The start of an October bank holiday weekend containing day two of Cheltenham’s Showcase fixture and a trio of exclusively jumps cards in Ireland underlines the looming change of seasons, although for Joseph O’Brien the codes don’t seem to matter much.
On the flat, the 32-year-old promises to be a central figure in the last days of the Irish season which finishes next Sunday.
His number one rider Dylan Browne McMonagle looks all but sure to be crowned champion jockey, but the strength in depth of O’Brien’s yard could yet prove crucial in Wayne Hassett’s attempt to emerge on top in a four-pronged battle for the apprentice title.
Before that’s decided, there’s the matter of next week’s Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar, where O’Brien is set to run the two-year-olds Queen Of Hawaii (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and the Tyros winner North Coast in the Juvenile Turf.
RM Block
O’Brien memorably won at the Breeders’ Cup as an 18-year-old rider on St Nicholas Abbey and saddled Iridessa to win at US racing’s showpiece event in 2019.
His international focus will continue the following week with a potential third Melbourne Cup victory. Topweight Al Riffa is ante-post favourite to land the race the famously stops a nation and follow in the hoofprints of Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment in 2020.
But before all that, this weekend starts with a pair of O’Brien runners at Saturday’s Galway card. Kibris is likely to be a popular fancy to get a busy Bank Holiday off to a positive start in the juvenile hurdle while Zeus Power can go one better than his Ballybrit debut in the bumper.
The only surprise may be that the first Cheltenham action of the new campaign doesn’t have an O’Brien representative. However, his Sunday focus will be resolutely on Group One action in Paris with Hardy Warrior in the Criterium International and Shoshlozia bidding to follow in Tennessee Stud’s steps a year ago by landing the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.
Separately, a total of six Irish-trained hopefuls will tackle Cheltenham’s six-figure handicap feature, the William Hill Handicap Chase, where Emmet Mullins runs both Sea Music and Backmersackme under Sean Bowen at the bottom of the weights.
Even at the end of October, some selective watering is taking place ahead of Sunday’s Wexford card. Patrick Mullins has opted to head there to ride Lady Lena in the bumper rather than Galway’s Sunday action.
It leaves Jody Townend to team up with the Mullins newcomer How’s Ellie in the Ballybrit finale. Preference in this one though is for Noel Meade’s Susie Lenglen who reverts to the level having made an encouraging debut over flights at Fairyhouse earlier this month.
In other news, this year’s Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Field Of Gold will race on as a four-year-old. The John and Thady Gosden-trained grey also won the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot under Colin Keane but was beaten in his final two starts.
His Juddmonte ownership reported on Friday: “This imposing son of Kingman began his three-year-old season with a highly impressive performance in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket and then dominated to win the Group One Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh and the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
“He will not run again this season and will now have a well-earned break before he begins his four-year-old campaign.”
