Aidan O’Brien fields eight runners on America’s richest card

The tantalising prospect of landing the $6 million Classic will have to wait for another year, but Aidan O’Brien’s Breeders Cup input will still be considerable at Santa Anita

tonight even if the suspicion lingers that European hopes could be best served by Limato in the Mile.

No trainer fields more runners than O’Brien’s eight on American racing’s richest card, and three of those will take their chance in a Mile which has remained stubbornly elusive to the Irishman over the years.

Alice Springs is the main Ballydoyle hope this time in a race which has a history of allowing European sprinters extend their stamina around Santa Anita’s tight turf track.

Last Tycoon successfully did that all of 30 years ago, and since Limato already possesses high-class form over a mile, Henry Candy’s Foret and July Cup winner could be the one to fly the European flag this time.

He, and all O’Brien’s runners, race on lasix, which invariably casts a pall over all of US racing’s big days in terms of medication use.

Enthralling

However, any card that features Arc heroine Found defending her Turf crown, not to mention the prospect of a vintage Classic, will prove enthralling to many fans.

Discretion won out at the prospect of Found taking on California Chrome and Arrogate on dirt but it is not as if she does not face a tough task against both Flintshire and her own stable companion Highland Reel.

“She’s remarkable,without doubt the toughest I’ve ever trained. When you watch her winning the Arc you can see her strain every sinew in her body. She has a relentless will to win,” O’Brien said.

It is still a huge ask at the end of a busy campaign, however, especially after flying 6,000 miles. And it’s hard to forget too how Flintshire was a top-notcher in Europe before going to America and dominating.

If Washington DC has his chance in the Turf sprint, quite a lot of European hopes will be invested in Seventh Heaven in the Filly & Mare, although here too Chad Brown can prove a spoilsport with Lady Eli.

All of it, however, will be a prelude to a Classic run in the early hours of the morning that may well provide American racing’s great sentimental favourite California Chrome with a fairytale victory.