Morning work at Ballydoyle© Photo Healy Racing
If the 2016 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe wasn’t a vintage renewal, Aidan O’Brien’s achievement in saddling the first three in Europe’s most prestigious all-aged race can be regarded as perhaps the greatest singular result in an epic career which continues to redefine racing’s statistical history. Along with the Derby at Epsom, the Arc defines European racing. Never before has it been so dominated. The likelihood of such a clean-sweep ever occurring again must be as remote as any one trainer having the resources to realistically consider trying.
As always over the last two decades since he first started training for Coolmore, O’Brien’s colossal success has to get quantified in terms of the raw material he gets to work with. Since no one is quicker to point out the unique circumstances in which he operates, O’Brien probably realises the privileged position he holds better than anyone. So although he is entitled to point out how he was head-hunted by John Magnier in the first place - and retained for 20 years — it’s always worth pointing out how statistics alone can’t be an indicator of sporting greatness.
What is beyond dispute is that O’Brien has long been an automatic inclusion in any such bar-stool debates. And Found leading home Highland Reel and Order Of St George in the Arc is surely the most remarkable single accomplishment O’Brien can point to.
Clean-sweeping Group 1’s is nothing new to him. He has saddled the first three in the Irish Derby on five occasions. But this wasn’t home turf with competition loath to even contend in the first place. This was Europe’s greatest race. It mightn’t have been of Sea Bird or Dancing Brave vintage, but there was considerable depth to it, and it’s not like O’Brien went into it with an obvious strong hand.
In fact what was noteworthy was the unlikely make up of the raid. A four year old filly who had earned ‘bridesmaid’s status due to a run of five Group 1 seconds; a four year old colt who’d won an underwhelming King George and been busy on the international front, usually the Ballydoyle route for runners just below the very top division and often for sale; plus a Gold Cup winning stayer beaten at 1-7 on his previous start by a County Hurdle winner. Found’s chance was clear enough. The others were outsiders for a reason.
Yet there didn’t appear to be any semblance of fluke about it. Ground conditions were unseasonably quick. Anyone pointing to the draw as an excuse is deluded considering where the Ballydoyle trio came from. There didn’t appear to be any notable hard-luck stories in-running. And yet on the day that counts most, into which the entire European calendar runs, O’Brien produced his trio in shape to run the races of their lives: whichever way you choose to quantify that, it’s an incredible achievement and evidence of a truly exceptional talent.
Many could label Willie Mullins an exceptional training talent too. In fact Michael O’Leary has more than once described him as a genius. And everyone knows you can’t put a price on genius. Except, it seems, you can. Just over €2,000 a week in fact, based on reports of the figures involved in Gigginstown Stud’s split from the champion trainer. Considering O’Leary has apparently reached billionaire status it can be assumed then that this split is not actually about money at all. Instead it’s hard not to conclude it is simply another old-fashioned peeing contest.
They’re reassuringly familiar, even for those of us barely able to afford a pot to pee in, because they basically come down to plain old ego and everyone gets that.
There’s an interesting element to this though because inherent in O’Leary’s decision to wind up his link with Mullins for the sake of a couple of grand a week is an assumption that it won’t come back to bite him because others will simply take over the training of these 60 horses. So are we to believe these other trainers are geniuses too? Or maybe no trainer is a genius? Or was the man famous for his bullshit detector simply flannelling when it came to the ‘G’ word? Does the nature of training racehorses make such flattery just plain embarrassing?
What’s undeniable is that Mullins is entitled to raise his fees just as O’Leary is entitled not to pay them. Few if any in Ireland know the laws of supply and demand better than the Ryanair boss after all. And his decision does bring a welcome note of intrigue into the winter action before us. Nevertheless it looks significant that of both parties’ statements on the matter it was the Gigginstown one which didn’t rule out a possible rapprochement in the future.
Maybe most reassuring of all is that four days of results at Cheltenham in March will provide a definitive answer to this particular chicken and egg quandary between training talent and ownership spending-power.
Davy Russell has apologised for storming out of Clonmel last Thursday when he refused to ride two horses after being left furious at collecting 17 days in suspensions. That apology is no more than was due. For a top professional jockey to display such a lack of professionalism is simply not on. It brought to mind William Buick’s petulant display in France during the summer when he accused the stewards of being corrupt and wound up getting banned for 30 days. Jockeys do an exceptional job: that doesn’t exempt them from mundane responsibilities or standards of behaviour.
And finally, those of us weaned on watching the Arc on terrestrial TV over the years will have noted its absence this time. It appears Channel 4 simply didn’t want it. On RTE we were treated to the FAI Cup semi final. There was a time when RTE covering the Arc was the norm. Racing’s place in the TV pecking order continues to slide, relegated this time behind Dundalk V Derry. It doesn’t take a genius to see where this is going.
