RACING:AIDAN O'BRIEN has already supplied his teenage son Joseph with a memorable Group One success this year but if Roderic O'Connor's Irish Guineas victory was a pleasant surprise then there is a lot more riding on the young jockey getting it right on board Await The Dawn at York today.
Victory for the O’Brien team in the Juddmonte International would mean a fourth Irish success in a row but while Sea The Stars (2009) and the Ballydoyle pair Duke Of Marmalade (2008) and Rip Van Winkle (2010) were proven talents coming into the race, Await The Dawn is very much all about potential.
Winner of six of his seven starts to date the son of Giant’s Causeway was a Group Two winner at Royal Ascot in June but compared to both Midday and Twice Over – both trying to secure a first victory for the race sponsor, Prince Khalid Abdullah – his actual achievements to date pale.
That he is likely to start an odds-on favourite to give Aidan O’Brien a fourth success in the extended 10-furlong event says everything about the regard Await The Dawn is held at Ballydoyle.
Remarkably the strapping colt is already a 5 to 1 ante-post favourite for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, a fact that could look decidedly odd if Await The Dawn can’t succeed in his first step up to Group One company.
Young O’Brien’s old friend Roderic O’Connor is the main stable back-up but there is no doubt Ballydoyle expects today.
“I haven’t ridden him in a race but I know him well at home. He’s a lovely, big horse and you’d say he was very uncomplicated,” the jockey said yesterday. “His form looks good from Ascot, so hopefully he’ll run well.”
Rip Van Winkle just denied Twice Over in a memorable finish last year and the Juddmonte team are going after their own race with a vengeance this time. Twice Over is back but not surprisingly Tom Queally has sided with Midday after her Nassau victory last time. She runs here instead of what looks a much easier opportunity in tomorrow’s Yorkshire Oaks.
“Prince Khalid has supported the race and has been a fantastic supporter of York. This is a race everyone connected with Juddmonte would dearly like to win, not least of all the boss, and he is sending his two currently most suitable and ready horses to go,” the Juddmonte manager Lord Grimthorpe said yesterday. “I think Tom would have preferred not to have to make a decision but the way Midday came back at Goodwood was very pleasing.”
In terms of actual achievement, both Midday and Twice Over dwarf Await The Dawn but every vibe that emerges from Ballydoyle is saying their latest older star will pick this up on-route to even bigger and better.
O’Brien Snr hasn’t landed the Great Voltigeur since 2003 when Powerscourt memorably edged out Brian Boru and he will be hoping Seville can confirm his position as the Leger favourite by winning this afternoon.
Runner-up in the Irish Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris, Seville should have no trouble with the softish ground conditions and jockey Séamie Heffernan is optimistic.
“We’re happy enough with him and he seems to be coming out of his races fresh and well. He’s getting more mature and stronger all the time, so I’m hoping for a big run,” Heffernan said. “The Galileo horses seem to be the ones to be with at the moment. They are tough, and up for it every day.”
Heffernan will be on Battle Of Saratoga in the Group Three Acomb Stakes but that one’s Tipperary conqueror Furner’s Green also lines up.
