Donnacha O’Brien allayed his frustrations in the aftermath of the Irish Champion Stakes after Shane Foley wiped out the chances of his A Boy Named Susie in the straight.
The contest was billed up to be a match between the first three home in the Juddmonte International. It had looked as if Constitution River was set to reverse the form, before seemingly blowing up late on. Item failed to back it up, and Almaqam stayed on all too late.
Remarkably, it was a photo-finish between the two outsiders Hotazhell and Wimbledon Hawkeye. However, had Hotazhell not butchered A Boy Named Susie a furlong out, the latter may have got much closer.
Shane Foley received an 11-day ban for the offence, for which Donnacha O’Brien said to the Press Association, via the Racing Post: “I thought it was brutal riding from Dusty, to be honest. If a claimer did that you would give them a bollocking. But, listen, that’s racing and he will know that himself.
“Paddy hit the horse one extra the other night at Cork and got a similar ban to what Shane got. So it’s frustrating.”
“I think we’re keeping him in training” – Donnacha O’Brien
Donnacha O’Brien said that Oisin “thought he was coming there to win. And he thought he was going better than the winner at the time. He did the quickest second-last to last furlong and then he got wiped. He’s a good horse, though, and he seems okay after it so it could be worse.
“It’s so hard to get horses that good, to get them right on the day and to get to a race like that on the day with a chance is so hard. It’s frustrating.”
O’Brien has had a frustrating time with A Boy Named Susie, who’s long threatened to win big pot. The Starspangledbanner colt was runner up twice last season, including to Christmas Day then Pierre Bonnard in the Criterium.
He hit the frame in the French Derby behind Constitution River, and was second to that one in the Eclipse. He landed a penalty kick down in class, but O’Brien will be livid that he couldn’t show his talent to full effect on Sunday.
Going forward, Donnacha O’Brien said: “We’ll make sure he’s okay and the Breeders’ Cup is an option. The Hong Kong Cup is an option, too, in December. That’s something we’re definitely thinking about. I think we’re keeping him in training next year, as well, so there are a lot of options for him.”