WATCH your Wincantons from your Wisconsins. It’s been that sort of week and it’s that sort of day.
As days on the racing calendar go, this one is diverse. Less than an hour after the last horse crosses the line in the bumper at Wincanton, runners will go into the stalls to launch the first of nine Grade 1 races for the second day of the Breeders’ Cup meeting.
5:02pm is an earlier than usual start for the Breeders’ Cup. That’s because the meeting returns to a more European friendly time zone in Keeneland. The Classic will be all over by 10:18, as opposed to a 12:44 finish in California time 12 months ago.
The Breeders’ Cup isn’t everyone’s bag but it’s hard not to be attracted into the American razzmatazz. Covid has taken away from the event, obviously with no racegoers able to attend, but it hasn’t stopped another decent European challenge of which the Irish play their part. And it’s not only by Aidan O’Brien, who runs six today, but there are Jessica Harrington, Dermot Weld and Ger Lyons who all have very realistic chances of attaining what would be a unique career win.
Indeed, in the case of Harrington, she may well already have a Breeders’ Cup win, because she had two chances last night just before we went to press.
If you want to bookmark the races Irish horses are involved in, the times you need are: 6:57 (Peaceful and Cayenne Pepper take on the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf), 8:15 (Siskin, Circus Maximus, Lope Y Fernandez and Order Of Australia in the Breeders’ Cup Mile) and 9:33 (Magical, Tarnawa and Mogul compete in the Breeders’ Cup Turf).
Lyons and Harrington’s quest for a Breeders’ Cup win would be notable, but given their respective forces have only risen in the last five years, perhaps a maiden Breeders’ Cup success for Dermot Weld would be more notable.
Weld remains the only European trainer to have won a leg of the American Triple Crown following the success of Go And Go in the 1990 Belmont Stakes. He has won major races in racing jurisdictions all over the world so it’s somewhat surprising he has yet to attain success at this meeting.
Asked at a Breeders’ Cup preview event if Tarnawa is his best chance of breaking the duck, Weld answered: “Unquestionably. I’ve had very few horses with a serious chance of winning at the Breeders’ Cup.
“She’s equally effective over 10 furlongs and a mile and a half. She’s a very sound, tough and genuine filly and she’s a stayer with speed.
“We purposely planned an autumn campaign for her. We’ve kept her on the same training schedule and she’s a very straightforward filly to deal with. She did a nice bit of sharp work last week and I was very happy with the way she went.”
Tarnawa was due to be ridden by Christophe Soumillon but the Belgian rider tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday so Irish champion jockey Colin Keane takes over.
In what has been a sad year for the team at Rosewell House and indeed the patrons of the weighroom, a win for the daughter of Shamardal would be a nice way to end the season.
PUNTERS may do well to keep it simple this weekend and concentrate on the two trainers in serious form.
Paul Nicholls has started the season on fire and holds the key to today’s feature jumps event, the Badger Beers Silver Trophy Handicap Chase (3:35), a race he has won no less then 10 times and aims to make it four in a row.
Present Man accounted for two of those wins off marks of 142 and 144. He bombed on the soft ground last season but has a much firmer surface to race on today and comes into the race off a win at Chepstow and a rating of 146 to defy.
Danny Whizzbang and My Way complete the Nicholls challenge and today very much could be the day to catch the former. All four of his wins have come after he has been at least 97 days off the track.
Diego Du Charmil and Solo represent Nicholls in the Elite Hurdle (3:00) while Grand Sancy is odds-on to win the Rising Stars Novices’ Chase (2:25), a race Nicholls has won with Frodon and Silviniaco Conti.
It looks said to be a good day for the trainer whose form figures this week read: 3152P1111F1133.
Then it is over to Navan tomorrow where Gordon Elliott has 10 of 22 set to line up, and one of the reserves, in the Troytown Chase (1:35). Elliott is no stranger to having huge representations in big handicap chases and he won the Troytown four times in a row from 2014 to 2017.
The third of those wins in 2016 was one of a remarkable six winners on the day for Elliott, whose team always aims to prosper at this time of year, in contrast to his title rival Willie Mullins who has declared only one runner tomorrow. Elliott is represented in all eight races.
The aforementioned sole Mullins runner is N’golo who takes on Elliott’s Eskylane the Grade 3 For Auction Novice Hurdle. One Down and Wide Receiver also represent the Cullentra handler, while Noel Meade has a promising type in Jesse Evans. The last four winners of this race have gone on to record Grade 1 wins later in the season.
ANY chance William Buick had of clawing back the lead Oisín Murphy held over him in the British jockeys’ championship was more or less scuppered following the in-running abandonment of Kempton’s Thursday meeting due to poor visibility.
The Godolphin rider had already claimed a double at the meeting, narrowing the advantage to nine, and had four more rides on the card before it was called off. Numerically, Buick is not out of it yet. He had four rides at Newcastle last night and has seven more at Doncaster today.
Hollie Doyle, another rider pre-engaged at Keeneland, looks set for fourth position, as long as Ben Curtis doesn’t claw back a three-win gap. The Cork native would easily be champion jockey if the season was over the calendar year. His so-far tally of 159 is yet another personel best.