis won the Coolmore Turf Mile, his first race against older horses, and has as good a chance as any American. He worked out a perfect trip last month; things could be tougher from post 10. “He made a big move forward,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “There could be another move there.” Chad Brown trained the mare Uni to a 2019 Mile win, and in this year’s Mile has another mare in the 6-year-old Regal Glory and long-layoff returnee Domestic Spending. Regal Glory, a leading turf female all season, is a plausible winner but appears to have lost a touch of acceleration through a long season. Domestic Spending’s mission: overcome a 14-month layoff and post 14 at a distance short of his best. Brown wouldn’t enter without some level of confidence. :: Get access to Breeders' Cup Clocker Reports with our special VIP Package and save off the retail price. Kinross brings higher ratings to Kentucky than Modern Games, but unlike his English rival, Kinross makes his first trip overseas. Already this fall, Kinross has won the Group 1 Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs and two weeks later the Group 1 British Champions Sprint at six furlongs. The 5-year-old gelding will get the mile trip here, trainer Ralph Beckett said, and despite the busy schedule comes ready to run. “I don’t think he had a hard race in the Foret, and I don’t think he really had a hard race at Ascot, either.” Beckett said. Post 13 is an impediment, but Kinross’s versatility gives jockey Frankie Dettori options. “Frankie used to drop him in, but we stopped doing that. We can place him anywhere.” Running second might be Kinross’s best hope – the best hope for 13 of these – with the Appleby horse sitting on go. Let the Games begin. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.