O’BRIEN’S ORDER OF THE DAY
ORDER OF AUSTRALIA led home a one-two-three for trainer Aidan O’Brien with a shock victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland yesterday.
The three-year-old colt only got into the race after One Master was scratched on Thursday and was sent off an unconsidered 73-1 outsider.
His jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot himself only got the ride after Christophe Soumillon tested positive for Covid-19 and completed an unlikely double after he also replaced Ioritz Mendizabal on Audarya in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Order Of Australia had only won two of his seven previous races and had fallen short in two previous attempts at the top level – but he came good when it mattered, to give O’Brien his first win in the race.
Halladay made the running until the straight, where there was all to play for until Order Of Australia swept on the outside to take the honours under another confident ride by Boudot.
The son of Australia kept on to hold his stablemates Circus Maximus and Lope Y Fernandez, giving Ballydoyle a remarkable clean sweep.
Kameko, the 2000 Guineas winner, had every chance under Oisin Murphy but finished out of the places, as did Irish Guineas victor Siskin.
O’Brien said: ‘We always thought that, as the season went on, a mile on fast ground on a flat track would be ideal for Order Of Australia.
‘He’s a horse that quickens very well and he had been working well.’
Kameko’s rider Murphy said: ‘I got him into the perfect position that I wanted going down the back. I thought the track would suit him and that he would travel, but he didn’t pick up.
‘While this is disappointing, it doesn’t indicate how good he is. It’s just that he has trained hard all year, he’ll make a wonderful stallion.’
Colin Keane said of Siskin: ‘He behaved himself down at the stalls, but gave me
the impression in the race that the year had caught up with him.’
Keane was at his brilliant best as he guided Tarnawa to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, beating fellow Irish raider Magical in good style.
Keane, who was confirmed as Irish champion jockey for a second time earlier this week, was a late replacement for Tarnawa’s regular pilot Christophe Soumillon but the four-year-old lost little in the saddle as she motored to her third toplevel success in as many starts.
Having been settled in the rear in the early exchanges, Keane was forced to watch on as the frontrunning Channel Maker built up a healthy lead.
The grey still had a few lengths in hand over the field when swinging for home but Keane was sitting quietly on Tarnawa (3/1) as she made up ground in stealthy fashion and when pulled out in the stretch, she picked up really well under a strong right-hand drive and began to eat into Channel Maker’s lead.
Favourite Magical – who finished second in this race in 2018 – also made her move at the same time but she lacked the finishing kick of Tarnawa, who surged into the lead with 50 yards to run and was well on top at the wire. Magical just edged out the gallant Channel Maker for second while the John Gosden-trained Lord North finished fourth.
Victory was a first for trainer Dermot Weld at the Breeders’ Cup, but perhaps more significantly, it came only a matter of weeks after the stable had to say goodbye to long-serving stable jockey Pat Smullen, who lost his battle with cancer in September.