Since operating his first horse in a Breeders’ Cup race in 1998, Aidan O’Brien has received 18 Breeders’ Cup races, second solely to Corridor of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ 20 wins. His Breeders’ Cup horses have earned greater than $33.8 million, trailing solely the steady tally of Corridor of Famer Bob Baffert, one other 18-time winner with greater than $40.3 million.
These outcomes aren’t shocking from the 55-year-old O’Brien, a coaching legend generally known as “The Grasp of Ballydoyle,” who bases his Irish steady there because the personal coach for Coolmore, the internationally acclaimed racing and breeding operation.
Having received greater than 400 Group/Grade 1 races worldwide, few vital races have eluded O’Brien. But the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Traditional is one. Seventeen occasions he has began a horse within the 1 1/4-mile race, solely to be denied, although three have come shut by hitting the board.
Big’s Causeway, O’Brien’s first Traditional starter, ran second to Tiznow on the Churchill Downs filth in 2000; Henrythenavigator was additionally runner-up within the 2008 Traditional, though that race was on the then-synthetic floor at Santa Anita Park; and Declaration of Warfare ran third when the race was again on filth at Santa Anita in 2013, narrowly overwhelmed by Mucho Macho Man and Will Take Cost. Big’s Causeway and Declaration of Warfare misplaced in photograph finishes — the previous by a neck, the latter by a nostril and head.
Now O’Brien and his Coolmore-affiliated house owners of Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith are again for one more crack on the Traditional prize, beginning reigning European champion 2-year-old male Metropolis of Troy within the Nov. 2 Longines Breeders’ Cup Traditional at Del Mar in Southern California. As many as 13 opponents will line up in opposition to him, together with an American-trained colt with some frequent possession with Metropolis of Troy, the Chad Brown-trained Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Sierra Leone.
Like most of these O’Brien has run earlier than within the Traditional, Metropolis of Troy has no race expertise on filth. Regardless of that, the 3-year-old is favored in ante-post (future-book) wagering with British bookmakers for the Traditional, forward of DraftKings Travers Stakes winner Fierceness and Japanese star Without end Younger.
The optimism from abroad punters is said to Metropolis of Troy’s accomplishments in Europe — he’s 6-for-7, a four-time Group 1 winner, and the top-rated turf horse on the planet — plus his pedigree, being a son of Justify, who excelled on filth, profitable the 2018 Triple Crown.
Metropolis of Troy comes into the Traditional off three straight wins, victorious within the June 1 Epsom Derby, the July 6 Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, and the Aug. 21 Juddmonte Worldwide Stakes at York. The latter victory earned him a paid, automated berth within the Traditional by way of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Problem Collection. He’s considered one of 19 horses O’Brien pre-entered over 14 races within the two-day Breeders’ Cup.
“He was a horse we all the time dreamed about that possibly might be very aggressive within the Breeders’ Cup Traditional,” O’Brien mentioned throughout an Oct. 23 media teleconference. “Clearly, we by no means received it earlier than, however we had been positioned with some excellent horses. And so, we all the time thought this horse was type of like Big’s Causeway, however just a bit bit extra class.”
That’s excessive reward contemplating that Big’s Causeway, a fellow Kentucky-bred and a son of Storm Cat, was 9-4-0 in 13 begins with greater than $3 million in earnings. Nicknamed the “Iron Horse,” he was a six-time Group 1 winner, 2000 Cartier Horse of the Yr, and 2000 champion 3-year-old colt in England and Eire.
American runners Captain Steve, Albert the Nice, Lemon Drop Child, Fusaichi Pegasus, and Cat Thief couldn’t run inside a couple of lengths of Tiznow within the 2000 Traditional as Big’s Causeway did, only a few ft away from victory. This got here regardless of him needing to be blindfolded to enter the beginning gate and jockey Mick Kinane getting his driving crop briefly tangled in his reins as he urged Big’s Causeway late within the race.
Although Big’s Causeway misplaced the Traditional, the flexibility and the excessive degree of efficiency he confirmed on filth, along with his success on turf, led him to turn into a sizzling younger stallion fancied by breeders worldwide. After one 12 months at stud in 2001 at Coolmore Stud in Eire, he transferred to Coolmore’s Kentucky farm, Ashford Stud, the place he commanded a $135,000 price in 2002. He went on to have an extended and profitable profession as a stallion earlier than he died in 2018 at age 21.
A high efficiency from Metropolis of Troy within the Traditional would equally add to his worldwide industrial stud enchantment. Coolmore introduced earlier this month that Metropolis of Troy would go to stud at their Irish headquarters in 2025 after his ultimate profession begin within the Traditional.
“The crew in America had been very eager for him to face alongside his sire Justify at Ashford, however the house crew have received the day and we’re delighted to have the ability to supply such a singular expertise to our European shoppers,” Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier mentioned in a launch.
The Challenges Dealing with Europeans
As Big’s Causeway demonstrated shortly earlier than the beginning of the 2000 Traditional, gate points aren’t unusual for international horses competing in america attributable to variations that embrace the dimension of the gates and using assistant starters in America. Equine nerves from unfamiliarity additionally play a job.
The race itself then poses challenges. Grass races usually reward horses who can quicken with a pointy flip of foot, whereas filth races can usually go to horses with sustained velocity. Kickback from filth can discourage horses settling in midpack or towards the rear, notably for these unaccustomed to it.
“Clearly, it’s a really tough activity,” O’Brien mentioned of going from turf to filth within the Traditional. “It’s most likely the hardest Thoroughbred race on the planet, actually — the truth that it’s the tip of the season in opposition to older horses. … It’s on a completely completely different continent, completely completely different race make-up, completely completely different floor. There’s so many ‘first occasions’ that he has to cope with, and it doesn’t matter what we do on this a part of the world, we will’t replicate that. So, pay attention, it’s very, very robust.
“I don’t know the best way to examine to every other sport, like he’s going into the ring in some struggle that he’s by no means ever skilled, actually, you already know? So, it’s a whole lot of unknowns. There’s a whole lot of [variables] that we received’t be capable to management.”
Although not within the Traditional, O’Brien has beforehand pulled off the turf-to-dirt feat on the Breeders’ Cup. Johannesburg captured the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the Belmont Park important monitor after beginning on turf twice in England, as soon as in France, and 3 times in Eire. Even with only one race in North America, he was later honored as champion 2-year-old male on the Eclipse Awards to go together with the prizes he received in Europe.
With no American 3-year-old male having carried out sufficient already to seal up this 12 months’s championship, an Eclipse Award might be in play for Metropolis of Troy, even Horse of the Yr. However a victory would possible be required within the Traditional.
In preparation for it, O’Brien did his greatest to simulate an American race by placing Metropolis of Troy by means of a race-like mile exercise on an artificial monitor Sept. 20 at Southwell Racecourse. With tons of of attendees turning out to see Metropolis of Troy, the colt made simple work of his outclassed stablemates below common rider Ryan Moore after breaking from an American-style gate. Metropolis of Troy broke alertly, was skilled in navigating the sweeping left-hand bend, and accelerated and strode out fantastically when he was minimize free down the stretch. The exercise got here on an all-weather Tapeta Footings floor.
Whether or not he responds equally on a conventional filth floor is likely one of the key questions for bettors. Horses accustomed to racing on turf are inclined to switch their kind to artificial surfaces extra often than filth.
Reflecting on why he opted to not prep Metropolis of Troy on filth earlier than the Breeders’ Cup Traditional within the Sept. 28 California Crown Stakes at Santa Anita after the colt earned an expenses-paid California Crown berth within the Coral-Eclipse, O’Brien mentioned he most popular having the 3-year-old near house. Earlier in the summertime, O’Brien and his house owners had additionally thought-about operating him at Saratoga Race Course within the Travers but in addition handed on that possibility in favor of a European marketing campaign.
“Yeah, I suppose we solely had a sure period of time, actually, and clearly we had so much to cope with to go and do this,” he mentioned of the California Crown. “He would most likely have needed to [go] out and educated in California and keep on a special floor. There could be so much there that we couldn’t management, and we wouldn’t understand how he would react to. So, I suppose that’s why we stored him at house. We knew how he would react to his coaching.”
By giving him a race-like exercise at Southwell a month in the past, “We thought it was as a lot as we might do, and we must take a whole lot of the opposite stuff on belief,” he continued. “And the very last thing we wished to do was type of wipe him out, or backside him out, and since he would have a tricky season right here so far anyway, and he’s solely a 3-year-old. So, we simply must be just a little bit cautious. We type of appeared below as many stones as we might.”
It’s not unprecedented for a European-trained horse to win the Traditional. The Andre Fabre-trained Arcangues scored a surprising upset in 1993 at Santa Anita at odds of 133-1.
Metropolis of Troy will likely be a fraction of that value. Many British bookmakers have him at odds of 3-2 to win the Traditional, although his value will very possible be larger in a North American wagering pool. North American bettors may be reluctant to again international shippers in races on filth.
Requested throughout the teleconference if he has heard any skepticism about operating within the Traditional — a race during which O’Brien has not competed since Mendelssohn ran fifth in 2018 — the coach mentioned that skepticism is frequent and doesn’t let it influence him.
“We decide and we’ve a perception, after which we do our greatest to attempt to assist it occur after that, actually. … There will likely be execs and cons to every part, and a few individuals naturally are skeptical about issues,” he mentioned. “That’s the best way human beings are, and so they’re entitled to be as a result of that’s what makes up the entire world, actually, isn’t it?
“So, I feel, who is aware of what’s going to occur, actually? However we’ve to try to after we consider in one thing, we’ve to maintain going, do our greatest to try to assist [him] carry out to his greatest.”
