Saturday afternoon sees the last big day of the British Flat season as Doncaster hosts the final domestic Group 1 of 2025. First held in 1961, the Futurity Trophy Stakes has grown to become one of the most influential juvenile events of the season.
One mile is the trip for this £200,000 Town Moor highlight, in a race that attracts runners with Classic aspirations for their three-year-old campaigns. Six winners have gone on to claim Epsom Derby gold, including the British trio of Reference Point, Motivator, and Authorized.
Irish runners have dominated in more recent times. Between 2017 and 2024, six of the eight winners hailed from the Emerald Isle. With the final field confirmed, the betting suggests we could be in for another Irish winner in 2025. Three of the final six-runner field make the trip across the Irish Sea, including the current favourite for the 2026 Epsom Derby.
Benvenuto Bids to Make it a Dozen Wins for O’Brien
First successful with Saratoga Springs in 1997 and most recently with Auguste Rodin in 2022, Aidan O’Brien tops the all-time trainers’ table with 11 wins. Six of those winners went on to Classic success. High Chaparral and Auguste Rodin landed the Derby; Brian Boru claimed the St Leger; and Saxon Warrior and Magna Grecia won the 2000 Guineas. 2011 champ Camelot won both the 2000 Guineas and Derby before finishing an agonising second in the St Leger.
If there is a Classic winner lurking among O’Brien’s 2025 trio, the market suggests it is most likely to be Benvenuto Cellini. This son of the mighty Frankel, who sires four of the six runners, is a warm favourite for this race and the current market leader for the 2026 Epsom Derby.
Like most Coolmore runners, Benvenuto Cellini could scarcely make more appeal on paper. In addition to having the greatest horse of all time as a father, his mother, Newspaperofrecord, won twice in Grade 1 company over this trip, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf during her two-year-old season.
Following the pattern of many from the O’Brien yard, Benvenuto Cellini ran as though he would improve for the outing when second on debut. Stepping up on that effort to land his maiden at Killarney, he then thrust his name into the mix for this with a five-length romp in the Group 2 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes.
Mountain a Strong Second String to Ballydoyle Bow
O’Brien’s apparent second string, Hawk Mountain, sits just behind his stablemate in the market. By the late Wootton Bassett, this good-looking chestnut is one of the two runners who doesn’t fly the Frankel flag.
Before his untimely death, Wootton Bassett had established himself as one of the hottest sires in the sport. There is plenty of class on the dam side of the pedigree too, with Hawk Mountain’s mother Hydrangea scoring twice in Group 1 company. Only fifth on debut, he took a big step forward to score at the Curragh, before returning to that track to claim the Group 2 Beresford Stakes in September – a race won by Saratoga Springs, Saxon Warrior, Luxembourg, and Hotazhell before their Futurity Trophy triumphs.
Action rounds out the O’Brien trio. While beaten in two of his three starts, he is another impeccably bred sort, being a Frankel half-brother to 2025 Derby hero Lambourn. A shade unlucky when third in the Royal Lodge Stakes, it would be no surprise to see him go well.
Unbeaten Item Leads British Charge
Andrew Balding may not yet have given up hope in his bid to become British champion trainer for the first time. However, if Aidan O’Brien wins this, the Kingsclere handler may face an impossible task.
Having saddled Elm Park (2014) and Kameko (2019) to Futurity Trophy success, Balding fields one against the Ballydoyle three in 2025. Item runs in the famous Juddmonte silks, carried with such distinction by his father Frankel. He is out of Capla Temptress, who scored in Grade 1 company over this trip in the US. While yet to run to the levels of the O’Brien contingent, he has done all that has been asked of him to date – two starts yielding two 3½l wins.
Item remains unbeaten at @BathRacecourse!
The son of Frankel leads his rivals from start to finish, finding plenty for pressure on the front end to land a contest that’s been won by some nice types in previous years!@AndrewBalding2 | @rob_hornby18 pic.twitter.com/ba1kkYyA4d
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 30, 2025
This represents a big step up from Class 4 company, but this highly regarded sort looks worth his place in the line-up.
Oxagon and Rochfortbridge Round Out the Field
Perhaps the most surprising Futurity Trophy stat is that John Gosden has yet to train the winner. Oxagon is tasked with putting that right in 2025. With dam Endless Charm retiring with only a maiden win to her name, this Prince A A Faisal runner doesn’t boast the same pedigree appeal as the other Frankel colts. However, he has shown a useful level of form, including an eight-length win at Sandown and a solid second to Puerto Rico in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at this track in September.
Last – and in all likelihood least – we have the current 100/1 outsider Rochfortbridge from the Adrian Keatley operation. Beaten in Group 2, Group 3, and Listed company in his last three outings, he will need to find a significant jolt of improvement to trouble these rivals. Mind you, after some of the results we have seen of late, we won’t rule anyone out entirely!
Can Benvenuto Cellini advertise his Derby claims in style, or will the prize head elsewhere? We’ll know the answer shortly after 2pm on Saturday.
