2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge series
# 2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge series

The 2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge series provided winners of the designated races an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the 2017 Breeders' Cup. Races were chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.

## Summary

On April 12, 2017, the Breeders Cup organization announced that the 2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge would consist of 81 races from 13 countries. Compared to the 2016 Challenge Series, three races were added: the Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes, the Highlander Stakes and the First Lady Stakes. The Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Belmont Oaks and Canadian Stakes were discontinued from the series.

Fifty pre-entrants in the 2017 Breeders' Cup qualified via the Challenge series, which was particularly important as seven of the Breeders' Cup races were oversubscribed. A maximum of 14 horses (12 in the Turf Sprint) are allowed to start in each race. Winners of the Challenge races are given automatic entries, while other pre-entries are ranked by a points system and the judgement of a panel of experts.

A few challenge series winners could not compete at the 2017 Breeders' Cup due to injury or retirement. Two-time Eclipse Award winner Songbird qualified for the Distaff by winning the Ogden Phipps Stakes but was retired in August due to injury. Bal a Bali, winner of the Shoemaker Mile Stakes, was retired in October because he was not training at a high enough level. Ulysses was a late scratch due to an ankle injury.

Five winners of Challenge series races went on to win their respective division at the Breeders' Cup:

* Gun Runner, who won the Classic, qualified by winning both the Stephen Foster and Whitney Handicap
* Forever Unbridled won the Distaff after automatically qualifying with victories in both the Fleur de Lis and Personal Ensign
* Rushing Fall qualified in the Jessamine Stakes then went on to win the Juvenile Turf
* Roy H won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship and the Sprint
* World Approval won both the Woodbine Mile and Breeders' Cup Mile

## Winners

The winners of the 2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge series races are shown below. The last column shows if the winner was subsequently pre-entered in the corresponding Breeders' Cup race and if so, whether they finished in the top three positions.

| Month | Race | Track | Location | Division | Winner | BC Status |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| January | Paddock Stakes | Kenilworth | South Africa | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Bela Bela | not entered |
| January | Queen's Plate | Kenilworth | South Africa | Breeders' Cup Mile | Legal Eagle | not entered |
| February | February Stakes | Tokyo | Japan | Breeders' Cup Classic | Gold Dream | not entered |
| April | Doncaster Mile | Randwick | Australia | Breeders' Cup Mile | It's Somewhat | not entered |
| April | TJ Smith Stakes | Randwick | Australia | Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | Chautauqua | not entered |
| April | Queen of the Turf Stakes | Randwick | Australia | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Foxplay | not entered |
| May | Gran Premio Criadores | Palermo | Argentina | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Kiriaki | not entered |
| May | Gran Premio 25 de Mayo | San Isidro | Argentina | Breeders' Cup Turf | Sixties Song | not entered |
| May | Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella | Santiago | Chile | Breeders' Cup Mile | Top Casablanca | not entered |
| June | Shoemaker Mile | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Mile | Bal a Bali | injured |
| June | Yasuda Kinen | Tokyo | Japan | Breeders' Cup Mile | Satono Aladdin | not entered |
| June | Ogden Phipps Stakes | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Songbird | injured |
| June | Metropolitan Handicap | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | Mor Spirit | entered |
| June | Gran Prêmio Brasil | Hipódromo da Gávea | Brazil | Breeders' Cup Turf | Voador Magee | not entered |
| June | Stephen Foster Handicap | Churchill Downs | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Classic | Gun Runner | won |
| June | Fleur de Lis Handicap | Churchill Downs | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Forever Unbridled | won |
| June | Gran Premio Pamplona | Monterrico | Peru | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Birdie Gold | entered |
| June | Takarazuka Kinen | Hanshin | Japan | Breeders' Cup Turf | Satono Crown | not entered |
| July | Princess Rooney Handicap | Gulfstream Park | Florida | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint | Curlin's Approval | entered |
| July | Smile Sprint Handicap | Gulfstream Park | Florida | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Imperial Hint | second |
| July | Highlander Stakes | Woodbine | Canada | Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | Green Mask | not entered |
| July | Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Mind Your Biscuits | third |
| July | Bing Crosby Handicap | Del Mar | California | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Ransom the Moon | entered |
| July | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes | Ascot | England | Breeders' Cup Turf | Enable | not entered |
| July | Haskell Invitational | Monmouth | New Jersey | Breeders' Cup Classic | Girvin | not entered |
| July | Clement L. Hirsch Stakes | Del Mar | California | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Stellar Wind | entered |
| August | Sussex Stakes | Goodwood | England | Breeders' Cup Mile | Here Comes When | not entered |
| August | Whitney Handicap | Saratoga | New York | Breeders' Cup Classic | Gun Runner | won |
| August | Beverly D. Stakes | Arlington | Illinois | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Dacita | entered |
| August | Arlington Million | Arlington | Illinois | Breeders' Cup Turf | Beach Patrol | second |
| August | Pacific Classic | Del Mar | California | Breeders' Cup Classic | Collected | second |
| August | Del Mar Handicap | Del Mar | California | Breeders' Cup Turf | Hunt | entered |
| August | Prix Jacques Le Marois | Deauville | France | Breeders' Cup Mile | Al Wukair | not entered |
| August | Juddmonte International | York | England | Breeders' Cup Turf | Ulysses | scratched |
| August | Yorkshire Oaks | York | England | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Enable | not entered |
| August | Nunthorpe Stakes | York | England | Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | Marsha | entered |
| August | Personal Ensign Stakes | Saratoga | New York | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Forever Unbridled | won |
| August | Ballerina Stakes | Saratoga | New York | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint | By the Moon | entered |
| August | Sword Dancer Invitational | Saratoga | New York | Breeders' Cup Turf | Sadler's Joy | entered |
| August | Forego Stakes | Saratoga | New York | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Drefong | entered |
| August | Pat O'Brien Handicap | Del Mar | California | Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | Giant Expectations | entered |
| September | T. Von Zastrow Stutenpreis | Baden-Baden | Germany | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Ashiana | not entered |
| September | Spinaway Stakes | Saratoga | New York | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | Lady Ivanka | scratched |
| September | Grosser Preis von Baden | Baden-Baden | Germany | Breeders' Cup Turf | Guignol | not entered |
| September | Juvenile Stakes | Leopardstown | Ireland | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Nelson | withdrawn |
| September | Matron Stakes | Leopardstown | Ireland | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Hydrangea | not entered |
| September | Irish Champion Stakes | Leopardstown | Ireland | Breeders' Cup Turf | Decorated Knight | entered |
| September | Moyglare Stud Stakes | Curragh | Ireland | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | Happily | entered |
| September | Flying Five Stakes | Curragh | Ireland | Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | Caravaggio | not entered |
| September | Pocahontas Stakes | Churchill Downs | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | Patrona Margarita | not entered |
| September | Iroquois Stakes | Churchill Downs | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | The Tabulator | entered |
| September | Woodbine Mile | Woodbine | Canada | Breeders' Cup Mile | World Approval | won |
| September | Natalma Stakes | Woodbine | Canada | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | Capla Temptress | entered |
| September | Summer Stakes | Woodbine | Canada | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Untamed Domain | second |
| September | Rockfel Stakes | Newmarket | England | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | Juliet Capulet | entered |
| September | Royal Lodge Stakes | Newmarket | England | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Roaring Lion | not entered |
| September | Vosburgh Stakes | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Takaful | entered |
| September | Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Turf | Beach Patrol | second |
| September | FrontRunner Stakes | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | Bolt d'Oro | third |
| September | Zenyatta Stakes | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Paradise Woods | third |
| September | Chandelier Stakes | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | Moonshine Memories | entered |
| September | Rodeo Drive Stakes | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Avenge | entered |
| September | Awesome Again Stakes | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Classic | Mubtaahij | entered |
| September | Sprinters Stakes | Nakayama | Japan | Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | Red Falx | not entered |
| October | Prix de l'Opéra | Chantilly | France | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Rhododendron | second |
| October | Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère | Chantilly | France | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Happily | entered Fillies Turf |
| October | Prix Marcel Boussac | Chantilly | France | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | Wild Illusion | not entered |
| October | Phoenix Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Whitmore | entered |
| October | Alcibiades Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | Heavenly Love | entered |
| October | Champagne Stakes | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | Firenze Fire | entered |
| October | Jockey Club Gold Cup | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Classic | Diversify | withdrawn |
| October | First Lady Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | Zipessa | entered |
| October | Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint | Finley'sluckycharm | entered |
| October | Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Mile | Suedois | entered |
| October | Breeders' Futurity Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | Free Drop Billy | entered |
| October | Santa Anita Sprint Championship | Santa Anita | California | Breeders' Cup Sprint | Roy H | won |
| October | Flower Bowl Invitational | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | War Flag | entered |
| October | Frizette Stakes | Belmont Park | New York | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | Separationofpowers | entered |
| October | Bourbon Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Flameaway | entered |
| October | Spinster Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Distaff | Romantic Vision | entered |
| October | Jessamine Stakes | Keeneland | Kentucky | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | Rushing Fall | won |
