Tom Red
On the international scene, there were three Irish-trained winners at the Breeders Cup in Del Mar. Aidan O’Brien trained Gstaad to win the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf under Christophe Soumillion, giving the Ballydoyle chief his 26th Group 1 of 2025 (he can still break the record of 28 held by himself).
With this win, O’Brien became the most successful trainer in Breeders’ Cup history with 21 wins, surpassing the record he held jointly with the late American trainer D Wayne Lukas.
O’Brien’s son Donnacha also got in on the act when Oisin Murphy rode Balantina to victory in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. But the Irish story of this year’s Breeders Cup was winner Ethical Diamond, 28/1 outsider, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by new Irish champion jockey 22-year-old Dylan Browne McMonagle, with Ballydoyle’s Minnie Hauk a disappointing 8th. The 5-Y-O gelding finished third in a 10f maiden in Roscommon in 2023.
Upcoming racing
Racing this afternoon (Thursday) is at Powerstown Park, Clonmel, with a national hunt card starting at 12.37 pm. Tomorrow evening there is a flat card on the all-weather in Dundalk at 5.15 pm.
Saturday afternoon sees a jumping card at Gowran Park featuring the Noreside Catering Handicap Chase, away at 12.28 pm. On Sunday, there is a jumping meeting at Naas featuring the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase and the Listed Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle at 12.20 pm.
Coverage on TV starts tomorrow with four races from Exeter, featuring the Grade 2 Gold Cup Chase, and two from Hexham on ITV 4. On Saturday, there are five races from Wincanton, featuring the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle, two from Aintree with coverage of the Grand Sefton Chase, and three flat races from Doncaster on ITV 4.
The Irish flat season came to a close at HQ, The Curragh, on Sunday with only the champion apprentice title up for grabs. Wayne Hassett won the first on Joseph O’Brien’s James J Braddock to give him 25 winners for the season, a lead of two over Robert Whearty, which he held for the rest of the day.
Nottingham was forced to cancel its fixture yesterday, Wednesday, after heavy rain overnight left the track waterlogged. The course was due to stage its final meeting of the year and the ground was described as heavy, soft in places on Tuesday. However, 15.2mm of rainfall through the night left the track unfit for racing.
The race that stops a nation
On Tuesday, three Irish-trained horses ran in the Melbourne Cup, with the Joseph O’Brien trained and JP McManus owned Goodie Two Shoes putting up a brave performance under Wayne Lordan to finish second at 40/1 to the Australian 8/1 shot Half Yours, ridden by Jamie Melham, beaten 2¾l. O’Brien’s other horse, Al Riffa, finished 6th and Willie Mullins’ Absurde 9th.
Racing news
On the all-weather at Kempton yesterday week, 17-year-old Toby Moore, whose family is steeped in racing, rode his first winner on Charlie Appleby’s Valdorcia, joining his father Ryan, uncles Jamie and Josh, and aunt Hayley as a member of the Moore family who have been in the winners enclosure.
Ryan is No 1 jockey to Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle, his uncles have both ridden Grade 1 national hunt winners, and his aunt rode winners as an amateur and is a presenter on At The Races.
