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Aidan O'Brien: unbelievable specimen Mogul will be suited by Breeders' Cup Turf

Mogul: could be still progressing
Mogul created a big impression in winning the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp last monthCredit: Quentin Bertrand (APRH)

Aidan O'Brien believes missing the Arc might actually have been a blessing in disguise for Mogul who will try to make him the most successful trainer in the history of the Breeders' Cup Turf with an unprecedented seventh win in the race.

Mogul was caught up in the contaminated feed fiasco which spoiled Arc weekend for the O'Brien family, but the trainer thinks the ground at Longchamp would not have suited him anyway and thinks the tight turns of Keeneland will be more his cup of tea.

O'Brien said: "We were training Mogul for the Arc and he didn't get to go. The Arc was very tough ground and maybe to miss that ground wouldn't have been any harm. He is a horse with a lot of speed. He likes racing. He's a big, gross horse. He is made like a miler. He takes plenty of racing to keep him right. He's an unbelievable specimen to look at.

"The track is a little bit tighter than he would be used to, but he is a horse that really quickens. I think that's what you really need to win those races in America."

Magical is likely to join Mogul in the Turf, a race she chased home Enable in two years ago. She also has the option of the Filly & Mare Turf, but either way she is most certainly heading Stateside.

O'Brien said of the seven-time Group 1 winner: "Magical is an unbelievable filly. She has run at the top level from when she was a two-year-old. She's danced every dance and travelled everywhere. She is very comfortable from a mile to a mile and a half, which is very unusual. She is very brave, stays well, and has a good mind. She's an incredible mare."

Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore hold hands after Enable's victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf
Magical (left) ran Enable close in the Breeders' Cup Turf two years ago, and she'll likely be joining Mogul for this year's runningCredit: Edward Whitaker

Battleground, next year's ante-post favourite for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas, is set to appear for the first time since winning the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood in July, and he is favourite for the Juvenile Turf.

O'Brien said: "We think Keeneland will suit him. He's a big powerful horse out of Found. He's very classy and travels very nicely – he's big and he's strong and he's been getting seven furlongs very well, so we think he'll get the mile. He's a horse to look forward to, we think."

Two other O'Brien contenders heading to the US, Circus Maximus and Lope Y Fernandez, will contest the Mile.

"Lope Y Fernandez has been running over shorter distances and probably quickens better, but whether he is hard enough or tough enough to beat the likes of Circus Maximus, I'm not sure. If Circus Maximus gets a nice draw, it'll be very interesting," O'Brien said.


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Deputy Ireland editor

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