Arlington Million trip with Cairo has Haynes in dreamland

South Wales Guardian

2 days ago

The five-year-old son of American multiple Grade One winner Quality Road will be making a maiden trip Stateside for the historic mile-and-a-quarter contest, which is now held at Colonial Downs.
Cairo – who was behind only then-stablemate Paddington in the Irish 2,000 Guineas when trained by Aidan O'Brien – was best of the rest at 100-1 as Docklands narrowly defeated Rosallion in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting.
Having already faced high-calibre fields this season, Cairo will add to that list by taking on 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in Virginia.
'Going into Royal Ascot, I did feel the horse was as well as we've ever had him,' Haynes told her yard sponsor, Coral.
'He was absolutely flying at home so I had high hopes he would run a big race, but even so, to finish third in a field of that quality did surprise me, in the best possible way obviously!
'I'd always thought that coming to America would suit him, and having discussed it with the owner, going into Ascot we very much had it in our minds.
'He still needed to run a big race at Ascot to make the trip viable, but of course he produced that big run.
'The team from Colonial Downs were at the track that day and chatting to them after the Queen Anne really did make up our mind to come here.'
Haynes has now set her sights on rewarding her stable star, who arrived in New York last week before an eight-hour journey to Virginia, with a couple of lucrative races in the United States before returning home.
'He's an old pro now when it comes to travelling, so he's taken it all in his stride and acclimatised well,' Haynes added.
'The temperature is cooler than it was here last week apparently so while it's still warm, it's more comfortable for him now.
'He had a couple of canters on the dirt when he first got here and his latest piece of work has been on the turf, under his big-race pilot Ben Curtis.
'Ben actually contacted us when he saw we were running the horse over here and I think he will be a really good fit for the horse.
'He's obviously got plenty of experience riding European horses, but he's been in America long enough now to have the local knowledge as well, which I think could be really important in a race like this.
'We're under no illusions about the task we face though, and realistically, finishing in the first three would be a tremendous achievement.
'The plan after this weekend is to send him down to Keeneland to be based with Ed Vaughan and aim him at a richly-endowed race at Kentucky Downs.
'It is just so exciting to be involved in a big international race like this, it really is what we have worked so hard to achieve.'