Top broadcaster Mike Cattermole reflects on the Melbourne Cup, Breeders' Cup and more
Top broadcaster Mike Cattermole reflects on the Melbourne Cup, Breeders' Cup, George Baker, Our Duke and more in his latest column.
Joseph simply bred to make it - and quickly!
Two former, brilliant, but unnaturally very tall flat jockeys had contrasting weeks this week.
George Baker bowed to the inevitable and announced his retirement and Joseph O’Brien became the youngest trainer, at 24, to win a Melbourne Cup.
Rekindling, the horse I had backed for the Long Distance Cup after his staying-on fourth in the St Leger, ran without a penny of my support (don’t ask) on Tuesday morning at Flemington as he made history.
Joseph has wasted no time at all in making an impression as a trainer, having retired from a brilliant but brief career as a jockey just 18 months ago. He had his first Group One winner last year (and, as at Melbourne, also beating his father into second place).
If you think about it, none of this should have come as any great surprise as he is simply bred to be precociously successful; it’s what his family does.
Father Aidan had just turned 30 when he became champion Flat trainer in Ireland for the first time in 1999. However, he was a similar age to Joseph when he had taken out his licence six years previously and promptly won the Irish jumps championship in 1993-4. That was 12 months after his wife Anne-Marie, then pregnant with Joseph, had won the title herself at the age of 23!
Yes, the O’Brien’s are, quite simply, an extraordinary family.
I wonder how Joseph’s career will pan out. At the moment, the stable at Piltown is more geared to National Hunt. Will it stay that way and will the Irish jumping scene witness a fascinating three-way power struggle with Messrs Mullins and Elliott over the next few years?
Or will he start to concentrate more on the Flat and go head-to-head with his father who may one day hand over to him at Ballydoyle?
Given that he rode his first winner as recently as 2009, what Joseph has achieved in the sport already is quite incredible for one so young. Thirty Group One wins, 10 Classics spread across Ireland and Britain, an Irish apprentice championship in 2011 and then the full Irish champion jockey’s title in 2012.
Yes, these landmarks achieved with the backing of his father’s all-powerful stable but don’t be fooled into thinking that any fool could sit on the Ballydoyle bluebloods and simply point them in the right direction. This is a very serious multi-million pound business and the pressure on Joseph must have been immense, probably even more so because he was the boss’s son.
Remember that he has three younger siblings who are all doing rather well, too. This O’Brien dynasty is going to be around for a long time.
Good luck to George Baker
For those of us who had been following him for a while and admiring his array of talents in the saddle, George Baker’s triumph in the 2016 St Leger on Harbour Law was widely celebrated.
To think that his career was to end in such brutal circumstances just four months later on the frozen lake in St Moritz is just so sad. I suppose we all knew it was inevitable that George would be forced into retirement, in spite of having made such a remarkable recovery.
Sure, we will miss watching him deliver the perfect hold-up ride around Lingfield Park but that is a small price to pay; you have to take the positives – as he has done – and it is just great the he is still with us and can watch his daughter Bella grow up.
One of the most popular men in the sport, I have mentioned before at the wonder of George being able to keep his weight in check when he stands at around six feet tall. His demeanour never, ever changed, that’s the amazing thing.
I have come across many jockeys whose weight-control regimes have led to extreme mood swings – understandably so. But George seemed immune to them.
I hope that this bright, personable man finds plenty of work and I am sure he won’t be devoid of offers, either from the two racing channels or perhaps as a jockey coach, to name just two obvious options.
Britain still waits
Iain Jardine’s Nakeeta did himself proud in the Melbourne Cup, running fifth and indeed was the first home of those horses drawn in double figures.
Marmelo faded disappointingly out of it in the home straight and failed to build on his encouraging trial. This would not have come as any surprise to his trainer Hughie Morrison whose unexpected downbeat demeanour after the Caulfield Cup is now readily explained. “I would have preferred to have sent him straight there,” he had said to me.
The Irish 1-2-3 was a fantastic achievement and the long wait for a British win is extended. Don’t worry, we will win it one day. That is a sporting certainty. I just hope I am around to witness it!
Del Mar a strange choice
I have not been to Del Mar but it looks like a nice racecourse in a lovely part of the world. Whether this tightest of tight circuits should have been chosen as a Breeders’ Cup venue – the self proclaimed “world championships”, don’t forget - is another matter, though, and that may explain some of the odd results over the meeting.
I don’t know the protocol in choosing a BC track and recall similar feelings while attending Lone Star Park on the outskirts of Dallas some years ago. That was a strange one.
Almost as odd was the decision to send Churchill to the Classic and he duly struggled badly on the dirt and finished tailed off. Ballydoyle/Coolmore get most things right but this was an afterthought that was doomed to failure.
So both Churchill and Arrogate, who had massive reputations just six months ago, ended their careers disappointingly and head off to the breeding sheds with their racing careers looking more than a touch ambiguous.
On their day, they were clearly very good indeed and at least Churchill bounced back with placings at York and Ascot. As for Arrogate, I can only think that he must have had a mental or physical problem, or both, as he was a shadow of the horse who had defeated California Chrome in that unforgettable Classic at Santa Anita a year ago.
Other stars who we won’t be seeing again include Highland Reel who as usual gave everything in trying to defend his Turf crown even though he was a bit below his best. He was a horse that grew in popularity every time he showed up – and he showed up a lot. The six-time Group One winner, who was placed in seven others, has now overtaken Cirrus Des Aigles as the highest stakes earner in Europe.
Richard Fahey was disappointed with Ribchester but he needn’t be as the track didn’t play to his strengths at all. He was a top-class, consistent miler who never ran a bad race.
Our Duke will be back
I am expecting big things from Our Duke this season so his failure at Down Royal on Saturday was a disappointing start. However, he was clearly a sick horse and a line can be drawn through that.
In spite of having a perfectly good excuse, he was universally eased in the market for the Gold Cup and is now freely available at a whopping 16-1 (14-1 with SkyBet).
Meanwhile, two members of the established order of chasing stars were in the wars at Wetherby. Cue Card’s fall was a little concerning as it looked the same familiar mistake that has caused him to come down before. Every time this national treasure of a horse runs, we will be holding our breath.
Meanwhile, poor Coneygree is being patched up again after suffering an overreach. Come next March, it will be three years since his famous Gold Cup win and his physical fragility has sadly stopped him from being one of the greats.
I hope he will be back in time for the old Hennessy, sorry Ladbrokes Trophy, at the end of the month. There’s a story waiting to be told there.
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