O’BRIEN CAN BE EMPEROR IN CESARE
Cleveland can take showpiece throne to give Joe first win
CLASSY Cleveland might defy the hefty burden of 9-13 and give Joseph O’brien a first win in the €600,000 Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh tomorrow.
Winner of the Chester Cup in May for Aidan O’brien, the four-year-old was transferred to Carriganog with a view to targeting the Melbourne Cup. But plans to go to Oz have been shelved. And the son of Camelot chases this massive pot (winner’s prize is €611,000) instead.
Cleveland displayed a commendable cruising speed, impressive turn of foot and stamina to win the Chester Cup at the expense of Coltrane (beat Trueshan in the recent Doncaster Cup) before finishing a solid second to Get Shirty in a
Royal Ascot handicap.
Having transferred from Ballydoyle, Cleveland went within a neck of Gear Up in the Ballyroan at Leopardstown last time and should be primed for a big run here, in a massively competitive handicap.
The selection is one of nine runners for Joseph O’brien, a squad which also included longshot Inuit, with a squeak, while Willie Mullins is responsible for five of the 30 runners, including Galway winner Echoes In Rain (up 10lb) and former Swedish St Leger winner Lot Of Joy, a pleasing fourth on her Irish debut in Galway.
Paddy Twomey runs both Ebor third Earl Of Tyrne (Daniel King claiming 7lb) and Irish Derby third French Claim (Billy Lee), last seen when seventh in the English St Leger
But the potential blot on the handicap is Aidan O’brien’s bottom-weight Waterville, the mount of Wayne Lordan (inset).
Considered a potential Derby candidate in the spring, this Camelot colt was a beaten favourite in three maidens before getting off the mark, off 84, in a long-distance handicap in
Limerick, for which he went up 11lb.
Last time, Waterville was beaten a halflength by subsequent listed winner Point King at Leopardstown, races here off 99 and is very much in the “could be anything’ category, although not representing value in the market.
Tomorrow’s card also includes a couple of Group 3 contests. And Joseph O’brien’s Caroline Street is napped to take the Weld Park Stakes.
Successful on debut at Leopardstown, Caroline looked set to land a Group 3 here before folding late, but bounced back to finish an excellent second to smart colt Auguste Rodin in a Group 2 at Leopardstown.
And a reproduction of that most recent effort should see her earn her the spoils.
In the William Hill Ireland Renaissance Stakes, Tim Easterby’s Art Power, whose Betfair Sprint Cup run can probably be ignored, is a confident choice to repeat last year’s wide-margin success.