Howard Wright -
One of the most fascinating sidelines of attending the international races in Hong Kong last weekend was to watch Aidan O’Brien at work in the build-up. It was a masterclass of preparation that cannot have escaped the notice of Steph Cooley, International Racing Department Manager at the Dubai Racing Club, who was in town talent-spotting for next year’s World Cup meeting. O’Brien has been targeting overseas races for many years on behalf of the various Coolmore partners, with a well-worn modus operandi of leaving everything to his trusted travelling head man Pat Keating and his team of work riders until he flies in, usually at the last moment, sometimes on the very day of racing. This time, though, it was a different story, and with racing on Sunday, O’Brien arrived in Hong Kong in the early hours of Wednesday morning and was out on the track at Sha Tin racecourse before 9am local time, as his big-race runners, accompanied by a stablemate, walked out of the quarantine area for the first time. Not that this was an occasion for O’Brien to take some downtime after his usual busy season. “I find holidays stressful,” he told an Australian TV channel interviewer when asked how he relaxed.
“I’M PROBABLY VERY WEIRD THAT WAY.”
His professionalism extended to working the horses, split equally among the four Group 1s, who maintained strict order behind stablemate The Prairie, a twice-raced three-year-old who has not been seen in competitive action since winning a Leopardstown maiden at the beginning of April. The Prairie would show the way to Luxemburg, Cairo, Aesop’s Fables and Warm Heart, who followed in strict single file until the lead horse gave way, leaving the rest to get on with more serious work, but with their highly experienced riders making sure they stayed in the same order at the finishing point. The fact that the foursome had been allowed a companion – whom O’Brien described as “Luxemburg’s lead horse and his friend” - was indicative of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s regard for Coolmore’s support for the meeting. Such a request might not normally be looked upon favourably, but as one senior official said: “If they want to bring four runners, they can certainly bring one more.” Another box for the Dubai Racing Club to tick, perhaps. As for O’Brien himself, he was an unusually prominent presence throughout his five-day stay, most noticeably when popping up like a jack in the box to make all four gate selections during the barrier draw ceremony. Interviews, for both print and video media, and selfies with random characters attending morning work followed, while on the big day itself he willingly stretched across the rails to sign autographs. Throughout he was extremely open about the reasons why the four representatives were taking up each challenge – the two established horses, Luxembourg and Warm Heart, with good chances, the other three-year-olds, Cairo and Aesop’s Fables, because they had been identified to test their aptitude for future travelling. As Coolmore partner Tom Magnier pointed out: “Aidan put a lot of thought into which horses to bring.” And, although the team went home winnerless, the thinking was on the right lines. Warm Heart was an honourable third to Junko in the Vase on what is likely to be her last start before stud and Luxemburg made local favourite Romantic Warrior pull out all the stops when beaten a short head in the Cup. Aesop’s Fables had the hardest task in the Sprint but although last of ten, he was beaten only six lengths, while Cairo finished about the same distance behind the outstanding Mile winner Golden Sixty. Meydan could well beckon then, if the right approaches are made.
