Fresh nightmare for Aidan O’Brien as big Ryan Moore ride is scratched from Breeders’ Cup after failing vet test
AIDAN O’Brien has suffered a fresh nightmare after Ylang Ylang was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup – a day after vets kicked Jan Brueghel out of the Melbourne Cup.
The world’s best Flat trainer has had a disastrous 24 hours with two of his biggest hopes being forced out of their respective races.
Ryan Moore was to ride Ylang Ylang in the Filly & Mare Turf but vets deemed her unfit to run[/caption]
Ryan Moore was to ride Group 1 Fillies’ Mile winner Ylang Ylang in Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf.
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But she is out after a vet deemed her unfit to run – the same as what happened to long-time Melbourne Cup ante-post fav Jan Brueghel.
O’Brien was absolutely furious with the Australian vets yesterday, venting trackside in Del Mar after his St Leger winner was kicked out of the £4million ‘race that stops a nation’ on the other side of the world.
Ylang Ylang, who was 6-1 for the Group 1, was seen cantering over the California track seemingly fit and healthy with the rest of O’Brien’s squad yesterday.
But she is said to have failed a PET scan – a procedure used to pick injuries or issues that could cause injuries.
Moore will now switch to ride Yorkshire Oaks winner Content, O’Brien’s only remaining runner in the race.
She is vying for 3-1 favouritism with Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin runner Cinderella’s Dream.
O’Brien’s trying 24 hours came amid a worrying market drift for Breeders’ Cup Classic fav City Of Troy.
The handler has made no bones about how highly he holds the Derby, Juddmonte and Coral-Eclipse-winning superstar.
He has a good draw in stall three for the feature race of the two-day ‘world championships’.
But bookies still eased him in the markets out to as big as 15-8 having been 6-4 just a few days ago.
O’Brien and owners Coolmore have already seen £120,000 go down the drain with Jan Brueghel’s transportation costs.
The Classic-winning three-year-old could now be aimed at the Hong Kong Vase over 1m4f in December.
But speaking of his anger over the horse’s scratching, O’Brien fumed: “In this part of the world (USA), horsemen and women decide if a horse runs.
“In other parts of the world, a trot is filmed on a phone and the phone app will decide if they are sound or not.
“It was devastating when he was ruled out. It was unlucky for us and lucky for them.
“He was a Group 1 horse in a handicap with eight stone seven and Ryan Moore riding him, and he was getting better every week.
“They looked at scans and made a decision and our vets didn’t agree with them.
“Every three-year-old at this time will have shadows or fissures on their scans and there comes a point when it becomes ridiculous. The horse men and women are out of the picture.”
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