Rip Van Winkle retired to stud after setback
Observers have grown used to the Aidan O’Brien rhetoric; the way that horses are described as “unbelievably special”.
True, it is normally uttered within the confines of the winner’s enclosure after a Group One victory and, with 173 of those to the trainer’s credit, he could probably argue that there is a solid case that he does not overuse the term but merely has more of the commodity than most trainers in Thoroughbred history.
Regardless, there was never any denying the place that Rip Van Winkle held within O’Brien’s hierarchy of champions he has trained at Ballydoyle. The only question may be whether the public ever quite saw on the racetrack what O’Brien was privy to on the gallops each morning.
The colt, who was being prepared for a trip to America for the Breeders’ Cup next month – either the Mile or the Classic, won only five of his 14 career starts for earnings of £1,201,333. Three of those victories, in the Sussex, Queen Elizabeth II and Juddmonte International, were Group Ones but he was beaten in another nine races at championship level. Hardly the record from which legends are hewn.
And yet O’Brien never wavered in his belief in the Galileo colt, who will now stand alongside his sire at the Coolmore Stud in Ireland. “Rip Van Winkle has had a very slight setback and, while it is very minor, it would have meant forcing him to get him to Churchill Downs. So the decision has been made to retire him," O’Brien said to the Racing Post.
“Everyone knows how good I always thought he was. His big thing was his incredible speed. We knew he had that from the first day he worked. He did win the Juddmonte International over a mile-and-a-quarter this year, but he was a miler first and foremost."
Perhaps, but he was also fragile. Not that such brittleness – he was plagued by hoof problems last season – stopped O’Brien and stable jockey Johnny Murtagh from spending the first half of the season chasing Sea The Stars (he was in good company in that fruitless pursuit) in the 2000 Guineas, Derby and Eclipse. But then Rip Van Winkle won the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot to finally give substance to the belief of Murtagh that this was one of the best horses he has ridden, and one that had tested O’Brien’s skills to the limit.
After that victory in the Queen Elizabeth II, O’Brien said: “In February he got a really bad infection in all four of his heels. The infection went down into his feet and because of that the bottom layer of his foot has been coming away the whole year. I’ve never seen a horse with this kind of a pain threshold to go through what he went through and look the way he has. He was very sore after Goodwood but, in the last two weeks, he’s had a good run at it.”
His next run, 10th of 12 behind Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was one too many, and this year Rip Van Winkle took time to get his act together. He was only sixth to Goldikova in the Queen Anne Stakes and nailed close home by Canford Cliffs in the Sussex before winning the International at York in August, when he played the stealthy assassin to beat Twice Over by a half-length.
O’Brien blamed the soft ground when Rip Van Winkle was second to stable companion Cape Blanco in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and, on what was to be his final start, he lost out by a nose to Poet's Voice when bidding to defend his title the Queen Elizabeth II.
The loss of Rip Van Winkle further depletes O’Brien’s team for the Breeders’ Cup. Both Fame and Glory and Cape Blanco, who finished fifth and 13th respectively behind Workforce in the Prix de l’Arc at Longchamp three weeks ago, will not be making the trip to Churchill Downs for the Turf but stay in training for next year.
Beethoven will be their runner in the Mile, Bright Horizon a possible for the Marathon and Together a contender for the Juvenile Fillies' Turf. O’Brien still has a possible three for the Juvenile Turf – Treasure Beach, Seville, Master of Hounds - although no final decision has been made.
Whether any of them has the special quality needed to win at the meeting remains to be seen.
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