RACING NEWS:AIDAN O'BRIEN'S eight-strong Breeders' Cup team left Ireland on a direct flight to Los Angeles last evening ahead of what could be a momentous meeting for the champion trainer.
But any threat the Americans may feel from Ballydoyle's finest appears to pale in comparison to what Australians fear Septimus will end up doing in the Melbourne Cup.
The Classic pair of Duke Of Marmalade and Henrythenavigator head O'Brien's squad at Santa Anita, and the trainer said yesterday: "No final decision has been taken on which of them Johnny (Murtagh) will ride. It could be the Duke, but it's not certain yet."
The Ballydoyle team also include Solider Of Fortune and Red Rock Canyon (Turf), US Ranger (Mile), Halfway To Heaven (Filly and Mare Turf), Westphalia (Juvenile Turf) and Heart Shaped (Juvenile Filly Turf.)
The last of O'Brien's three Breeders' Cup victories came five years ago at Santa Anita when High Chaparral dead-heated with Johar in the Turf. This year's meeting, however, is the first run on the new Pro-Ride synthetic surface which has replaced the old dirt track.
After the Santa Anita action on Friday and Saturday night, O'Brien's focus will switch to Australia and his three-pronged attempt on the Melbourne Cup.
It may be a fortnight until "the race that stops a nation", but victory for Godolphin's All The Good in last weekend's Caulfield Cup has the normally brash locals running scared of what Septimus might do to them at Flemington.
After All The Good's victory, in which he had Luca Cumani's Mad Rush behind him in fourth, the top Australian trainer, David Hayes, summed up the general mood Down Under. "They say you couldn't even compare those Caulfield Cup horses with Septimus. They wouldn't even be in the same race as him back home," Hayes was quoted as saying. "It might not be a good year to have a go at the cup. There could be a big gap between us."
Septimus continues his preparation alongside stable companions Alessandro Volta and Honolulu at Sandown Park outside Melbourne.
Dermot Weld's Profound Beauty will be ridden by local jockey Glen Boss, a three-time Cup winner on Makybe Diva, but it is Septimus who seems to be exercising the minds of the local horse-players who appear to be making their excuses early, especially after the O'Brien star escaped a weight hike for landing the Irish Leger by 13 lengths.
• Today's scheduled meeting at Roscommon was called off yesterday morning after the track had 15mm of overnight rain. The weather has already played a hand in this weekend's Wexford fixtures with the three scheduled steeplechases abandoned yesterday.
