Gleneagles, who has not competed since winning the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, could yet be a last-minute absentee from a major race for the fourth time this year after Aidan O’Brien, his trainer, decided he could not commit to running in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes following an inspection of the course here on Friday afternoon.
Gleneagles was the outstanding three-year-old miler of the early months of the season, when he won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, its Irish equivalent at The Curragh and completed a Group One hat-trick at the Royal meeting. He has since been prepared for the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, the International Stakes at York and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, only to be ruled out shortly beforehand due to ease in the ground.
O’Brien walked the straight mile here and said afterwards that the ground is “very close” to being suitable for Gleneagles but any rain at Ascot before the race at 2.30pm would inevitably see the colt ruled out. If it stays dry, a final decision will not be made until after the first race at 12.45, when Ryan Moore, who is due to ride Gleneagles, will get a chance to assess the ground from the saddle in the Long Distance Cup.
“He’s going to come racing,” O’Brien said. “It’s not perfect for him but we’re going to take him to the races and see how it rides for the first few races. Obviously we’d love to run but we’ve got to do what’s right by the horse.
“The ground is very close to good ground in parts but parts are a bit slow. If they get any rain it’s over, no chance, but we’ll see how today is and how the early morning goes and then how it rides. You’d hope it might tighten a little bit [before] his race tomorrow but a little rain would be too much.”
Gleneagles could also run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in Kentucky two weeks , when American Pharoah, the first horse to win the US Triple Crown since 1978, is also expected to be in the field.
“You’d happily do both if the ground was OK here tomorrow,” O’Brien said. “If the ground starts shifting here tomorrow, that would be far from ideal going back to America, but the times will tell you a lot as well, and Ryan will know as soon as he rides on it. There’s strips of it good, and strips of it a bit slower. From the three [furlong pole] to the furlong marker it’s definitely quicker.
“We are putting the horse first all the time. There’s no other considerations, really. We want to be fair to him and for him to be able to show what he’s able to do, rather than asking him to do something that’s not ideal for him.”
The uncertainty over Gleneagles’ participation on Saturday is frustrating for the organisers of British Champions Day, which endured a series of high-profile non-runners 12 months ago after the ground turned heavy, and punters and bookmakers looking forward to the most valuable day of racing in the British calendar.
Gleneagles is the key to the QEII as a competitive betting heat, as he is the second-favourite at around 15-8 behind Solow, at 13-8, who would be an odds-on chance in the absence of Gleneagles. If O’Brien’s colt is ruled out, all bets placed on his opponents prior to the announcement will be subject to significant deductions if successful, and punters will be reluctant to get involved until a decision is made.
The QEII is one of four Group One races on the Champions Day card, and one of only a handful of races all year in Britain with a seven-figure prize fund. The Qipco Champion Stakes, the day’s feature event, is another, with £1.3m in total prize money and £770,547 to the winner.
If Jack Hobbs, the 5-4 favourite, is first across the line, it will seal an extraordinary year for his trainer, John Gosden, who would become the first trainer ever to win £5m in a single season in Britain.
Gosden is already certain to set a prize-money record, as he is only £20,000 behind the £4.67m won by Richard Hannon in 2014 with three weeks of the season, and the year’s most valuable card, still to come. His record in Britain is only half the story, however, as he has also won more money abroad – about £3.9m with wins in races including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Prix Morny, Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes – than any of his rivals has won in Britain. Hannon, with 187 winners in the current campaign, has won prizes worth about £3.5m.
Success for Jack Hobbs on Saturday and Golden Horn in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on 31 October would not only complete the best season that Gosden has enjoyed in nearly 40 years as a trainer. It could also be argued that it would represent the finest year of any training career on the British turf.
