A Morning Amid Greatness

[Wandering Eyes]

With less than three weeks to go until the G1 Investec Epsom Derby Festival, Aidan O’Brien and the team at Ballydoyle were more than generous with their time to allow a rabble of racing and bloodstock press get a peek inside an idyllic morning’s work on Monday at arguably the world’s most famous and most successful training operation. Having broken the record for the number of Group or Grade 1 winners in a year in 2017, one would think there weren’t many accolades missing from Aidan O’Brien’s mantelpiece but as we saw recently at Churchill Downs, racing is a great leveler and even the Ballydoyle maestro could not prepare for what ensued on the sloppy dirt track when Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) trailed in last in the GI Kentucky Derby. Another iconic racing feat that has possibly been nagging at O’Brien’s boss John Magnier is the European Triple Crown, won last by Nijinsky II in 1970. The current Ballydoyle incumbents came agonisingly close to emulating the Vincent O’Brien-trained Nijinsky when Camelot (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) came unstuck in the final leg, the G1 St Leger at Doncaster in 2012 and hopes are high that Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) may be the one to bridge that 48-year gap. The now dual Group 1 winner and recent hero of the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket was one of 70 regally bred Thoroughbreds limbering up in the giant indoor exercise arena in Ballydoyle just before 8 a.m. on Monday morning.

Just as he had done on several occasions in his juvenile season, Lancaster Bomber (War Front) cut out the early trotting, followed a few lengths back by Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) with Saxon Warrior settled in about sixth place and they maintained similar formation as they made their way to the wood chip gallop for the first of two canters that morning. Talk soon came around to the main subject Saxon Warrior and after another weekend of Derby Trials his odds have hardened to a shade of odds on, despite Dermot Weld’s Hazapour (Ire) (Shamardal) enhancing his Epsom claims when putting a few of the other Ballydoyle Derby hopefuls in the shade at Leopardstown on Sunday.

“He’s good, we’re very happy with him,” O’Brien said. “Going to Newmarket we were nervous, he was a drastic amount above his 2-year-old weight, which has rarely happened here before.  Donnacha was riding him in his work, it was always nice work and he was very happy with him. To do what he did at Newmarket we were obviously delighted. With the Derby in mind we didn’t want to start over seven furlongs so we thought the mile up Newmarket would be a lovely place to start.”

Knowing what little emphasis O’Brien places on winning trials and how much his charges improve from race to race–often running career bests late on in the season when other horses are tapering off–the performance of Saxon Warrior at Newmarket could easily set the stage for him to stake his claim as one of the greats. And to do so he could not have a better address than Rosegreen, Co. Tipperary. With stage one out of the way and given the brilliance he showed over a mile are we taking it for granted too much that he will be even better over a mile and a half and further?

“We’ve always viewed him as a Camelot/Australia type of horse but the acceleration he showed from the 3 [furlong] pole was very pleasing,” the trainer said. “He has half a mile further and a different track to contend with but usually when they handle the dip in Newmarket they can usually cope with the contours of Epsom.” When pressed about a potential Triple Crown bid O’Brien deflected such a notion and said, “It’s never the be all and end all, every horse is taken individually and it will only come into the equation if we get through the next stage. But obviously it would be unbelievable to have a horse that could do it.”

While Saxon Warrior is no doubt the number one Derby hope, O’Brien is not short of backup and as we saw last year when Wings Of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}) sprang a 40-1 surprise one cannot dismiss the Ballydoyle second or even fifth string.

“Obviously I haven’t spoken with the lads yet and no decision has been made but I suppose the second and third from the trial yesterday [Delano Roosevelt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and The Pentagon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})] will be on the team and probably the horse that ran at Lingfield [Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})]. Maybe Rostropovich, who won at Chester could go for the French Derby. I was very happy with the two at Leopardstown, it wasn’t a mad pace by any means. Sometimes the trials turn into the races themselves and the horses don’t progress the way you’d like them to. I thought looking at our horses that a mile and a half would suit them.”

Last year Ballydoyle had the hot favourite Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Epsom Oaks but they didn’t reckon on bumping into the mighty Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and this year despite plenty of Ballydoyle ammunition the home side may have some tough nuts to crack including the John Gosden trained Lah Ti Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), winner of the Listed Pretty Polly S. at Newmarket and earner of a ‘TDN Rising Star‘ on debut. Last year’s multiple Group 1 placed 2-year-old September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is on the easy list at the moment and will miss the race and Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) looks more like being aimed at the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas, so O’Brien will send recent Listed Cheshire Oaks 1-2 Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) towards the race he has won six times already. Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) missed her engagement at Leopardstown on Sunday due to the ground and could also go straight to Epsom.

While O’Brien may come across through his media engagements as an intense individual with a touch of the ‘mad genius’ about him, in real life he is engaging, witty and he immediately strikes a rapport with visitors much in the same way as he addresses each of the circa 70 riders by name, enquiring about the well-being of their mounts as the string walks by after each canter. Training is a stressful game and while O’Brien doesn’t have to fret about many of the matters that his training colleagues do, such as filling the barns each year with nice horses, his role brings unique pressures, though in his dealings with the media these pressures are not evident in his demeanor.

“This time of the year is tense as there is a lot going on and a lot of things changing and you’re just trying to give the best information to the people that are making the decisions,” he said. Those making the decisions in Ballydoyle can do so in the comfort that the quality of information is second to none.

 

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