Europe could be represented by as many as 17 horses in the 19th running of the Breeders' Cup meeting at Arlington on Saturday week. The card features eight races and a total of US $13million in prize-money.
Aidan O'Brien is responsible for 10 of the squad. Reach For The Moon goes for the Juvenile Fillies, Hold That Tiger, Tomahawk and Van Nistelrooy for the Juvenile (with Marino Marini and Ontario the two reserves), Hawk Wing for the Classic and High Chaparral for the Turf. The team is completed by Rock Of Gibraltar and Landseer in the Mile.
Running plans for O'Brien's three-year-old team are still subject to late change but Hawk Wing has been given a first preference entry in the Classic (over a mile and a quarter on dirt).
High Chaparral heads for a clash with the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Golan in the mile-and-a-half Turf after finishing third in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe earlier this month. Besides Golan, O'Brien fears the threat posed by former stablemate Ballingarry.
One race that has attracted a strong European contingent is the Filly & Mare Turf, in which Gossamer, Kazzia, Islington and Zenda are all set to line up, along with last year's winner Banks Hill (trained then by Andre Fabre but recently switched to Bobby Frankel in America). However, Dermot Weld's Irresistible Jewel will miss the race, with connections opting instead to tackle the Japan Cup.
Filed by Laura Reynolds
