WINNERS for Willie Mullins, Aidan and Donnacha O’Brien at Del Mar last year appear to have only whetted the appetite for Irish participation at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, with the number of Irish trainers set to be represented at Keeneland next weekend entering double digits.
Pre-entries for the global event were revealed this week and they featured 31 individual possible runners trained on these shores, including 16 from Ballydoyle (not all guaranteed a run), four for Joseph O’Brien, three for Robson de Aguiar and two for Donnacha O’Brien. Willie Mullins, Willie McCreery, Ger Lyons, Jessica Harrington, Johnny Murtagh and Paddy Twomey have one potential runner each.
An unprecedented 255 pre-entries have set a record for contenders in the mix for the meeting. The headline draw on the dirt is the fact Japanese ace Forever Young seeks to become just the second repeat winner of the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, following Tiznow in 2000 and 2001.
A blow for the turf races came just before the pre-entries announcement, when John Gosden - having signalled his intent to run a day earlier - revealed that Ombudsman would not be taking part in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.
In opening the door for a Japan Cup swansong, Gosden explained on Wednesday: “It’s very simple, the horse ran four days ago at Ascot and he would have to work tomorrow, get on a plane for a cross-Atlantic flight, quarantine and it’s not fair to ask him to do that, then ask him to run back within 14 days with a long journey in the middle.”
The mile-and-a-half event looks one of the strongest events for the Irish team. Jessica Harrington’s Irish Champion Stakes star Hotazhell (also has a second preference entry in the FanDuel Mile) could be joined by last year’s upset winner Ethical Diamond, while Aidan O’Brien has the option of saddling Diamond Necklace and Benvenuto Cellini (Minnie Hauk and Lambourn scratched after initially featuring in entries). Irish Oaks winner Johanna Walsh is set to get in with the help of those defections.
Diamond dilemma
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe third Diamond Necklace has a second preference entry in the Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf, a contest where O’Brien also has Precise in contention, alongside Red Letter (Ger Lyons) and Jancis (Willie McCreery).
Intriguingly, in that fillies-only Grade 1 over nine and a half furlongs, Juddmonte’s star miler Blue Bolt has her first preference entry, while holding a second preference in the Mile against the boys.
British Champions Day disappointments Constitution River and Gstaad had been under consideration for the Mile but have since been scratched. Classic-winning stablemate True Love. Puerto Rico and Power Blue will need others not to be confirmed in order to get a berth.
Donnacha O’Brien’s Flying Five scorer Comanche Brave is the only Irish candidate entered for the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, though there is considerably more interest from these shores in the two-year-old races on Friday.
Haffner, Great Barrier Reef, Florida Bay and Man’s Best Friend hold guaranteed spaces in the Brown Advisory Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf for Aidan O’Brien, while National Stakes winner Folsom Blues could appear for Joseph O’Brien and Robson de Aguiar’s Middle Park second Force Noir features too, though his first preference is in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Paddy Twomey’s Phoenix Stakes third Velozee is the only other Irish candidate guaranteed a starting gate. A winner for the green team will be a short price in the John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Superstar two-year-old Sun Goddess could face off with her old rival (and recent Group 1 winner) Green Empress, while Johnny Murtagh’s exciting Curracloe could make a big leap up in class. Alwaysanangel and So Lovely have guaranteed places, but Ballinea Star and Dee’s Funny Girl will need a little help from others to get in.