TWO years ago this column smashed the Melbourne Cup – and I’m full of hope we can pull a Classic win off once again in the space of three days!
That’s because the millions of readers of my Sun column were all over Sierra Leone in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last Del Mar Saturday night. Chad Brown’s inmate hacked up having been available at 12-1 just days before the big race. Yeeehaaa!
The TimesWillie Mullins has the big one in the Melbourne Cup[/caption]
It was Gold Trip in 2022 that landed us all a big payday in the race that stops a nation – shown live on AtTheRaces in the early hours of Tuesday morning – at 20-1.
This time I’ll be supporting ABSURDE to finally win the huge handicap for Willie Mullins.
There are a lot of non stayers – at least on paper – in this year’s renewal.
Rather oddly, Absurde didn’t get home twelve months ago when seventh to Without a Fight.
Having led 2f out, Absurde gradually weakened inside the final furlong.
This time he has a cracking draw in stall 7, and Kerrin McEvoy is a huge jockey booking. The Aussi ace is the perfect man to have on our side.
Absurde, a County Hurdle winner which takes us back to the days of Vintage Crop landing the big prize as he also went over jumps, was dropped right out when scoring at Chester last time, and I suspect McEvoy will ride a patient race at Flemington and deliver as late as possible.
There is no better person to do that than Cup hero McEvoy, and a racing weight of 8st 4lb is a gift from the Gods.
Absurde eachway seems anything but absurd to me! Come on Willie, not a phrase one is able to write too often!
As far as the Breeders’ Cup is concerned we said farewell to super sprinters Bradsell and Big Evs as well as, of course, City fo Troy, who failed to cope with the dirt like so many other top turf performers.
It was quite staggering how Aidan O’Brien and the lads from Coolmore acted with the press both before and after Breeders’ Cup 2024.
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Every question was answered, however inane, and done so with a smile and passion
O’Brien’s interview with me on Attheraces over Jan Brueghel gate – his horse denied a Melbourne Cup spot – was watched by hundreds of thousands around the world and while Aidan clearly made certain points clear he did so calmly.
Since the Breeders’ Cup O’Brien’s quality miler Henry Longfellow has also been retired. It just makes you realise how lucky we are to have Flat horses like Kyprios who keep on going year after year.
The key words after the Classic came from Coolmore’s MV Magnier. He said to me: “We’ll keep trying”.
Whatever you think of City of Troy, how much more boring would the game be if Coolmore didn’t attempt to do the near impossible. They have tried now 18 times and only nearly pulled it off on a couple of occasions.
But thank you lads for keep trying. It’s what makes us all gripped to this game. The hope of something miraculous happening. One day they will crack it and there will be no more stones for Aidan to look under for answers.
Of course the other horse we said farewell to was Coronation Cup heroine Emily Upjohn. To be quite frank Frankie Dettori had an absolute shocker on her in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, although like City of Troy you can’t blame the jockey as again it was a slow start that caused her all the issues.
What it did make quite clear is the nonsense of taking stable rider Kieran Shoemark off some of Clarehaven’s best horses this season.
Did it help Inspiral? No. Did it help Emily Upjohn? No. Clarehaven owners need to start realising they have a very special talent at their disposal. Luckily, Juddmonte Farms and George Strawbridge seem to get it. And they have reaped the rewards.
Ironically, in this case, Shoemark was done a favour and dodged a bullet. There is a chance Emily Upjohn would have been slowly away with him too, even though he’s conjured up some tremendous efforts from her this term. The difference being Frankie gets a pat on the back, while with Shoemark social media goes into meltdown. It’s a funny old game.
Finally, I’m just so sorry for connections of Jayarebe who passed away just after finishing the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Brian Meehan and Sam Sangster just adored this horse, and while he probably died of a heart attack – nothing is official straight away – which can happen to any animal or person at any moment it’s hard to take.
Jayarebe and Sean Levey had proved a fabulous team. The son of Zoffany banged in four of his eight starts including the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot and Group 2 Prix Dollar at Longchamp. He was Meehan’s big hope for next season. We will miss him and his untapped potential.
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