Victoria Road breezing at Keeneland. Coady Photography
Appleby gets in a work with Silver Knott
Breeders’ Cup Notes/Edited
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Aidan O’Brien’s seven horses once again had a canter on the main track. Ryan Moore was on track and rode Victoria Road (Juvenile Turf).
Moore said, “Everything went fine, it’s great to be back at the Breeders’ Cup and I’m looking forward to my rides over the two days.”
Aidan O’Brien said, “We love coming to Keeneland because the weather at this time of year can be very similar to ours. Everybody in Keeneland is totally horse minded, I suppose like we are back in Ireland. And obviously there’s a lot of Irish and English people here as well, so it’s nearly like being in Europe.
“Ryan rode Victoria Road. We think he could develop into a French Derby horse, but he has pace because he has very good form over six furlongs. You wouldn’t be bringing a seven-furlong colt or a mile colt that hasn’t ran short because he might get lost early.
“We thought he was a five or six-furlong horse. He’s from a fast, precocious pedigree, but it’s only when we started stepping him up that we started seeing a much better horse.
Aidan O’Brien talks Horses on Track with Past The Wire
“Meditate (Juvenile Fillies Turf) has form which is right up there but we are stepping up in trip and we’re about to learn a lot about her.
“Tuesday (Filly & Mare Turf) she’s very well, she has a nice draw. She had a very bad draw in France, on very bad ground, and probably the two things weren’t ideal for her.
“Toy (Filly & Mare Turf) was just ready to start back when she won a Listed race at Naas. So, we were very happy with her, and we think she has been making very good progress since then.
“Stone Age (Turf) and Broome (Turf) take each other on in the Turf. Broome’s slow starts have cost him so many times, I can’t tell you. We’re trying to tweak things as we go so that it won’t happen.
“Order Of Australia (Mile) has been brought along with this race in mind, following a leg injury at this track last October. This has been his target all year, so it’s been gentle-gentle. We have been racing him to keep him competitive, but we haven’t been really turning the screw on him. That’s why he came to Keeneland last time, especially for this. His work regime and the intensity of it has ramped up all the time, every week. We were very happy with his last work.”
The Platinum Queen (Juvenile Turf Sprint) exercised on the turf but notably did not seem to handle the bend very well which is a slight concern.
Charlie Appleby’s horses were the last to leave quarantine this morning and all went on the turf track. Silver Knott (Juvenile Turf) led the string then each horse cantered separately.
After the exercise Appleby said, “That was perfect for today. At this stage I don’t think there’s any real standouts neither any I’m not pleased with. They all traveled over great, and all seem in good form. All the riders are happy so we’ll take it each day at a time, but I couldn’t be happier.”
