‘Biggest certainty ever for the Melbourne Cup': Aidan O'Brien takes another swipe at Jan Brueghel scratching
'We thought he was the biggest certainty ever for the Melbourne Cup last year.''
This was Irish training genius Aidan O'Brien's comment at Epsom Downs overnight when asked about the controversial scratching of his top stayer Jan Brueghel just days out from the Melbourne Cup last spring.
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Jan Brueghel, who gave O'Brien a 10th win in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom's Oaks Day meeting, was Melbourne Cup favourite only to be withdrawn by Racing Victoria veterinarians just days prior to the famous Flemington two miler.
O'Brien was asked about the Melbourne Cup controversy after Jan Brueghel, who was the unbeaten winner of the English St Leger last year, held off favourite Calandangan in a Coronation Cup thriller.
The champion Irish trainer has never won the Melbourne Cup but thought Jan Brueghel was weighted to win last year with 54kg.
'He was in with such a low weight. We thought he couldn't get beat, really,'' O'Brien said.
O'Brien was at the US Breeders Cup meeting when Jan Brueghel was scratched from the Melbourne Cup and was critical of Racing Victoria's strict veterinary protocols.
'They made the decision and our vets didn't agree with that,'' O'Brien said at the time.
'They said there was a shadow in front and a shadow behind, but every three-year-old at this time will have shadows and fissures and have this and have that.
'There comes a point when it becomes ridiculous, the horsemen and women have been taken out of the picture.'
O'Brien was asked at Epsom if Jan Brueghel would return for the Melbourne Cup this year and the Irish trainer replied emphatically: 'No, absolutely not!'
O'Brien suggested Jan Brueghel is likely to be set for the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July and has not ruled out running the stayer in Europe's most prestigious weight-for-age race, the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October.
Jan Brueghel was the first of two Group 1 winners for O'Brien at Epsom as he also trained the quinella in the English Oaks with Minnie Hauk defeated stablemate Whirl.
Minnie Hauk was O'Brien's 11th winner of the English Oaks.
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