CAN O'BRIEN BREAK THE RECORD?

Thanks Scotia, I'm already involved in a comp on racecaller where I do most of my posting. Same as most other places, people on there don't think he's gonna do it. Pity.

xx


Yeats heads O'Brien's
Deauville trio


Yeats : completed a hat-trick of Ascot Gold Cup's this season but was beaten here last time

TRIPLE Ascot Gold Cup hero Yeats was among 15 stayers left in Sunday's Group 1 Prix Royal Oak after Wednesday's forfeit stage.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt could be joined in Longchamp's 1m 71/2f contest by fellow Ballydoyle inmates Mikhail Fokine and Moonstone.
Saeed Bin Suroor's Schiaparelli and Veracity head the British raiding party along with Sushisan from the stable of James Fanshawe and the Sir Michael Stoute-tained Allegretto.

Bannaby, who beat Yeats in the Prix Du Cadran over a shorter trip at this course last time out, also stood his ground.

Bad weekend for Aidan at the Breeders Cup meeting, chances now gone!

A pity would have been great to see

Yeats quashes Longchamp demons to land sixth Group 1

Yeats : took trainer Aidan O'Brien's seasonal Group 1 tally to 22 with his sixth


REPORT: France, Sunday

Longchamp: Prix Royal-Oak (Group 1), 1m7 1/2f

JOHNNY MURTAGH drew a blank at Santa Anita but he made amends by riding Yeatsto victory in Sunday's Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp.

Yeats was supposed not to like Longchamp having been beaten twice in the Prix du Cadran, including last time, but he was back to his imperious best to give trainer Aidan O'Brien his 22nd Group 1 raceof the season and Murtagh took his 20th.

Tactics played an important role in the result and they had been worked out brilliantly by the Ballydoye team as Yeats beat last year's winner Allegretto, and Godolphin's Veracity.

The Spanish-trained Bannaby, who had finished well ahead of Yeats when winning the Prix du Cadran, took fourth place just ahead of the well backed Watar.

Getaway finally started favourite but he was never at the races and finally finished a well beaten eighth.

Sean Levey carried out the pacemaking role on Mikhail Fokine with Yeats was soon in second place with the rest of the pack many lengths adrift.

Mikhail Fokine stuck to his task until early in the straight where Yeats and Murtagh went to the head of affairs.

The seven-year-old son of Sadler's Wells galloped on resolutely to the line where they had a length and a half to spare over Ryan Moore and Allegretto who battled on well inside the final furlong to narrowly hold off Veracity, Bannaby and Watar.

It was a very different performance by Yeats at Longchamp on Sunday who took his tally to six Group 1 races including both the French and Irish St Legers.
Murtagh explained: "Both times he ran in the Cadran, there was a slow pace and a sprint finish.

"Yeats needs to cruise at a high tempo and he was able to today plus the ground was better for him. Today we had a good pacemaker who gave me a lead until the straight.

"I think it is the intention to keep him in training next year so we can win a fourth Gold Cup at Ascot. The French (Sagaro) were only able to do it three times."

O'Brien, who was travelling to Australia for the Melbourne Cup, was quoted at 78-1 by William Hill to get the four Group 1 wins he needs this season to overhaul Bobby Frankel's world record haul.

Allegretto made a bold effort to land back to back victories in the Royal-Oak and her jockey Ryan Moore said: "I think she ran the best race of her life and she is very gutsy. I believe it's the plan to retire Allegretto to stud now."

Moore, along with Moonstone's jockey Colm O'Donoghue, were both fined for overusing the whip.

Christophe Lemaire rode Godolphin's Veracity, winner of the Jockey Club Cup just eight days previously, and said: "He was very courageous and hasplenty of stamina. The colt is definitely looks a progressive sort."

However Christophe Soumillon felt that Bannaby might not have fully recovered from the Cadran while Watar's jockey Davy Bonilla said: "He was meeting older horses for the first time and the ground wasn't really soft enough for him but the colt still ran a good race."

Getaway was disappointing and owner Baron Georg von Ullman's stud manager Gebhard Apelt said: "Getaway was not suited to the way the race was run and he should have been closer to the pace. We intend to keep him in training next year."

Freemantle out of
Criterium for O'Brien


AIDAN O'BRIEN has revised his plans for the upcoming Group 1 two year old races at Saint-Cloud as he attempts to close in on US trainer Bobby Frankel's world record of 25 top level wins achieved in 2003.

O'Brien, who is on the 22 winner mark for Group 1 events this year, had intended running Freemantle, a ten-length winner at Tipperary early this month, in the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud on Sunday but the colt has been ruled out of the 1m event due to injury.

The trainer said in Melbourne on Wednesday: " I've been told by the staff athome that Freemantle has pulled a muscle behind and won't be going to France.

"He is finished for the season and we may now run Drumbeat and maybe Hail Caesar in Sunday's race.

"Age Of Aquarius is likely to go for the Criterium de Saint Cloud overa mile and a quarter on November 12 and we might also run Malibu Bay or Hail Caesar, if he doesn't run on Sunday, in that race."

Dave I understand you cxan get 4/1 that he equals the record

Septimus 7/2 from 7/1.



Murtagh confident of big run from Septimus


JOHNNY MURTAGH was in confident mood early on Thursday after seeingSeptimus, his Melbourne Cup mount, exercise at Sandown racecourse under regular work rider Keith Dalton.

Murtagh said: "Septimus looks good and I'm looking forward to riding him work tomorrow . He's a horse I like a lot and, although he has top weight, he is a class horse and I'd have to say I'm confident of a big run from him on Tuesday."

Accompanied by Colm O'Donoghue and Wayne Lordan, who ride Aidan O'Brien's other Cup runners, Honolulu and Alessandro Volta, Murtagh sat in with O'Brien and his son, Joseph, as they followed the Ballydoyle trio in a jeep during morning exercise.

O'Donoghue is on his second visit to Australia. He spent time working for trainer Lee Freedman eight years ago.

FRANCE: AIDAN O'BRIEN may have fallen short in his bid to set a new world record for top-level wins in a single season, but he appears to be leaving no stone unturned in his bid to land the final Group 1 of the European season on Wednesday at Saint-Cloud.

Ballydoyle is responsible for four of the 11 declarations in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, where the Paul Blockley-trained Zafisio will attempt to repeat last week's Group 1 victory in the Criterium International.

Johnny Murtagh looks set to ride Navan maiden winner Fame And Glory, who is 25-1 for next year's Derby with Coral. He will be joined by stablemates Drumbeat, Age of Aquarius and Hail Caesar.

Dominique Boeuf retains the ride on Zafisio,while a strong Irish representation is augmented by the Tracy Collins-trained Turin Lady, bidding to complete a hat-trick under Pat Shanahan.

Enough for a few Johnnies!

FAME AND GLORY led home an Aidan O'Brien-trained one-two in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud on Wednesday, the final Group 1 of the European season.

The 1m2f race for two-year-olds had attracted considerable interest as Zafisio looked to give warned-off trainer Paul Blockley a second Group 1 of the year.

Zafisio took the lead with 6f to run but was joined by several runners spread right across the track.

And it was the battalions of O'Brien, winning his 23rd Group 1 of the year, who prevailed with Johnny Murtagh steering Fame And Glory to success over Drumbeat in second with Feels All Right in third. Zafisio finished fifth.

The winner returned at 9-1 and was cut to 16-1 (from 20) for next year's Derby by Coral while Stan James make him 20-1 for the same race.

xx

O'Brien team finished for season

Aidan O'Brien: sent out 23 Group 1 winners this year equalling what he achieved in 2001


AIDAN O'BRIEN has confirmed that he will have no more runners this season thus ending any plans to chase Bobby Frankel's world record of 25 Group or Grade 1 wins achieved in 2003.

HalfwayTo Heaven and Moonstone had been pencilled in for Group 1 targets at Sha Tin next month, but O'Brien has confirmed that both of those Classic winners have been retired.

He said: "We have decided to retire Moonstone and Halfway To Heaven and as the season is almost over we won't be having anymore runners this year."

O'Brien sent out 23 Group 1 winners this year equalling his best score of top level successes which he achieved in 2001. He reached the 23 mark in France on Wednesday when Fame And Glorywon the Criteriumde Saint Cloud.

Between them Halfway To Heaven and Moonstone accounted for four of O'Brien's Group 1 wins this season.

Halfway To Heaven won the Boylesports Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Nassau Stakes and the Sun Chariot Stakes while Moonstone had her big day at the Curragh in July when she landed the Darley Irish Oaks.