Jan Brueghel holds off Calandagan in Coronation Cup thriller
Aidan O'Brien's St Leger hero Jan Brueghel held off Calandagan in a thrilling finish to the Betfred Coronation Cup at Epsom.
Unbeaten when winning the world's oldest Classic at Doncaster, he had been aimed at the Melbourne Cup later that year but was ruled out by the local vets and was then beaten on his return to action this spring in a Group Three.
Like so many O'Brien horses he improved enormously from his first run to his second and while the patiently-ridden Calandagan looked like gaining the upper hand more than once, the 8-13 favourite could never get in front and went down by half a length.
O'Brien said of the 100-30 winner: 'He's a very tough horse and Ryan (Moore) gave him a class ride. He doesn't surrender.
'He improved a lot from the last day and he was still pricking his ears.'
He went on: 'He was unbeaten last year and he was the biggest penalty kick ever in the Melbourne Cup, but didn't get to run.
'Ryan has given him an incredible ride and got him balanced and into a lovely rhythm. They started to race from a long way out, but it was incredible in the straight how he carried on.
'Everyone knew it was going to be a good gallop and Wayne Lordan (on Continuous) was there to ensure it was a good gallop, all everyone wanted was a solidly-run race and Ryan felt they were going fast enough for him.
'I thought Wayne was excellent at setting the pace and everyone was happy to get a lead off Wayne and when you get a race run at a suitable pace you know what distance you can go next or what not to. This way everyone learns.
'At Group One level he is a mile-and-a-half-plus horse and he's a very tough horse who would still be unbeaten if I hadn't run him at the Curragh.
'It's was a lovely run first time back and it was only over a mile and a quarter and he was beaten by a good horse of Joseph's (O'Brien, Galen). It was a bit unfair what I did pitching him in over that trip, but I needed to get him out early.
'He's a very brave horse and if you pass him slowly you're in trouble.'
This race was originally slated for Illinois prior to the shuffling of the Ballydoyle pack following Kyprios' retirement and O'Brien added: 'Everyone was standing in line behind Kyprios and he was always going to get first preference and there would be no move made on anything if he was going to Gold Cup.
'When he was retired Illinois was put in there and this fella came into Illinois' position. He was going to go for a Group One in Longchamp but then slotted in here.'
'He was headed there and battled back, but he's a tough horse.'
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