Aidan O'Brien will target the Hong Kong Vase with Benvenuto Cellini after the Frankel colt pounced late to win the Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland.
The Irish Derby winner had finished fifth in the Prix Niel and ninth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but Ryan Moore kept the faith.
Moore sat on the rail behind Japanese raider Deep Monster, who cut out the early running, and found himself behind a wall of horses turning for home. Benvenuto Cellini then burst between Diamond Necklace and Tiffany, hit the front late and quickened away to beat Map Of Stars.
Diamond Necklace finished third and Sir Mark Prescott's Tiffany fourth.
"The plan was to come here and then if everything went well, we'd go to Hong Kong," O'Brien said.
Benvenuto Cellini will be targeting the Hong Kong Vase after pounces late to win the Breeders' Cup Turf, according to trainer Aidan O'Brien. (Idol Horse/Shuhei Okada)
The win was O'Brien's 28th Group 1 of 2026, equaling his 2017 tally.
"He's such a beautiful mover and loves fast ground," O'Brien said. The son of Frankel looks set to race on as a four-year-old.
It was a third Breeders' Cup win of the meeting for O'Brien and Moore, who caught a flight to Australia afterward for Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.
"He was brilliant on him," O'Brien said. "He accepted early and changed his mind, which meant he didn't use any gas. He knew he was going to have one bullet to fire when he got an opportunity and that's what he did.
"Time after time he produces on the big day."
The Hong Kong Vase is one of four Group 1 races at the Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) at Sha Tin on December 13. O'Brien has won it three times, all with Moore in the saddle: Highland Reel in 2015 and 2017, and Mogul in 2020.
