Chester Racecourse is celebrating the remarkable success of Benvenuto Cellini after the Boodles Chester Vase winner completed a stellar season with victory in the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained colt produced a thrilling performance under Ryan Moore in Kentucky on Saturday 31st October, finding his way through the field before powering home to secure the Group 1 contest by three-quarters of a length.
His path to one of racing’s biggest international prizes began almost six months earlier at Chester.
Benvenuto Cellini made his seasonal reappearance at the Boodles May Festival on 6th May, when he delivered an impressive performance to win the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase by four-and-a-quarter lengths. That victory immediately strengthened his Classic credentials, positioning him as the favourite for the Epsom Derby.
Ultimately declared a non-runner at Epsom following an unfair start, he returned just three weeks later to claim his first Group 1 success in the Irish Derby at the Curragh.
His Breeders’ Cup victory now provides a fitting conclusion to a season which started on the Roodee, reinforcing Chester’s long-standing reputation as a stage on which some of racing’s future stars announce themselves.
The success also builds on an outstanding 2026 Boodles May Festival, at which Aidan O’Brien completed a clean sweep of all five Listed and Group contests, including Benvenuto Cellini’s Chester Vase victory.
Benvenuto Cellini’s rise is the latest example of Chester providing a starting point for horses destined for the sport’s biggest stages. From Minnie Hauk, who went on to Group 1 glory at Ascot, to 2026 Dee Stakes winner Constitution River, who subsequently established himself at the highest level, performances on the Roodee have continued to provide an early indication of the stars to come.
Patrick Chesters, Racing Director at Chester Race Company, said: “It’s incredibly special to see a horse who began his season here at Chester go on to achieve something of this magnitude on the world stage.
“Benvenuto Cellini arrived at the Boodles May Festival with a big reputation and left Chester as favourite for the Derby after a hugely impressive performance in the Chester Vase. To see him progress from that starting point to winning the Irish Derby and now the Breeders’ Cup Turf is something everyone at Chester can take enormous pride in.
“There is a proud history of exceptional horses beginning their journey to the very top here on the Roodee. We want Chester to be the starting point for success, a place where racing’s next great horses can emerge, and Benvenuto Cellini’s achievements this season are a fantastic example of exactly that.
“Our congratulations go to Aidan O’Brien, Ryan Moore and all of Benvenuto Cellini’s connections on a tremendous achievement.”
Benvenuto Cellini’s latest victory adds another chapter to the Chester Vase’s history as one of the key early-season tests for some of Europe’s most promising runners, and provides another striking example of a journey from Chester to the top of the racing world.
