Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien says his opinion and those of Racing Victoria stewards on unbeaten star Jan Brueghel differ wildly and he firmly believes he was the horse to beat in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.
Racing Victoria made the tough decision to scratch the Melbourne Cup favourite on Tuesday morning, following scans, with the tough protocol surrounding international runners a major point of contention for O’Brien and other overseas trainers.
O’Brien told Sky Sports said the ruling had been based off opinion, rather than fact, and he was confident the three-year-old could notch up a fifth successive victory.
“No, everything was perfect,” O’Brien said.
“He went through all the hoops, he had all the scans, and then there was another scan he had to do down there. Our vets looked at them and said they were fine, but the Australian vets weren’t happy with them.”
O’Brien had been confident he could go one better than his two runner-ups in the Melbourne Cup with Jan Brueghel, with gun jockey Ryan Moore carrying just 54kg, but stewards ruled against the Irish stayer.
“It’s unlucky for us, probably lucky for them because we think he’s a Group 1 horse proper,” O’Brien said.
“An improving Group 1 horse in a handicap (carrying 54kg) with Ryan Moore on him… It’s easy to say it now but we thought he was a massive handicap blot. But that’s the way it is; they’re the rules and that’s what they decided.”
O’Brien said Jan Brueghel may set his sights on Hong Kong racing, with several lucrative mile and half staying races coming up in the next few months, including the Hong Kong International Races.
“We’ll get him back, regroup and we’ll see if we can take him to Hong Kong for the mile and a half and go from there,” O’Brien said.
With Cox Plate winner Via Sistina also in doubt for the Melbourne Cup, Buckaroo ($6), Onesmoothoperator ($6.50) and last year’s favourite Vauban ($7) have been backed heavily.
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