O’Brien rates Australia his best ever for Derby
AI DAN O’BRIEN has hailed 11- 8 favourite Australia as a ‘ Derby horse we have not had the like of before’. The Irish trainer says he is the most talented horse he has ever run in a race he has won four times, including in the last two years.
O’Brien had lauded 2012 winner Camelot as his perfect Derby horse but says the homework of blueblooded Australia, a son of 2001 Derby hero Galileo out of 2004 Oaks heroine Ouija Board, trumps that.
The trainer said: ‘ I thought Camelot was our Derby best but this horse is a step up. There is no point in beating around the bush, we have never had a horse like this.’
O’Brien revealed his stable is just starting to flourish after a bout of coughing hit his string in the opening weeks of the Flat season.
Australia still managed to finish a close third in the 2,000 Guineas, but the trainer said: ‘He was sick eight weeks before the Guineas.
‘He was probably the first horse to show signs of the cough and then it spread like wildfire.
‘He never stopped working but had to be put on medication. He probably turned up in the Guineas despite all that happened. We were happy with him but it wasn’t ideal.’
The trainer feels the 2,000 Guineas Camelot won was weaker than that contested by Australia, who was widely touted before the Classic after treating work companion Oklahoma City, a decent horse in his own right, ‘with contempt’.
But it was the speed he showed early last season that indicated a special talent.
O’Brien added: ‘Frankie (Dettori) sat on him when he was over here and he was jumping off the ground about him and ringing the owners.
‘What made everyone prick their ears was one morning he worked four 11-second furlongs one after another around May time last year.
‘ He i s uncomplicated, very relaxed and a great cruiser with speed. He is bred to get the trip and what makes him so exceptional is the speed.’
O’Brien’s other Derby hopes are Geoffrey Chaucer, Kingfisher and Orchestra, the ride of Ryan Moore.