Aidan O’Brien is set to field another strong team at the Breeders’ Cup this weekend, a meeting he’s successfully raided over the years.
Remarkably, the Irishman became the most successful trainer in Breeders’ Cup history last year, with Gstaad’s emphatic success from a wide draw sealing the deal.
With 21 Stateside successes to choose from, here are five of the best winners to emerge from Ballydoyle at the Breeders’ Cup, ahead of a weekend for which Matty has already picked out four to watch on Friday.
2002 & 2003 Breeders’ Cup Turf – High Chaparral
High Chaparral was Aidan O’Brien’s first of seven winners of the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and he had a glittering CV outside of that to boot.
The son of Sadler’s Wells won the Futurity Stakes as a juvenile, before going on to win both the Derby at Epsom and the Irish Derby. He couldn’t justify favouritism in the Arc, but he certainly could in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Arlington.
He won the Irish Champion Stakes a year later before again finishing third in the Arc, but he made no mistake in landing back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Turfs, dead-heating with Johar.
2011 Breeders’ Cup Turf – St Nicholas Abbey
One of the great Ballydoyle horses, St Nicholas Abbey was unbeaten in three starts as a juvenile, culminating in triumph in the Futurity Stakes.
He couldn’t justify favouritism in the 2000 Guineas and was subsequently on the sidelines for the rest of the season. He returned in strong form, winning the Coronation Cup, before signing off with an excellent performance at Churchill Downs.
He’d bump into the likes of Cirrus Des Aigles, Frankel and Danedream the following year, but still won two more Coronation Cups and a Sheema Classic.
2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf – Mendelssohn
Aidan O’Brien was already a three-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf with Wrote, George Vancouver and Hit It A Bomb. Mendelssohn was certainly an unlikely candidate, having been beaten 34 lengths in the Champagne Stakes.
However, he swept that effort aside to finish second to stablemate US Navy Flag in the Dewhurst at 50/1. He booked his Del Mar ticket as a result and duly obliged, beating some notable types in Sands Of Mali, James Garfield, Rajasinghe and subsequent Derby winner Masar.
2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf – Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin took the Futurity Stakes in good style in 2022, and there was the suggestion he could make up into a Triple Crown horse.
He failed at the first leg in the 2000 Guineas, but he made no mistake when landing the Derby in gritty fashion. The Irish Derby followed, and he was given a tremendous ride by Ryan Moore to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf, having come up the inner.
He’d go on to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes the following season, and he is bound to make a smart stallion.
2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf – Lake Victoria
Following on from Meditate’s victory in 2022, Lake Victoria confirmed Ballydoyle’s superiority in the fillies’ division when a taking winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
She was unbeaten going into the race, having landed the Group 1 Moyglare and the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes en route. She had stamina to prove, but there were no issues in that department, nor were there when she won the Irish 1000 Guineas the following season.
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