O’Brien excited by Classic adventure

IT will not exactly rank with his namesake’s crossing of the Delaware, but if George Washington pulls off a victory in tomorrow night’s Breeders’ Cup Classic it will certainly be a revolutionary moment for Aidan O’Brien.

As all American schoolkids are taught, General Washington famously caught his American Revolutionary War opponents unawares on Christmas Day 1776 by crossing of the Delaware River in the first move of a surprise attack against the Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey.

Ballydoyle handler O’Brien trusts the bold move of taking his star miler off the turf and onto the dirt at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, will prove just as rewarding and has thrown in the added challenge of an increase in distance, just for the thrill of it all.