MAGNIFICENT!
O’brien’s rising star to shine at Doncaster
DAN SKELTON raged “Cheltenham can and must do something” after two horses were dramatically robbed of victory when crashing out at the home of jump racing yesterday.
Skelton’s One For Billy careered through a tape — temporarily secured between a gap in the running rail to guide horses up the run-in — and off the course when challenging favourite Diakali after the last in the two-mile novice chase.
And the trainer was then presented with a winner when Oighear Dubh suffered the same fate in the amateur riders’ handicap chase, gifting victory to Sam Red. “I’ve never been as mad on a racecourse — Cheltenham can and must do something,” said Skelton (left). “Imagine if it happened to a short-priced favourite in the Gold Cup — there would be a public outcry and racing doesn’t need those headlines.”
Cheltenham’s clerk of the course Simon Claisse responded: “To have had two incidents like that in a day, when we have only had two in the last 30 years, we have to review it.” Sam Red’s victory gave Skelton the earliest-ever century of winners in a jumps season — beating Martin Pipe’s record set in 2001. MAGNA GRECIA is a worthy favourite to give Aidan O’brien an eighth victory in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity (4.05, ITV4) at Doncaster. Punters made the son of Invincible Spirit the 2-1 favourite for his debut in a seven-furlong maiden at Naas last month, and Magna Grecia netted the money with a cosy threeand-a-half-length victory.
O’brien then pitched my selection into Group 3 company in the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket two weeks ago.
Magna Grecia ran a fine race in defeat, going under by just a neck after a duel with the Andre Fabre-trained Persian King.
That was a decent effort in light of the Ballydoyle youngster’s lack of experience – the winner was racing for the fourth time – and it will be a major surprise if further improvement isn’t forthcoming from Donnacha O’brien’s mount.
O’brien snr (left) has won this one-mile test with the likes of High Chaparral, Camelot and Saxon Warrior, and Magna Grecia is expected to step up to the top level and add his name to the roll of honour.