Minaret Station’s rallying win in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) Thursday at Belmont Park made the 4-year-old the first Grade 1 winner for his sire Instilled Regard and put him on a path for the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) at Keeneland.

With a close second in the Christophe Clement Turf (G1) six weeks ago, Minaret Station was in good form coming into the 1 ½-mile contest. Program Trading (GB) set an expected moderate pace, getting six furlongs in 1:16.92, with Minaret Station well-spotted in fourth. After a mile, El Cordobes (IRE) took the lead, with Minaret Station moving up into third and advancing three-wide on the final bend. In the stretch, Minaret Station moved to the lead inside the final furlong, then gamely held off Far Bridge to win by a half-length.

“I mean as long as he comes out of this OK,” said trainer Will Walden in terms of going on to the Breeders’ Cup at the end of October. “I’ll give you the typical: ‘See how he is on the road tomorrow and go from there,’ but yeah, that’s the target.”

Minaret Station, now 4-2-2 in nine lifetime starts, is a homebred for Larry Best’s OXO Equine LLC, who also owned Instilled Regard. The winner has now earned $903,256.

Minaret Station is out of Beau Recall (IRE), who produced a full brother to Minaret Station this year. Instilled Regard, winner of the Manhattan S. (G1) and three other graded stakes, stood the 2026 season for $8,000 S&N.