BY the time you buy your paper on Saturday morning and are reading this, Ireland will have already been competing at the Breeders’ Cup, Michael O’Callaghan and Aidan O’Brien both saddling juveniles with realistic chances of victory.
Tonight, the team of Irish challengers will be larger, and again there are real hopes that we can bring home some silverware. Aidan will be well represented, though still with a smaller team than usual, while Dermot Weld will be hoping that Tarnawa can make up for hitting the crossbar in both the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Ger Lyons and Jessica Harrington are familiar with success on the biggest stages, but what a story it would be were Paddy Twomey and Ado McGuinness to win with Pearls Galore and A Case Of You. Both have already made an impression at the highest levels, and victory for either, or both, would be a magical outcome.
Down Royal
Emma Meehan and her team at Down Royal could not have scripted the two days of racing they staged last weekend, and what a race the Ladbrokes Champion Chase turned out to be. Minella Indo lost nothing in defeat, and he certainly looked like he would come on a ton for the run. I know from speaking with Henry de Bromhead that he would relish another opportunity to take on Frodon.
It was fascinating to be on course for the day and to witness the pre-race excitement among the racegoers. It is not the norm to have racegoers calling to jockeys as they prepare to do battle, but there were plenty of ‘come on Rachael’ and ‘come on Bryony’ shouts as they circled the parade ring.
These riders have captured the attention of a wider public, one that is attracted to going to the races and seeing these athletes perform. Bryony gave a masterclass in the Champion Chase, while Rachael and Envoi Allen were a joy to watch in the next.
Grand National
I was reminded of Rachael’s supreme artistry in the saddle this week when I visited Henry de Bromhead’s Knockeen stables, and we recalled the victory of Minella Times in the Randox Grand National.
Rachael and her mount, for more than four miles, gave an exhibition of jumping that was text book perfect, and any other result on the day would have been a travesty.
Now the road to Aintree is being plotted, and one gets the feeling that there is a quiet confidence among the team in Waterford that Minella Times could do it again. Let’s hope all goes smoothly for the next five months.
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