February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
O’Brien brings a quintet of Coolmore runners over from Co. Tipperary, hoping to emulate the success of Johannesburg in the 2001 Juvenile, the trainer’s first win in this series. His strongest shot appears to be with Ace in the $2 Million Turf. The Irish-bred 4-year-old will renew acquaintances with Shakespeare and English Channel, both of which preceded him to the wire in the Turf Classic at Belmont on Oct. 1. After making a successful, albeit belated, debut at Navan in June 2004, Ace copped two more races at Leopardstown, including the Group 3 Desmond Stakes. Since then, however, he has been something of a nibbler, usually showing up at the finish with his head in proximity of the winner’s tail.
Twice this year, Ace has been victimized by Azamour. Mention of that steed serves to introduce us to Oxx, whose sole Breeders’ Cup venture resulted in Ridgewood Pearl’s victory in the 1995 Mile. Azamour, a 4-year-old Irish-bred colt, carried the Aga Khan’s colors to victory this year in two Group 1 events in England, both of which found Ace in his wake. On home soil, Azamour might have been dubbed “Azaless,” failing to hit the board in both the Irish Champion Stakes and the Tattersalls Gold Cup, although beaten only two lengths each time.
One rival Azamour won’t have to contend with at Belmont is Oratorio, winner of the Irish Champion. O’Brien may have assessed this year’s Classic field as one of the weaker assemblages in the event’s 22 years and certainly shorter on quality than the Turf. Thus, Oratorio, most recently fourth at Newmarket two weeks ago, will try to atone for some less-than-stellar Classic performances issued by Giant’s Causeway and Galileo. The $4 Million Classic will be his first race over dirt.
Atonement might also be an apt theme for Ad Valorem, the O’Brien hope in the $1.5 Million Mile, another race that has left Ballydoyle with their hearts down near their ankles. The 2002 Mile saw Landseer’s demise, which also affected Rock of Gibraltar. Last year, Antonius Pius may have been best but probably suffered from subpar jockeying. Much like Ace, Ad Valorem knocked out three wins in as many races, but has yet to revisit the winner’s enclosure in four tries since then. He got a taste of American racing at Keeneland earlier this month, when he finished sixth. Also slated to contend the Mile are Irish-breds Majors Cast and Valixir.
An intriguing entry is Ivan Denisovich, an O’Brien trainee that will run in the $1.5 Million Juvenile. A Group 2 winner in England, this 2-year-old son
of Danehill is out of Hollywood Wildcat, herself a winner of the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and dam of War Chant, winner of the 2000 Mile. The dam’s proficiency on the dirt suggests that her son shouldn’t have trouble with the transition to the new surface.
The $1 Million Filly and Mare Turf will see the David Wachman-trained Luas Line return to Belmont Park, where she won the Garden City in September. A multiple winner of listed races in Ireland, Luas Line stepped out in the
Queen Elizabeth at Keeneland two weeks ago, finishing sixth, less than two lengths behind the winner. O’Brien will counter with Mona Lisa, a surprisingly good second at Longchamps on Arc day. This filly, 11th in last year’s Juvenile Fillies, has but one win from 14 career starts.
The $1 Million Juvenile Fillies will find Adieu leaving the gate as one of the favorites. Co-owned by Susan Magnier, this winner of four out of five lifetime starts has been based in the U.S., where Todd Pletcher handles the training. A slight chance should be afforded Ann Summers Gold, trained by Brian Meehan, a Limerick native. “Ann” is winless in two starts in England, but she closed fast for second in a Group 3 race last time out.