Jockey Murtagh will ride for the Aga Khan: Snow Fairy has big payday in Japan - By Tom Krish
Posted on - 16 Nov 2010
Jockey Murtagh will ride for the Aga Khan: Snow Fairy has big payday in Japan
By Tom Krish
Zenyatta’s loss in the Breeders’ Cup Classic has been more talked about than any other racing subject in recent days. The hype that preceded the running of the Classic served one commendable purpose. The media obsession brought in several new fans to the sport. On the other hand, the excessive media attention bestowed on Zenyatta an aura of invincibility. On balance, the ‘Zenyatta phenomenon’ gave horse racing a new lease on life at a time when the game was taking a back seat in the public consciousness.
I watched the Classic on a large screen at the Media Center at Churchill Downs. The betting public had made a decision about who will carry the public purse many days before the race was run. Zenyatta stayed in ‘odds on’ territory. As the great mare came thundering down the stretch to force a photo, there was a sense of tremendous anticipation. The photo was a formality. It was evident that Mike Smith and Zenyatta were a stride shy of Garrett Gomez and Blame. In the Media Center, there was an audible ‘Oh No’ as Blame and Zenyatta flashed past the line.
Jockey Mike Smith showed up in the interview area. A question that I asked made the rounds when the Zenyatta loss was analyzed. “Do you attribute this loss to dirt hitting Zenyatta in her face? Is it right to say that she would not settle down and you had to get to work sooner than you wanted?” I asked jockey Smith.
Smith responded, “Yes, she could not relax. I had to ask her down the backstretch. When I got going in the lane, Quality Road caused a check in my momentum.”
The fact is that the Classic was only third time in 20 starts that Zenyatta had raced on ‘dirt.’ A race at Belmont Park as a prep would have helped. Blame, on the other hand, knew Churchill Downs very well. The argument that Mike Smith kept Zenyatta too far back and therefore must be blamed is a point of view I do not agree with. It was the track surface that was the problem. This is my ten cents worth and I am sure a lot of you will disagree.
Jockey Garrett Gomez is a great rider. He is a greater diplomat. I asked him if he had a word or two with Mike Smith soon after the two crossed the line. “Yes, this is what I told him. Mike, I don’t think you got me but in a finish like this, you cannot breathe easy until you see your number go up.”
Gomez said something else that I considered significant. “You have given new meaning to the term ‘bittersweet’ and can you tell us what you feel about this win?” I asked.
“It is a horse race. I am sorry Zenyatta was beaten. I am happy, though, that my horse won the race. I owe it to the owner, trainer and the betting public to do my best.” Gomez replied.
Goldikova’s ‘three-peat’ in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile was the high point of the two-day meeting. The Fred Head-trained mare was wide for the most part and turning for home, it looked like that Goldikova had a mountain to climb. Jockey Olivier Peslier let her loose and supporters of the 13/10 favorite knew, in a matter of moments, that the race was put to bed. Goldikova’s ability to go from 0 to 60 can be compared to the quickness of a cheetah.
Trainer Head, answering my question, said, “Goldikova is very special. She holds her form. Time after time, she does what she needs to be done.”
Jockey Peslier, a great friend of mine, was effusive in his praise.”She has won the most Group I races. Her loss in the Jacques le Marois was on a heavy track and that does not take anything away from her. She can win one more Breeders’ Cup.”
Tom Krish with jockey Olivier Peslier, Goldikova's rider
There was a jockeys’ tournament in South Africa at week’s end. There was a Friday twilight meeting in Turffontein (Johannesburg) and a Sunday afternoon meeting in Kenilworth at Cape Town. The South African jockeys beat the international team. Kieren Fallon won a 2400-metre race with the 15/2 Posh Boy on Sunday. Umberto Rispoli , the Italian superstar, also won on Sunday when bringing home the 25/1 Pisces Star in a 1400-metre handicap. Christophe Soumillon and William Buick suffered narrow losses.
The English flat racing season has ended. There will be no more grass racing until late March. Flat meetings will be held at all weather courses. However, ‘jumps’ meetings will increase in number.
Paul Hanaghan is the champion jockey in England. Hanaghan rode primarily at tracks in northern England. Richard Hughes, despite bans that cost him precious days, was second. Hughes made a gallant attempt in the waning days. He opted to stay in England when he could have made the trip to America to ride Paco Boy in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Johnny Murtagh has said goodbye to Aidan O’Brien. The partnership lasted three years. Murtagh rode 39 Group I winners for Ballydoyle. Now, why would jockey Murtagh resign from racing’s most glamorous and potentially the most lucrative job? I remember Murtagh extolling O’Brien’s virtues and saying all sorts of wonderful things about the Coolmore operation in a press conference at Royal Ascot in 2009. Mick Kinane was once the Ballydoyle jockey and he told me that there is a lot of pressure riding for a high profile stable. A jockey is as good as his last winner. In 2010, Murtagh’s strike rate fell considerably. In the Breeders’ Cup, O’Brien’s horses did poorly. My belief is that Murtagh did not want that ‘pressure cooker pressure’ and the mounting pressure that losses thrust on him. Ballydoyle has not named a successor yet.
A note on the Johnny Murtagh-Ballydoyle episode. In a conversation at Arlington Park on Million day, Kieren Fallon told me that Ballydoyle was not producing winners and that O’Brien was going through a difficult time. Is Murtagh taking the blame? Fallon was stable jockey at Ballydoyle when he was forced out by corruption charges. A long trial collapsed when the prosecution could not make an effective presentation.
News came from Ireland on Monday that jockey Murtagh has a new boss. In a sense, it is a boss for whom Murtagh rode not many years ago. Aga Khan’s jockey in Ireland will be John Murtagh. Sinndar, carrying the green-red colors of the Aga Khan, won the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby and the Arc de Triomphe in the hands of John Murtagh in 2000. John Oxx and Michael Halford train for the Aga Khan in Ireland. The precocious Fran Berry rode for the Aga Khan in 2010 and it is that association that prompted the bookmakers to make him the favorite to win the Irish riding title. Pat Smullen won it this year. Berry will now look for a new employer. Given his talent, he should find a stable sooner than later. Christophe Lemaire will ride for the Aga Khan in France. Andre Fabre and Alain Royer Dupre train Aga Khan’s horses in France.
The Murtagh departure from Ballydoyle became public after the Irish ace returned to Dublin from Louisville. One would think that the link had been severed. There was a Group I race for freshmen last Saturday at Saint Cloud in Paris. It was the 2000-metre Criterium de Saint Cloud. The ground was heavy. Aidan O’Brien had Recital, a Montjeu colt who was coming off a winning debut at Navan. There were two other O’Brien trainees in the Criterium. Murtagh was summoned one last time by Coolmore to do duty on Recital. It was a great parting of the ways. Recital, making only his second career start, bolted to win by five lengths. A 3/1 chance in the Criterium, Recital earned a 14/1 quote for the 2011 Epsom Derby.
Taking second was Bubble Chic. Prairie Star, the 5/2 favorite and ridden by Tony Crastus, was a distant third. Ten ran and Recital, by Montjeu out of Dienoise by Kendor, ran the 2000-metre race in 2 minutes 24.80 seconds on a heavy course.
Trainer O’Brien spoke. “We are delighted. He (Recital) has made a lot of progress. He looks like a Derby sort but he has loads of speed.”
Jockey Murtagh paid a rich tribute to Recital. “This is a class horse and one with plenty of pace but still a little backward. He’ll be a big contender next year.”
It was the fourth win in nine years in the Criterium for trainer O’Brien. In 2010, O’Brien has won three of France’s five Group I races for two year-olds.
Snow Fairy is a dual Oaks-winning filly. She gave Ryan Moore his first success in the Classic when winning the Epsom Oaks in a photo. The Ed Dunlop pupil went to the Curragh and taught her adversaries a galloping lesson in the Irish Oaks. She was second to Midday at York and took fourth in the English St Leger won by Arctic Cosmos. Louisville was an option but Ed Dunlop took his prize three year-old to Japan for a crack at the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, a 2200-metre grass race for fillies and mares.
On Sunday, as the dust settled at Kyoto Racecourse, Snow Fairy had come away a winner of the Group I race. Kyoto is right handed. Snow Fairy was a 15/2 chance in the 17-runner field. She was given a ground-saving trip by jockey Moore. Turning for home, Moore took the inside path and the winner of the Q E II Cup was spotted immediately. Snow Fairy emerged from the pack and drew away to win by four lengths.
Snow Fairy is by Intikhab out of Woodland Dream who is by Charnwood Forest. She clocked 2 12.50 seconds. Meisho Beluga was second. Apapane, the winner of the (filly) Japanese Triple Crown, took third and was the favorite. The three race sequence, the two Oaks and the Q E II Cup, gave Snow Fairy a bonus of 677,000 pounds. The purse was another 677,000 pounds. It was a 1.35 million (pounds) payday for Anamoine Limited, owners of the sophomore filly.
Snow Fairy, Ryan Moore up, wins the 2200-metre Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup at Kyoto race course in Japan
Jockey Moore was, for once, sporting a smile while speaking to the press. “We had a lovely spot. She jumped smartly. She quickened smartly once she had room in the straight.”
Trainer Dunlop commented on his trainee’s next race. “We have an invitation for the Japan Cup. She (Snow Fairy) loves it here. Then there is Hong Kong which is still on the table.”
Let me point out that Ryan Moore has been aboard Snow Fairy three times. Those three rides have resulted in three Group I victories.
I have looked at the results at Bangalore and Mumbai. Chris Hayes has hit the ground running. Hayes is a major presence in Ireland. He is going to have a great campaign in India.
