Al Riffa out to claim third Melbourne Cup for trainer Joseph O'Brien

Trained by Joseph O'Brien and ridden by Dylan Brown McMonagle, the five-year-old Al Riffa was sporting the colours of Australian Bloodstock at the Curragh and powered home to score by four lengths from three-year-old Amiloc.

The son of Wootton Bassett is now two from two over the mile and three-quarter trip having also won the Curragh Cup over the same course and distance in July and hopes are hight that he could become O'Brien's third victory in the 'race that stops a nation' following on from Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020).

Australian Bloodstock Directors Jamie Lovett said on Monday's Nick Luck Daily Podcast: "It is a handicap our big two-mile race but I think he's earnt that weight (officially published on Tuesday September 16). He's now been out twice past a mile and a half and he couldn't have been more impressive so he gives a great deal of confidence that he'll stay the trip and class will carry him a long way.

"He wasn't a hard horse to find, he's been on our radar and probably a lot of radars over the last 12 months, I guess we're just very thankful for the support of a couple of good clients who were desperate to have a horse not only that they could run in a Melbourne Cup, but they're based in Europe and Dubai so they love the idea of going to Hong Kong after the Melbourne Cup if all was well with the horse.

"We might find ourselves at Dubai World Cup night and then onto Royal Ascot in a perfect world. You need a very special horse if you're going to aim that high. We just felt that he fit the criteria and he's travelled before.

"He's a very sound horse and it was the first time I'd laid eyes on him yesterday at the Curragh, he's a very imposing and impressive animal.

"One thing that stood out to me was that in the parade he's such a lovely, relaxed horse. There was a fair bit happening there prior (to the race), the wind was blowing across the course and there was a good crowd. His demeanour, you need that on Melbourne Cup day, he's got a lovely attitude and he takes that into his racing.

"They probably over-did it in front but he relaxed under Dylan the whole way round and when he put the handle bars down he finds gear. Once thing we know about the Melbourne Cup is that you need a fast stayer, when they're dour it just hasn't worked over the years, and he certainly ticks that box with his change-up speed."

Caulfield Cup main aim for Vauban?

Australian Bloodstock are now also responsible for the former Willie Mullins inmate, Vauban, who has joined trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott with a view to potentially having a third crack at the Flemington feature this November.

Vauban has finished 14th and 11th in the Melbourne Cup while owned by Rich and Susannah Ricci and trained by Mullins, but Lovett is confident there could be a big effort in the seven-year-old this time around.

He said: "Gai and Adrian have done an amazing job with that horse, obviously it's been well reported that he loses his way a bit in the parade pre-race but he appears to be a different horse. His run the other day in a very high-level mile race where he ran third was probably a career-best while he's been with us and he'll go up to a mile and a quarter on Saturday and then he'll step up, probably one more run before the Caulfield Cup into the Melbourne Cup.

"But he's very well placed where he's at.

"We're fortunate in Australia, there are plenty of races he can run in. He is like a lot of these horses better for the time in Australia, they're very hard to run off the plane if they haven't got that right, relaxed demeanour that he doesn't appear to have. Everything we've seen in the last six weeks, he's in a really good place.

"They generally don't have three goes and win a Melbourne Cup - it's never been done. But I think a race like the Caulfield Cup would be right on his radar and top-weights have a good record in Caulfield Cups."

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