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The Major European Talking Points From Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Action

The Europeans made their presence felt at Keeneland on Friday. Aidan O'Brien bagged a Grade I double while Charlie Appleby, who has two favourites to look forward to on Saturday, also landed a winner on the opening day of the Breeders' Cup.

From O'Brien working his magic to No Nay Never silencing his doubters and William Buick and Ryan Moore once again confirming themselves top of the international riding tree, we pick the bones out of a pulsating Friday at Keeneland.

Buick And Moore Confirm World-Class Status

One of the main topics of conversation at breakfast in the TDN house on Friday morning was the different approach trainers take to booking jockeys for the Breeders' Cup.

Some housemates felt it a no-brainer to utilise a local rider's extensive knowledge of Keeneland. Others believe it to be more important for the jockey to know his or her charge and, if that meant employing someone with no previous experience around the track, so be it.

There are many top-class riders in Europe who have been made to look ordinary at the Breeders' Cup down through the years. The same is true of American-based jockeys enduring forgettable days at the office in Europe, with Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s dismal Royal Ascot back in June the most recent example of such.

In short, there are few who can ride the straight course at Royal Ascot as well as the tight and turning track of Keeneland, but William Buick and Ryan Moore went some way to proving themselves masters of their craft with their respective displays on Friday.

Take Buick's winning ride aboard Mischief Magic (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). Trapped for room and three lengths down with just over 100 yards left in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Buick held his nerve in driving through a gap between horses 40 yards from the winning line to win by a length and going away at the post.

Buick was on the receiving end of a magical display from Moore when suffering an agonising defeat to Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) aboard heavy-favourite Silver Knott (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

It's hard to argue that Buick did much wrong aboard Silver Knott as he waited for the gaps to appear on the inner and actually took the lead with just over 50 yards left to race. He was just beaten by one better on the day, who was galvanised by Moore to plonk his head narrowly in front at the line.

Buick has been a joy to watch all season in Britain and his championship victory was richly deserved. Moore has been similarly excellent to watch and many people would say that this is the best form he has been riding in for the past five or six seasons. Both men are operating at the peak of their powers and Friday confirmed their status as world-class riders.

Don't Doubt Genius Of O'Brien

In the build-up to the Breeders' Cup, Victoria Road's breeder Trevor Stewart told TDN Europe readers how Aidan O'Brien convinced him to return to Saxon Warrior with the colt's dam Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) on the strength of what he had been seeing on the gallops at Ballydoyle.

Stewart must have thought O'Brien was confusing Victoria Road for one of his stablemates for the majority of the season. Here was a horse who was beaten at Roscommon on debut, only managed to finish fourth in the Ballyhane S. at Naas and took five starts to shed his maiden tag. Not exactly the profile of a world-beater.

However, all Victoria Road has done since that maiden success at Gowran Park in August is improve, confirming O'Brien's early evaluation of his ability to be bang on the money.

Not only that, but the victory of Victoria Road cemented a Grade I double for O'Brien following Meditate's impressive GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf display.

Considering some people were questioning the strength of O'Brien's juvenile brigade earlier in the campaign, that he could bag a Grade I double with two of his youngsters would have proved sweet for everyone at Ballydoyle.

Sweeter still is the fact that Meditate would have gone some way in silencing the No Nay Never doubters who feel the stallion will not produce Classic contenders. Meditate looked to be adept over the mile and hardened her Guineas credential in the process.

Bloody But Unbowed

Take nothing away from The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), who can be forgiven for running no sort of a race in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The combination of a wide draw and racing around the bend proved too much for her as she trailed home a disappointing 11th, but there's no doubt that she will be back and seen in a better light at more conventional tracks in Europe next season.

On the contrary, the Karl Burke-trained Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) enhanced her reputation in defeat. She was only collared late on by Mischief Magic and looks a smart sprinter for Steve Parkin to look forward to next season.

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O’Brien Gets No Nay Never Answers As Meditate Stays Breeders’ Cup Trip

LEXINGTON, KY–Meditate (Ire)'s barnstorming display in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf provided one of the strongest indications yet that No Nay Never would produce Classic types as well as deadly speedballs, according to the winning trainer Aidan O'Brien.

It has been a season to remember for No Nay Never with Little Big Bear (Ire) and Blackbeard (Ire) winning three Group 1 juvenile races in Europe over six furlongs between them.

However, in pulling over two lengths clear of her rivals to win the Keeneland Group I in stylish fashion, the Ryan Moore-ridden Meditate did her bit to alleviate any concerns about No Nay Never producing horses who will stay the Guineas trip and beyond.

O'Brien said, “She is by No Nay Never, who is a big speed influence. This is the first year where we have had such high quality 2-year-olds by him. We were a little bit worried if they were all going to be big sprinters or if they would stay further than five, six and seven furlongs.”

There are countless examples of high-class runners by Galileo (Ire) who hailed from speedy mares and O'Brien suggested that crossing No Nay Never with stamina-influenced dams can achieve similarly high-class results on the track with the progeny.

He explained, “She is out of a Dalakhani (Ire) mare who has an Aga Khan pedigree so this was about finding out if No Nay Nevers out of stamina mares stay. Obviously, looking at the filly there, we found out if she is going to get a mile next year as a 3-year-old.”

“She's a very good mover, has a very good mind and she's relaxing very well. I think Ryan would have always thought that she was a lovely uncomplicated filly.”

Moore, who would go on to double his Group I tally aboard the fellow Ballydoyle-trained Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) in the concluding GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, added, “Very straightforward, does everything you want her to do. I think she's got an awful lot of class and I felt that she was a level above these.”

Meditate was trimmed into a general 6-1 chance for next year's 1000 Guineas and O'Brien is convinced that her Breeders' Cup victory makes 2023 even more exciting for the progeny of her sire.

He concluded, “Blackbeard, the horse we were going to run in the Juvenile Sprint, he was coming here but obviously he got injured. He had an awful lot of speed, a great mind and a big personality. They're very exciting horses, really. For this filly to be able to do what she did over a mile makes him [No Nay Never] even more exciting.”

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Stewart Hoping His Luck Continues With Breeders’ Cup Hope Victoria Road

What you want to hear from a major owner-breeder like Trevor Stewart, the man who has set up a mini-empire off the back of buying wondermare Cassandra Go back in 1997, is that there is a nuanced approach to breeding and, with the right blend of skill and hard work, you too can make this game pay.

The trouble is, Stewart does not believe that is the case. Not only does he put buying top-class racemare-turned-blue hen Cassandra Go down to good luck, but he also points to fortune favouring him once again in producing her grandson Victoria Road (Ire), a leading fancy for Friday's Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

To paraphrase Stewart, he threw the kitchen sink at Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a daughter of Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), with matings to Dark Angel (Ire), Frankel (GB) and Shamardal failing to produce a single black-type runner.

Just when Stewart had started to view Tickled Pink as a disappointing broodmare, along came Victoria Road, by first-season sire Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who bids to put the pedigree in lights at Keeneland on Friday.

Stewart said, “Tickled Pink has been a bit disappointing up until now. I have thrown everything at her–Dark Angel, Frankel and Shamardal. A few of them were a little bit on the small side and, while they had good ratings, were limited by size. To think now that a first-season sire seems to have hit it. It's amazing really.”

He added, “It was all about Deep Impact (Jpn) when it came to choosing Saxon Warrior for the mare. I loved Saxon Warrior as an individual as well. He was a very good racehorse and had size and scope. I felt that I had sent Tickled Pink to a few very good sires and decided to risk something different to see if it worked.”

Victoria Road has taken his form to a new level in the autumn for Aidan O'Brien and boasts rock-solid credentials for Friday's contest at odds of 5-1.

Convinced that the colt would emerge to be one of the better 2-year-olds at Ballydoyle this season, O'Brien advised Stewart to return to Saxon Warrior this breeding season with Tickled Pink, who is happily in foal to the Coolmore-based stallion.

Stewart explained, “Interestingly, I was going to cover Tickled Pink with No Nay Never this year and sent a message to Christy Grassick asking him to ask Aidan [O'Brien] about what his view would be. Aidan came back and told me that it was an absolute no-brainer and that I had to go to Saxon Warrior.

“That was a very easy decision in that there was a big difference in price between Saxon Warrior and No Nay Never's stud fee. Aidan was also talking up Victoria Road at the time, for all that it was only March.

“I was down with Aidan in May and, of course, the No Nay Nevers had come out and were winning everything. I said to Aidan, 'I think you might not have given me the best advice.' Aidan just said, 'wait and see, you'll be fine.'”

And what an understatement that has turned out to be. Victoria Road followed up his listed success at Deauville with a hard-fought Group 3 victory at Chantilly last month and suddenly Stewart is viewing Tickled Pink in a different light.

“She has an outstanding colt foal by Ghaiyyath (GB) on the ground. I went to Ghaiyyath because he's the most beautiful horse. He's big and strong and has good limbs. I felt that he would put some size into her because the Invincible Spirit seems to be coming out in her. They are just a little on the neat side. Hopefully I have found the secret to this mare because you need size and scope to make up into a good 3-year-old.”

He added, “I don't know if she's carrying a colt or a filly but obviously I am praying it's a filly. I would love to keep a filly out of her. I try to keep all the fillies and it's an exception if I bring a filly to the sales.

“I have four daughters and three granddaughters out of Casandra Go and we have a few fillies on the ground. I will keep those and race them.”

And while Stewart, along with James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud, who boards all of his mares, clearly adopt a professional approach and are following a proven strategy to success in the ring and on the racetrack, nothing will dissuade the renowned owner-breeder from believing that anything other than luck can be attributed to the success.

He said, “It's really all down to luck. Even the way I have covered Tickled Pink has been lucky. You would think that going to Frankel, Dark Angel and Shamardal would do the trick for her. Now, Saxon Warrior is looking like he will be an above-average stallion, but it's funny that a first-season sire is the one to get the mare off the ground.”

For all of his good fortune, Stewart admits that he was a little miffed at the price tag that Victoria Road made at Book 1 at Tattersalls last year. He says the fact that the mare could have been viewed as disappointing may have contributed to the colt making just 115,000gns to MV Magnier, not that he's complaining.

“He was a lovely yearling, very correct and moved like a dream. It was a disappointing price but I had a few other yearlings that I was keeping last year and decided to sell him. As my wife has told me since, Aidan has well made up for that disappointing price by what he has done with the horse on the track, so that's much more important.

“Maybe people felt that Tickled Pink was beginning to look a bit marginal and that didn't help her. But everyone at Coolmore were all over Victoria Road at the sales and they all loved him. I'm very lucky he went where he did.”

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