Sharing winning the 2019 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. (Courtesy of the Breeders’ Cup)
Breeders’ Cup Closer Look
Trainer Graham Motion won the BC Turf in 2004 with Better Talk Now and in 2014 with Main Sequence. He also won the 2010 Filly & Mare Turf with Shared Account and the 2019 Juvenile Fillies Turf with Sharing. This year he has two chances to add a fifth (and sixth?) Breeders’ Cup trophy to his case.
This year’s Breeders’ Cup will be “take 2” for Motion and South African-connected horses. After saddling Beach Bomb (SAF) and Isivunguvungu (SAF) to respective eighth- and seventh-place finishes in Breeders’ Cup events last year, Motion and Team South Africa are back with Hollywood Racing and Rikesh Sewgoolam’s One Stripe (SAF) in the G1 FanDuel Mile.
Motion, an English-born trainer, said he is honored to train a representative of South Africa once again at this year’s World Championships.
“You do feel a certain responsibility for the South Africans because it’s a big deal for them,” Motion said. “I do feel like we are representing them, and I know how important it is for them. It’s been uplifting for our stable. It’s a new experience in our stable to have these horses, and I love international racing.”
One Stripe, a bay son of One World (SAF), enters from a fifth-place finish in with Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1) on Sept. 13, where he made his North American debut. In his native country, One Stripe is a dual Group 1 winner after taking the Cape Guineas and King’s Plate this winter at Kenilworth.
“I picked a really difficult race for him to run in last time for his first North American start,” Motion said. “He had to give weight to everybody, so he was really up against it. I think he’s really come on since that race – he really needed the race. The timing was perfect, it just wasn’t the ideal spot.”
One Stripe is now set to make his American debut in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, which features contenders from five continents.
“He’s been a pleasure to be around,” Motion said. “For a newly turned 4-year-old colt, he’s got a good disposition and he’s a good eater. It’s going to be a tall order for him, but I think he’s going to be a really nice horse. He hasn’t done much wrong.”
Turf Star has been turning heads on the racetrack in the mornings as he gallops with his head held high and his steely tail flowing behind him. The son of Caravaggio has seen plenty of visitors at trainer Graham Motion’s barn this week on the Del Mar backstretch, and has his own “fan club,” according to assistant trainer Alice Clapham.
“He really is a flashy guy, and he’s so laid back,” Motion said. “He takes everything in stride. Even in the mornings, he kind of flops around there and is disinterested. He’s a very cool horse. He’s got a remarkable attitude. People have been noticing on the track, and they’re not wrong – he is adorable.”
Turf Star enters the G1 Juvenile Turf from a game second to the Irad Ortiz, Jr.-piloted Final Score in Keeneland’s G2 Bourbon on October 5 after stalking on the inside and angling out late to make his run.
“I think Tyler was a little frustrated because he felt if he could have gotten off the rail a little sooner and got around Irad, he would have been a little closer,” Motion said. “He was very pleased with him, and he wanted to ride him back, which is always encouraging. I think he can improve from that race.”
TURF STAR, just out at Del Mar this morning. Our thanks again to Margaret Ransom for the video! @BreedersCup pic.twitter.com/TnDSJlIyXk
— Herringswell Stables (@HerringswellStb) October 29, 2025
