Pat Smullen and Aidan O Brien win Irish titles - By Tom Krish
Posted on - 28 Oct 2014
Pat Smullen and Aidan O'Brien win Irish titles - By Tom Krish
Trainer Dermot Weld is a legend in Irish racing. He calls jockey PatSmullen the ‘professional’s professional.’ Smullen has won the Irish Champion Jockey title for the seventh time in his glittering career.
Jockey Smullen put his feelings into words. “This has been a brilliant year. From start to finish, it has been really good. The horses have been running consistently and that’s the most important thing in an achievement like this.”
Aidan O’Brien finished on top in the trainers’ race. Colin Keane won the contest for apprentice jockeys.
Post positions were drawn on Monday for the Breeders’ Cup races on Friday and Saturday. We will confine ourselves to the four races to be run on Friday.
The first race is the mile Juvenile turf. The purse is a million dollars. There are 14 runners and two also eligibles. Hootenanny, winner at Royal Ascot for trainer Wesley Ward, is a tepid 3/1 favorite. Frankie Dettori rides. War Envoy, Ryan Moore’s mount, is a 9/2 chance. This race is at 2 25 PM Pacific time. All times mentioned are Pacific.
Wesley Ward was delighted. “I am elated and flying. I am so happy. It may take me a while to come down from this.”
The million-dollar Dirt Mile is next at 3 05 P M. Ten go to the post. Golden Cents, trained by Leandro Mora, is the defending champion and is the 6/5 favorite. Golden Cents has drawn one and his forte is his speed. Rafael Bejarano gets the call.
Leandro Mora was thrilled with the draw. “Last year, Golden Cents drew post 12 and we got around it. I think the rail is a positive because of the speed he has.”
We have the million-dollar Juvenile Fillies Mile turf coming up next at 3 50 P M. There are 14 freshman girls in the field. There are two also eligibles. Sunset Glow, Victor Espinosa’s mount, has been accorded morning line favoritism at 7/2. Osaila is a 5/1 chance with jockey Dettori. Ryan Moore will be aboard Qualify, a 5/1 prospect.
The final Breeders Cup race on Friday is the two million-dollar Longines Distaff at 4 35 P M. It is a dirt race over 1800 metres. Untapable, a Steve Asmussen pupil and a runaway winner of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in May, is the 5/2 favorite. Rosie Napravnik will ride Untapable. The Bill Mott-trained Close Hatches is the 3/1 second favorite. Joel Rosario will handle Close Hatches.
Trainer Steve Asmussen reacted to Untapable’s outside post 10. “Great! I feel fortunate to be in this position. She’s done extremely well since she got here. I look for her to run a great race.”
Here are tidbits you may like to know. Jamie Spencer’s final ride will be on Toast Of New York in the Breeders Cup Classic on Saturday. Spencer’s career has had many ups and downs but there is no doubting his sense of pace. It was said that Bill Shoemaker had a watch in his head. Spencer comes very close to qualifying for that accolade. Over the years, I saw Spencer steer Sariska to a win in the 2009 Oaks at Epsom. I cannot forget his waving and gesturing goodbye to the opposition in the Irish Oaks on a rain-sodden Curragh. In the 2004 Arlington Million, Spencer won with Powerscourt but was disqualified for failing to control his wayward mount. The one Spencer victory that is etched in my mind is his ride on Red Evie in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2006. It was a straight mile and it was a large field. With 100 metres left, Red Evie had a mountain to climb. As if possessed, Red Evie (red silks) came up with a rush that had to be seen to be believed. Spencer and Red Evie won in a photo finish.
It has been revealed that Magician’s last race will be the Turf on Saturday. A durable performer, Magician came from out of the clouds to land the BC Turf in 2013. Joseph O’Brien will ride the Aidan O’Brien-trained Magician.
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