Breeders Cup news and Clonmel preview: George Washington may have the odds piled against him for Saturday night's Breeders' Cup Classic, but one thing trainer Aidan O'Brien appears confident about is the star colt's temperament, which he feels will not be an issue despite the massive crowds at Churchill Downs.
The Irish horse refused to enter the winners' enclosure after a spectacular 2,000 Guineas triumph last May and has shown signs of an unpredictable temperament throughout his career.
The atmosphere at Churchill Downs, where he will have to walk through a tunnel before parading for the $5-million Classic, can be very noisy, but O'Brien is not anticipating any major problems.
"He has behaved well in his last couple of races and has grown up mentally," said the Irish champion trainer yesterday. But he nevertheless again stressed the task facing George Washington on his dirt debut.
"It's a big test running in the Classic, but he is so different to any horse we have had. We are hoping his ability can overcome everything else he will face on the dirt. We will never know what will happen unless we give it a try," added O'Brien, who played down a recent aborted trip to Southwell for a work-out on the all-weather track.
"It wasn't too much of a hindrance as he didn't lose too much work-wise. We were simply hoping he could get some experience of the kickback, and it was just another piece in the jigsaw."
The Ballydoyle trainer will look for a third victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf with Scorpion, who has had just the one run this year after an injury disrupted his campaign.
"He fractured a pastern in the spring and lost lots of time in the summer. But he has made really good progress. We were very pleased with his run at the Curragh (Barathea Finale Stakes) and I felt he ran a nice race. A slow pace at Churchill Downs would not bother him as he has made the running several times before," O'Brien said.
A strong team in the Mile will complete the O'Brien Breeders' Cup challenge, and top American jockey Garrett Gomez will again be on board Aussie Rules, who won the Grade One Keeneland Turf Mile on his previous start.
"Aussie Rules is a well balanced horse and he won well at Keeneland, which was a nice prep race. He has recovered well and we are happy with him," he told the BBC. "Ad Valorem ran well last time in Canada and his wins in the Middle Park and the Queen Anne shows he has the class. Ivan Denisovich gets a mile well but he won't be wearing a visor this time as he was a bit keen in it at Ascot."
On the jumping front at home, today's action is at Clonmel, and last season's leading novice, Back In Front, should have little trouble getting his new campaign off to a winning start in the conditions chase.
The former Supreme Novices Hurdle hero looked like he might have had a chance of collecting a second big festival prize until losing jockey Paddy Flood at the penultimate fence in the SunAlliance last March.
Coljon, runner-up in the Thyestes, will ensure a decent contest, but it will be disappointing if Back In Front cannot cope with him.
Edward O'Grady and Paddy Flood can double up in the Beginners Chase with Some Legend. The six-year-old was bang in contention over three miles here until crashing out at the second-last behind Mossbank.
Today will see a drop back to two miles plus, and on quicker going, but experience can swing it Some Legend's way.
