DEL MAR, Calif. – Hopefully they don’t make a typo on his Eclipse trophy.
Spendthrift Farm’s Ted Noffey (Into Mischief), a ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard,’ completed his championship season a perfect four-for-four with a one-length decision in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.
Longshot Mr. A. P. (American Pharoah) rallied to grab second from ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ Brant (Gun Runner).
Ted Noffey is the 16th Breeders’ Cup winner for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and his fifth in the Juvenile.
“What I think is impressive is, when you’re shipping cross country and you’re coming to Del Mar, running against Bob Baffert and his best colts, it’s tough,” Pletcher said. “It’s a road game and you’ve got to have a really good horse to do that.”
Off as the much-deserving 4-5 favorite in the scratched-down field of six following top-shelf wins in the GI Spendthrift Farm Hopeful S. Sept. 1 and GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity Oct. 4, Ted Noffey shadowed second-choice Brant in second through fractions of :23.46 and :46.99.
Traveling smartly beneath Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Ted Noffey turned up the heat approaching the top of the stretch and gained command as they straightened.
Ted Noffey looked like he was well on his way to a runaway victory, but the two-for-two Brant, making his two-turn debut for Bob Baffert off a win in the GI Del Mar Futurity, was a stubborn foe along the rail.
Brant battled back gamely down the lane, but Ted Noffey was always going the better of the two. Ted Noffey finally put away his fellow gray in deep stretch and was never seriously threatened by the late run of Mr. A. P., a $150,000 claim by David and Holly Wilson.
“I was very confident,” Velazquez said of his 22nd career winner at the Championships. “The only thing he did a little bit was he idled really bad at the eighth pole, getting to that shadow between the building, and he kind of waited. After that, he passed the shadow and the two horses came in and he went back in and re-engaged again.”
Everyone knows the ‘typo’ story behind his name now. Ted Noffey is named, tongue in cheek, for Spendthrift Farm’s longtime General Manager and Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers’ Club 2024 Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year Ned Toffey, who had his named misspelled in a recent interview with a trade publication.
“I think the thing that has struck me about it is just the reaction from people, just all the well wishes and people seem to get a charge out of it,” Toffey said. “So, that’s fun. I think we’re having fun with it. People are having fun with it. I think that’s a good thing for the sport.”
Spendthrift Farm owner Eric Gustavson added, “We just feel so blessed to have Ted, and the two Hall of Famers got all that God-given ability out of him and that we’re sitting here today. What a thrill.”
Pedigree Notes:
Ted Noffey, a $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, becomes the ninth Breeders’ Cup winner and second straight Juvenile winner for Spendthrift Farm’s six-time reigning champion general sire Into Mischief. He is one of Into Mischief’s 27 top-level winners.
Ted Noffey’s dam SW & MGSP Streak of Luck (Old Fashioned) brought $620,000 from winning breeders Aaron and Marie Jones at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. She is also responsible for a yearling filly by Munnings ($425,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Repole Stable) and an Into Mischief colt of this year. She was bred back to Not This Time.
Victory belongs to Ted Noffey in the prestigious $2 Million @FanDuel #BreedersCup Juvenile, presented by @TBAftercare. 👏 #BC25 pic.twitter.com/hQ6PBwggzQ
— Breeders’ Cup (@BreedersCup) October 31, 2025
Friday, Del Mar
FANDUEL BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE PRESENTED BY THOROUGHBRED AFTERCARE ALLIANCE-GI, $1,760,000, Del Mar, 10-31, 2yo, c/g, 1 1/16m, 1:42.25, ft.
1–TED NOFFEY, 122, c, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Streak of Luck (SW & MGSP, $352,109), by Old Fashioned
2nd Dam: Valeria, by Elusive Quality
3rd Dam: Lindsay Jean, by Saint Ballado
($650,000 Ylg ’24 KEESEP). ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard‘. O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Aaron & Marie Jones LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-John R. Velazquez. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0, $1,657,963. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mr. A. P., 122, r, 2, American Pharoah–Trenchtown Cat, by Discreet Cat. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($47,000 RNA Ylg ’24 FTKOCT). O-Holly and David Wilson; B-Pollock Farms (KY); T-Vladimir Cerin. $340,000.
3–Brant, 122, c, 2, Gun Runner–Tynan, by Liam’s Map. ($200,000 Ylg ’24 KEESEP; $3,000,000 2yo ’25 OBSMAR). ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard‘. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-PTK, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $180,000.
Margins: 1, HF, NK. Odds: 0.80, 20.60, 1.70.
Also Ran: Litmus Test, Intrepido, Comport. Scratched: Blackout Time, Civil Liberty.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
