O'Brien wins gobs of big races in Ireland and Britain; this year, he has the best (St Nicholas Abbey) and several of the second best 2yos over there. If you take out Sea the Stars, he had the 3 or 4 best 3yos running this last year. His lack of serious success with his US raiders indicates that he has not yet completely worked out (as his countryman Dermot Weld apparently has) which horses are likely to adapt well to US racing conditions. Inside-the-main-track courses are like a bull-ring to horses used to straight miles or 1-turn 12f courses and only some of them can run their best race on such tight courses, at least in their first try.
PS. The only Euro racecourse that is remotely similar to a US course is Chester, a tight left-handed oval which seems to have straights of no longer than a furlong in length. A 'handy' position on the rail in the vanguard is the key to success at Chester.
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10-30-2009, 06:29 PM
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