Now, as a gelding with his future on the track, his options are wide open and worldwide.
After a tardy start, James Doyle piloted the Godolphin homebred son of Dubawi to the front of a tough international field of turf specialists in the stretch run of the Turf as the wind howled over the Keeneland course.
Once in front, he ran on strongly to win by 2 ¼ lengths from Irish raider Stone Age as the European contingent continued to dominate the weekend’s Breeders’ Cup grass events.
U.S.-based mare War Like Goddess finished third, salvaging a smidgen of pride for the North American contingent.
Rebel’s Romance, the 5.96-1 third betting choice, finished the 1 ½ miles on firm turf in course-record time of 2:26.35, but Doyle said it was not all clear sailing for the gelding, who can be a handful both before and during a race.
“We ended up in a nice position” after the slow break. “I was keen to get him off the inside rail and get him out to the middle of the track. It was a little raw on the turns,” said Doyle, who celebrated his first Breeders’ Cup win with his mother, Jacqui, on hand. “There were a couple of hairy moments until I got him some more room.
“He can be (difficult) but he was pretty good today.”
Rebel’s Romance improved his career record to nine wins from 12 starts and $2,934,610 in earnings. His win and Stone Age’s runner-up finish capped a stellar weekend for Godolphin and Ireland’s Coolmore partners. Each combined won three turf races on the two-day Breeders’ Cup card, essentially dominating the proceedings on the Keeneland lawn. Appleby and Godolphin also won three Breeders’ Cup races in 2021.
“It’s always good to be here at the Breeders’ Cup,” Appleby said. “It would be good to be here even if we left without a winner.”