Dylan Thomas’s Breeders’ Cup trial turns into a disaster at Belmont
Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-old never made an impression on a four-horse field for the mile and a quarter US$750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. It was a performance that left his connections to shrug their shoulders and admit that the dirt was just not for this particular thoroughbred.
Dylan Thomas had trailed badly from the off as Nick Zito’s Wanderin Boy set the pace down the back straight with Bernardini in tow, Andromeda’s Hero already a distant third as the Irish horse brought up the rear.
Preakness winner Bernardini, owned and bred by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stud, was cruising on Wanderin Boy’s shoulder as they rounded the final turn and stepped up a gear without any prompting from jockey Javier Castellano to open up a 6¾ length lead at the finishing post for his sixth straight win.
Andromeda’s Hero was a further 19½ lengths adrift of Wanderin Boy with Dylan Thomas labouring home a country mile in arrears. O’Brien’s Ballydoyle assistant trainer Patrick Keating had declared himself very happy with Dylan Thomas’s prep work at Belmont on Friday but come race day things were very different.
“He galloped over the dirt on Friday morning,” Keating said. “He handled the dirt well and we were very happy with him. Now, he just didn’t handle it at all.”
Dylan Thomas’s first-time jockey John Velazquez, who earlier in the day had scored a hat-trick of Grade I victories, admitted: “He just didn’t have the wheels.”
Aidan O’Brien has not ruled Dylan Thomas out of an appearance at the Breeders’ Cup next month – but he will definitely not be asked to race on dirt.
The Ballydoyle handler is now weighing up the possibility of the Danehill colt taking his chance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf over a mile and a half instead.
“The horse is a possible for the Breeders’ Cup Turf but definitely not the Classic,” he said yesterday
There was further frustration for the Ballydoyle yard when O’Brien’s Frost Giant could only manage fifth in the US$600,000 Grade I Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, after being boxed in on the rails while running well for jockey Edgar Prado.
“He was running well,” Keating said, “but just got boxed in when he wanted to make his move. But he’s okay.”
The Irish gloom was in stark contrast to Bernardino’s connections.
“That was exactly what I was hoping for,” trainer Tom Albertrani said.
“I was hoping to see him run as easy as he did in the Jim Dandy (Stakes). I’ve got a fresh horse for the Breeders’ Cup now.”
“He does things so easily, I don’t know if anyone can give him the kind of race where he has to fight. Look at the hold Javier had on him. It looked like Javier could take the lead at any time. It worked out very, very well.”
Castellano confirmed the ease with which his charge had performed and admitted he had ridden Bernardini with the November 4 challenge in the Breeders’ Cup Classic specifically in mind.
“I had so much horse today,” the jockey said. “I never asked him, and it looked pretty easy. I liked the way he did it today. He settled down perfectly behind the speed horse.
“I wanted him to settle down today. I didn’t want him on the lead because I want him to be focused for his next race, the Breeders’ Cup.
In the Breeders’ Cup someone may want to go for the lead. There is more pressure and more pace in that kind of a race.
“He’s a special horse and that kind of a horse is hard to find. He’s my spoiled baby.”
Prado, who was aboard Wanderin Boy, added: “I tried to slow it down, my horse runs best on the lead. I tried to let him get away but Bernardini had me any time.”
While Bernardini laid down his credentials for the Classic, other horses at Belmont to impress ahead of the Breeders’ Cup included Joe Hirsch Turf Classic winner English Channel, who beat back a strong European challenge in a slow-paced race ahead of the Turf championship at Churchill Downs. French filly Freedonia finished five lengths behind England Channel in second with German-bred Royal Highness third, and Frost Giant fifth behind Interpretation. It was trainer Todd Pletcher’s third Grade I victory of the day following wins from Fleet Indian and Honey Ryder.
“We were in a good position today with horses that had been training well,” Pletcher said. “Now, you have to hope you can keep them in good form and reproduce the same effort four weeks from now.”
Fleet Indian will head to Churchill Downs with her perfect season intact after taking the $600,000, mile-and-an-eighth Beldame for fillies and mares, beating Shiek Mohammed’s Balletto by a head.
Honey Ryder also had a close call among the fillies and mares on turf over a mile-and-a-quarter in the US$600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational. Pletcher’s five-year-old held off late charging favourite Film Maker by a nose.
Lightning-quick three-year-old Henny Hughes advanced his Breeders’ Cup Sprint credentials with a storming victory in the six-furlong US$400,000 Vosburgh.
