With the British Flat racing season
well past the midway stage of 2014 the York Ebor Festival, featuring
the top class Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes, is drawing
nearer, this year promising to feature the outstanding three-year-old
middle-distance colt Australia, trained by Aidan O’Brein, writes
Elliot Slater.
The International is always one of the
most eagerly anticipated races of the year, a clash between the best
three-year-old’s and older horses in training, often attracting the
cream of the crop from not only Britain and Ireland, but also from
France, and occasionally from even further afield. If Australia does
indeed take his chance in the 10 furlong contest he will be expected
by most experts to
start at odds-on on Betfair, despite the strength of the
opposition that could include such as Mukhadram, Noble Mission,
Trading Leather, and The Grey Gatsby.
Australia, a son of Galileo, proved
himself a smart performer last term when landing two of his three
races as a juvenile, including a Group 3 success at Leopardstown in
September that made plenty of good judges sit up and take notice,
marking him down as a potential Derby winner. The Ballydoyle-based
colt did little wrong on his seasonal reappearance when running over
an inadequate mile in the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in May,
staying on strongly under pressure inside the final furlong under
Joseph O’Brien to finish a close third behind the surprise winner
Night of Thunder and the outstanding three-year-old miler of this
season, Kingman.
His 2000 Guineas run unsurprisingly
hinted at much better to come over a longer trip and Australia duly
started a warm favourite for the Investec Derby at Epsom on June 7,
never giving his backers a moment’s concern as he glided around
Tattenham Corner before coasting into the lead a furlong from home,
eventually going on to beat the gallant Kingston Hill with plenty in
hand by a length-and-a-quarter,
His subsequent victory in the Irish
Derby was little more than an exercise canter when Kingston Hill was
a late withdrawal leaving O’Brien’s star to beat two inferior
stable companions without turning a hair. It won’t be that easy at
York, and with the likes of Eclipse Stakes winner Mukhadram,
subsequently an excellent third in the King George VI & Queen
Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot behind the brilliant Taghrooda, the much
improved Noble Mission (a Group 1 winner this term), and the
impressive French Derby winner, Kevin Ryan’s locally trained The
Grey Gatsby amongst his potential rivals, any flaws in Australia’s
ability to perform at the highest level over just 10 furlongs could
well be exposed.
For his part, Aidan O’Brien appears
to have few concerns on that score, pointing out that his charge had
the pace to go very close over a mile in the 2000 Guineas and is one
of the classiest thoroughbreds he has ever handled.
It all points to Australia
in the Juddmonte International at York on August 20, a race that
looks well worth waiting for.