One by one, 10 of the world's most regally bred Thoroughbreds cantered past the finish line at Santa Anita Park Oct. 31, signaling that Europe's premier trainer, Aidan O'Brien, and the world-famous Coolmore Team was in the house.
"It's an absolute pleasure for us to come here," O'Brien said. "It's a beautiful climate, beautiful setting, and great racing. It's something we look forward to every year."
O'Brien, decked out in Justify gear to represent the Triple Crown winner and Coolmore America stallion, watched his classy contingent from a viewing area near the finish line, accompanied by members of the Coolmore hierarchy, including M.V. Magnier. Afterward, he was quite pleased with his horses' initial trip around the California track following their release from the quarantine barn.
"I'm delighted with them. I asked (the riders) as they walked by, and they all seemed happy. It was just a canter around, and it seemed to go lovely," O'Brien said.
O'Brien has 12 Breeders' Cup wins—tied for third with Chad Brown on the all-time list—and his 10 starters in the Nov. 1-2 World Championships stand a strong chance of adding to that total.
"There's a chance there with some of them," he said about his runners, each with Coolmore's Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor involved in the ownership. "Maybe a few didn't get good draws, but that's the way it goes. It can't go perfectly all the time. They're all in good form."
Among his leading hopefuls is Anthony Van Dyck, who will bring O'Brien into a matchup with Brown, a three-time Eclipse Award winner and America's king of turf racing.
O'Brien won the 2011 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) with St Nicholas Abbey. Brown has never won the race, but has an excellent chance of changing that with the 1 1/2-mile stakes' 9-5 favorite, Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Horse of the Year favorite Bricks and Mortar.
The 5-year-old's biggest threat could come from Anthony Van Dyck, the 3-1 morning-line second choice. A son of Galileo, Anthony Van Dyck was last seen in the United States finishing ninth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), but he has bloomed under O'Brien's watchful eye at 3.
He won the famed Investec Derby (G1) in June but did not visit the winner's circle in his past three starts. Most recently, he was third in the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes (G1) behind stablemate and 2018 Turf runner-up Magical, who was scheduled to run in the Turf but became ill and was retired.
"We feel he has a very nice chance," said O'Brien, who is seeking an unprecedented seventh victory in the Turf. "We think he'll handle the track and the ground, the trip and the draw and everything else. He seems to be in good form."
Anthony Van Dyck landed post 5, but two of O'Brien's other top contenders did not fare as well at the draw.
Arizona, a No Nay Never 2-year-old, is the 5-2 favorite in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America (G1T) but will have to overcome post 12 in a field of 14.
"Arizona will like the track and the ground," O'Brien said about the winner of the Coventry Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot. "The only thing not in his favor is the draw."
Circus Maximus was set as the 3-1 choice in the TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) but has post 9 in a field of 14. The 3-year-old son of Galileo prevailed by a nose in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1) against older horses in his previous start and has two wins and a second in his past four races, all in group 1 company.
"He's in a good form, but he drew a little bit out. He's had a busy enough year, but he seems to be in good form. He's a very lazy horse back home, but when he races, he's better," said the 50-year-old master of Ballydoyle.
The rest of O'Brien's fleet: Fleeting and Just Wonderful in the $2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T); Tango and Etoile in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T); King Neptune in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T); Mount Everest in the Turf; and Fort Myers in the Juvenile Turf.
