Dirt doubts over Toast of New York
First time on Breeders’ Cup surface for Osborne’s colt
A FIRST run on dirt for Toast Of New York is the great imponderable for Jamie Osborne as he prepares to saddle the star colt in tonight’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
With the showpiece meeting switching back to dirt, the feature event will once again prove hard to win for overseas challengers.
The three-year-old routed the field in the UAE Derby at Meydan on Tapeta and bids to emulate John Gosden’s Raven’s Pass, who won the Classic in 2008 on a synthetic track to become the first European scorer since the Andre Fabre-trained Arcangues caused a huge shock way back in 1993.
Osborne’s star, who cost just €50,000 and has now won close to £1 million, was last seen finishing second to unbeaten Classic favourite Shared Belief in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August, and also ran in America on grass at Belmont Park in July.
Former top jumps jockey Osborne said: “We have got two and a half lengths to make up on the favourite and, while you could argue that he might not be as good on dirt as on Polytrack, we have to show that we can handle the dirt ourselves.
“It’s amazing that, in the space of exactly a year, he has gone from winning a race at Wolverhampton by 16 lengths to running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but there was purpose in what we did as we wanted to secure a slot in the UAE Derby.
“He has kept improving and the only real question mark is the surface. He is priced up at around 12-1 and I hope he has a better chance than that indicates. It could be that Shared Belief isn’t as good on dirt as he is on the artificial surface. Let’s roll the dice and see what happens.”
Jamie Spencer is back on board after Victor Espinoza did the steering last time out. Espinoza rides California Chrome, who won the first two legs of the Triple Crown before coming up short in the Belmont Stakes.
Favourite Shared Belief’s trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said: “He’s done everything we’ve ever asked him to do. We’ll ask him to do one more thing this year and hope we get it done.”
Connections of Telescope are banking on another round of magic from Ryan Moore in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Onetime favourite for the Derby, Sir Michael Stoute’s runner has perhaps never quite lived up to early expectations, but should have no excuses with the trip and ground in his favour.
Fabre’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Flint- shire and Irish St Leger winner Brown Panther, trained by Tom Dascombe, add further European interest.
At home, Double Ross has enough class to topple hot favourite Silviniaco Conti in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby. Silviniaco Conti, the King George champion, won this race in 2012 and is the one to beat for the Paul Nicholls team. But it could be beneficial to look elsewhere at the prices and Double Ross might be the solution.
Ascot’s jumps card is usually an informative occasion, with Roalco De Farges poised to make a name for himself in the United House Gold Cup Handicap Chase. The Philip Hobbs-trained nine-year-old has had plenty of peaks and troughs since thoughts turned to chasing, but could be set for a big season judged by his victory at Cheltenham a fortnight ago.
Nicky Henderson’s Sign Of Victory heads the betting for the William Hill Handicap Hurdle, making his seasonal reappearance in the hands of Barry Geraghty following emphatic successes at Doncaster and Newbury last term. Dawalan, the mount of David Bass, let down favourite-backers on his recent return to action at Chepstow but Henderson expects him to strip much fitter for this weekend’s £50,000 Listed event.