Aidan O’Brien’s chances of setting a record for the number of Group/Grade One races won by a trainer in the same year, were dealt a blow at Saint-Cloud on Sunday after he drew a blank in the two top-flight juvenile contests. The Ballydoyle handler has sent out 21 winners at the highest level this year and is only four behind the record of 25, set by the American trainer Bobby Frankel,
It was his long-time rival Saeed bin Suroor who had the most to smile about after Thunder Snow ran out an impressive winner of the Critérium International. Godolphin’s trainer was not in France to welcome back the son of Helmet because he is putting the final preparations to his two Melbourne Cup runners, Beautiful Romance and Secret Number.
Bin Suroor had a torrid time in the summer when an equine virus hit his string hard. He had only three runners during August and none won. However, he has made up for lost time this autumn with 15 winners in Britain during October, as well as Sunday’s exciting Group One success in France.
Thunder Snow, a 3-1 chance and ridden by Christophe Soumillon, powered up the stands’ side to win the seven-furlong contest by five lengths from South Seas, who also finished behind him last time they met at Newmarket earlier this month. This result paid a huge compliment to the Dewhurst Stakes, Europe’s top race for two-year-olds, which was won by O’Brien’s exciting colt Churchill.
The second Group One on the Saint-Cloud card, the Critérium de Saint-Cloud, was won by Waldgeist, one of only two French-trained runners in the mile and a quarter contest.
Over a furlong out it appeared that Soumillon and Bin Suroor were about to complete a famous Group One double as Best Solution set sail for home but in the final 100 yards he had nothing left to repel the winning challenge of the Andre Fabré-trained juvenile.
Pierre-Charles Boudot’s mount displayed a blistering turn of foot to pass Best Solution and kill off Godolphin hopes of further big-race success. Capri, trained by O’Brien, was sent off the 10-11 favourite, but he proved to be a costly loser coming home a never dangerous third, only taking that place from his stablemate Douglas Macarthur late on.
O’Brien is not going down without a fight as he has assembled an impressive team of 11 for this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup two-day meeting at Santa Anita.
Among the Ballydoyle raiding party are the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe heroine Found in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the King George winner Highland Reel who goes for the Turf, as well as Alice Springs in the Mile.
It is going to be a tough ask for the Ballydoyle handler to edge closer to the record but he is giving it his best shot. His next attempt at a 22nd Group One prize of 2016 will be On Tuesday morning at 4am GMT when he saddles Bondi Beach in the Emirates Melbourne Cup.
The “race that stops a nation” has a strong international flavour with eight of the 24 runners from Europe and one from Japan. Big Orange, trained by Michael Bell in Newmarket, will carry joint top weight of 9st, while the favourite is Hartnell, who is no stranger to the UK having won the Queen’s Vase two years ago when trained by Mark Johnston. Since then he has been racing in Australia for John O’Shea who has won a handful of top races, including the Yellowglen Turnbull Stakes.
Running in the famous all blue silks of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation he is all the rage in the betting market to cap a memorable three days for the boys in blue.
