O’Brien sounds warning about Melbourne Cup team
Aidan O’Brien is eager to relaunch his bid for a first Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) with a team featuring English St Leger (Gr 1, 6.5f) winner Jan Brueghel (Galileo), but the master trainer is far from sure any of his leading contenders will be permitted to run, writes the Racing Post’s David Jennings.
Any intended international representatives in the Flemington showpiece can still be subject to rigorous testing before they get to the quarantine centre at Werribee. Since 2022 a nuclear scintigraphy is no longer mandatory, but it can still be requested by Racing Victoria‘s veterinary team.
All international horses must still complete a CT scan of their distal limbs prior to departure and, should that scan show cause for concern, a scintigraphy may be requested. Such a process still leaves three-year-olds at a distinct disadvantage according to O’Brien, as he feels the Classic generation are not fully formed yet and their bones are still maturing.
The unbeaten Jan Brueghel, who made it four from four with a typically tenacious display in the English St Leger, is now second favourite for the Melbourne Cup behind the Willie Mullins-trained Vauban (Galiway) after being slashed to 12-1 with most firms following his victory at Doncaster.
The front-running Grosvenor Square (Galileo), who faded into fifth in the St Leger is a general 16-1 shot, as is runner-up Illinois (Galileo). Fellow three-year-olds The Equator (Galileo) and The Euphrates (Frankel) also hold entries for Flemington, while the only older horse from Ballydoyle who could run is Point Lonsdale (Australia).
O’Brien said: “The Australian people are coming over to check them in the next few days. They are all getting scanned over the next while and then they check them, but very few horses pass the criteria, especially young horses. It’s very difficult for three-year-olds to get through because they are still growing and their bones are still maturing so I wouldn’t be sure about any of them getting in and being allowed to run. It’s ridiculous really.”
He added: “Because they are three-year-olds, they are not as formed as older horses, and there will be things that show up in their scans, but they are not prepared to forgive anything. The same horse who scans wrong this year could scan perfect next year because they are only three turning four and have yet to fully develop. But we’re only guests down there in Australia and we play under their rules and that’s just the way it is.”