Aidan O'Brien sets sights on Epsom as 'the lads' focus on Triple Crown glory
By Andy Stephens
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Andy Stephens was at Ballydoyle on Monday morning to get the latest on Aidan O'Brien's running plans for the Investec Derby at Epsom and listen to Mike Vince's interviews with the champion trainer.
Saxon Warrior has been favourably compared to Derby winners Australia and Camelot by O'Brien (FocusOnRacing)
There was a brief moment at Ballydoyle on Monday morning which gave an insight into the trials and tribulations that trainers face on a daily basis.
When photographers asked during a media visit to take pictures of Saxon Warrior, the general 4-5 Investec Derby favourite, part of the champion handler must have regretted saying “yes” when the 2000 Guineas winner began to get agitated and kick out.
As O’Brien whistled and jostled, trying to calm him, he noticed something else.
Saxon Warrior had half pulled a shoe off on his near fore, which demanded of him to stand still and receive the urgent attention of a farrier to prevent a nail potentially doing unwanted damage.
The farrier ran over, bent the leg where the offending shoe was causing a problem and banged it back into shape. Calmness was restored.
O’Brien revealed that Delano Roosevelt, The Pentagon and Kew Gardens would join Saxon Warrior in the Derby line-up and the door is open for his Dante runners on Thursday, James Cook and Zabriskie, to join them.
He ran six in the premier Classic last year, when he won the race for a sixth time with Wings Of Eagles, and has had as many as eight in it.
The 48-year-old clearly believes in safety in numbers but Saxon Warrior is his undoubted No 1 contender and his connections have already peeked beyond the Downs, with a tilt at the St Leger and the Triple Crown at the top of his agenda.
Some have scoffed at the idea - suggesting that commercially it would diminish his appeal as a stallion - but O’Brien spoke about the “romance” of him trying to become the first in almost half a century to achieve the feat.
Nijinsky, trained by O’Brien’s predecessor Vincent O’Brien, was the last to pull it off in 1970.
Saxon Warrior secured the first leg when gaining a decisive success in the 2,000 Guineas this month and leg two beckons for him at Epsom on June 2.
Should the imposing son of Japanese champion Deep Impact complete leg two then he will be given the opportunity to join an elite band with a third Classic success at Doncaster in September.
Make the most of him because, without quite saying so, O’Brien indicated the chances of him staying in training as a four-year-old are slim to zero.
“The lads would have been around the time of Nijinsky and when you come in here the first thing you see on the left is the statue of him,” O’Brien said. “That’s what they thought of him.
“It’s kind of a romantic thing (to attempt to pull off the Triple Crown). Before, perhaps ten or 15 years ago, it was a business thing. The lads have changed that way.
“They are business people but they are at that age when I think they are enjoying their racing and get a great kick out of it. They might not always be at the races but wherever they are in the world that’s their focus.”
He is under no illusions that emulating Nijinsky will not be easy - loose shoes, quality opposition and things out of his control are all obstacles to be overcome. He describes the last category as “variables” and said the word several times during the morning.
“The first part has gone well well but you have to try and get through the second,” he said. “It’s very rare that you have a horse good enough to even think about doing it - we felt this year he was the only horse (for it) if we had one.
“We were surprised with the way he quickened up in the Guineas but he did that in the Racing Post, so perhaps we shouldn’t have been. And if you go back to when he won his maiden that was unusual - he came from the back and it was over in two strides.”
Saxon Warrior shone in all three of his races as a juvenile and his success at Newmarket, without the benefit of a previous run this season; a racecourse gallop; or even a workout on the grass gallops at Ballydoyle, marked him down as something out of the ordinary.
His pedigree points to him coming into his own over middle distances and his trainer has no doubt he will handle Tattenham Corner because his lavish facilities include a replica version. He also has a six-furlong Ascot gallop that mimics the Royal racecourse.
“As a two-year-old he would have done a lot of grass work,” O’Brien said. “And every time he worked he would have had to canter home around Tattenham Corner. He has probably been around there around there 40 times.
“With Dr O’Brien, very much everything was geared towards Epsom. It was the most important race in the world for him. Everything was Epsom, Epsom, Epsom.”
Two O’Brien horses that will not be running at the venue are September, a long-term leading fancy for the Investec Oaks on June 1, and Capri, briefly favourite for the Investec Coronation Cup on the same day.
Both have suffered setbacks, although they were exercising gently on Monday and will be back in action before the season is out.
Such frustrations are part of a trainer’s life and O’Brien’s existence sometimes seems unrelenting. He is up at 4.45am every day and his phone is never switched off, although calls after 9pm are generally only of the “emergency” variety.
He says he has learnt the importance of regular food plus sleep and invariably will do the latter whenever he is travelling. At times he will permit himself downtime to watch a film in the evening but, by then, is usually so tired that he falls asleep before the finish.
His most relaxing time is early evening when he walks from yard to yard. There are about 14 at Ballydoyle - six for the older horses and eight small ones for the youngsters - and 200 boxes to inspect.
There is a serenity about the place and O’Brien diligently and patiently answers every question thrown his way.
One is about his faith. He responds by saying that he is a regular church goer and that he encourages everyone to stay in contact with their beliefs.
“You can only control the things you can control and you don’t worry about the things you can’t,” he said. “You just hope there is a far greater power there that might help control the things you can’t control for you.
“That’s the reality of life for us all, really. Everyone has their own beliefs and nobody knows who is right or wrong but it’s always a help if somebody has a belief.
“We do our best of what we do every day and then if there is extra help out there we are always very grateful for it. If everyone says a prayer it doesn’t matter who it is, or to when it is, it’s always a help for us all.
“Have a prayer, learn a prayer and say it. It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or you don’t believe it. If you learn a prayer and say it every day it will be a help to you long term, we believe."
Does he pray for his horses? “No” he says with a smile.
And with Saxon Warrior he might not need to.
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