Aidan O’Brien hot favourite ruled out of Breeders’ Cup after giving ‘10 coughs’
Precise, the two-time Group 1 winner, was the hot favourite for the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf at Del Mar on Friday but became a dramatic late scratch
Aidan O’Brien and Europe’s Breeders’ Cup’s team lost one of its bankers on Friday when Precise had to be ruled out on the day of the meeting. Two-year-old filly Precise has won four of her five starts, including the Group 1 races, the Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket and the Moyglate Stud Stakes at the Curragh.
As a result she was a hot favourite to give Europe a winner on day one of the championships at Del Mar on Friday under Christophe Soumillon. O’Brien said in the lead up: “Precise is very special. She looks a special filly, if not one of the most special fillies we’ve had.
“The way she has progressed from every run. She’s lovely and relaxed and got lazy in the middle of the Fillies’ Mile and came back and won on the bridle.
“She’s unusual with what she’s doing and it’s going to be very tough on Friday, but she will get a lot of experience from this and hopefully she’ll come back okay.
“We’re just lucky that the lads love racing so much that the prestige of being here and winning their races and this is where they want to be. We appreciate them being that way because obviously racing and competing in these races is what we are hoping and like to do.”
However six hours before the £750,000 race, O’Brien revealed she would not take her place in the 14-runner field.
It leaves the trainer without a runner in the prestigious contest, and reduces his chance of closing on his own world record score of 28 top level victories in a year.
O’Brien said: “Precise gave ten coughs this morning. We sent her bloods to the lab and unfortunately the results weren’t satisfactory, so she won’t run.”
Charlie Appleby runner Military Code has also been ruled out of the Juvenile Turf Sprint