Johannesburg takes Breeders Cup Juvenile Irish horse Johannesburg outclassed heavily favored Officer and emerged as the early Kentucky Derby choice as he won tonight $1 million-dollar Breeders` Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park. Jockey Michael Kinane was content to remain behind favorites Officer, Came Home and Siphonic until the eighth pole of the 1 1/16-mile race. As Siphonic sneaked up the rail to move a head in front of Officer, Johannesburg went outside of Officer and Came Home with a burst that never relented until the wire. He pulled away to win by three lengths. 'He`s been a champ every step of the way all year,' Kinane said. Johannesburg had been unbeaten in six starts on turf in Europe but his performance here was still a surprise. This was his first start on dirt and his first race at more than six furlongs. Even more stunning was how easily he handled the favorites -- especially Officer, at 4-5 the most popular choice among all eight Breeders` Cup races. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza, he fell to fifth as he lost for the first time in six starts. 'He just didn`t feel like running today,' Espinoza said. It was the first Breeders` Cup win for trainer Aidan O`Brien, who gave no immediate indication as to whether Johannesburg will run in the Kentucky Derby just over six months from now. Johannesburg clocked 1:42.27. Repent was second with Anthony D`Amico aboard and Siphonic was third under Jerry Bailey for USD7.90. It was another bad race for favorites but it did not start that way. Came Home, Officer and Siphonic all broke well and ran out front for the first half-mile. Officer inched ahead of Came Home as Siphonic appeared to fade. But Siphonic stayed game and made another charge before Johannesburg took over. .
