Breeders' Cup: O'Brien discusses who he's bringing – and not

Aidan O'Brien, winner of 16 Breeders' Cup races, is bringing a contingent of 11 to this year's championships.

In a media conference Wednesday he discussed standouts Auguste Rodin, Paddington and others who will, and won’t, be at Santa Anita next weekend.

The first topic of discussion, moderated by Jim Gluckson of Breeders’ Cup media relations, was Auguste Rodin, winner of three Group 1 races this year. The 3-year-old colt’s last start was a half-length win in the Irish Champion Stakes (G1) at Leopardstown on Sept. 9. He is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

“Everything has went well,” O’Brien said. “He's had a nice long clean run into this race, and it's a race that we always thought that he would really suit. We were delighted with him (in) the Champion Stakes, and obviously Leopardstown is a left-handed, fast track and the ground was nice on the day. So we were delighted with him and we just thought and hoped that would set him up lovely for your Breeders' Cup race. It's a race we have had our eye on all year, so hopefully everything goes well in the next few days.”

Gluckson then asked about Paddington, the 3-year-old colt who started the year with six straight wins, including four Group 1 stakes, before finishing third in the Juddmonte International (G1) and ninth in the Queen Elizabeth II (G1) at Ascot on Saturday. He is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

O’Brien said Paddington has had “a very busy season, and he turned up in all the big races time after time and he wasn't having a big break between them. He was kind of running on a two, three, four weeks back up all the time. And he kept producing in all the top races obviously, from Ascot to Goodwood, missing the Irish Classic, then started in the Irish Guineas then went on from there.

"Last time, he had a good break into the last race," O'Brien said. "It was a bit fresh in very deep, heavy ground. He just ran a little bit too keen early and (jockey Ryan Moore) just looked after him maybe. So that was one of those races you could put a line through. But he seems to come out of the race very well, and we were looking forward to him in the Mile. He's very classy, he's fast and he's hardy and he's tough and he's tactical as well.”

O’Brien also was asked about Opera Singer, a 2-year-old Justify filly who has won her last two starts, both Group stakes. She was not pre-entered for the Breeders’ Cup, and her trainer said she has “had a busy offseason.”

After her last race, he said “she worked very well, but she was a little bit quiet after it. And obviously the season was a long and hard and a tough year and the plan was to go with her” to the Breeders’ Cup.

“It was a tough race, the last. She won very easily, but we just felt when she was a little bit quiet to be fair to her with a view to looking at next year. It might be better to finish her off and give her a nice, long winter break and that's the reason (for skipping the Breeders’ Cup). But if that didn't happen she would have been there. But we think for the filly, for her benefit, it was the right thing not to ask her to travel.”

O’Brien then was asked about Content, a 2-year-old filly who is pre-entered in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She broke her maiden in August, then lost her next two before winning the Staffordstown Stud (G3) last out at Curraugh.

“We liked her last,” O’Brien said. “She won her maiden, and then she was a little bit disappointing the run before this, she was a little bit keen.”

For her last race, he said, he and his team “took our time with her and she came home and won very easily. … She's a classy filly, a very well-bred Galileo filly, and we think the race will suit her well.”

O’Brien also addressed the unusual decision to pre-enter Johannes Brahms in both the Juvenile Turf, his first preference, and the Juvenile.

He said running the colt, who has a record of 4: 1-2-1, on dirt is “definitely a possibility. We've always kept him to six furlongs, thinking of this is what we could do because we just feel our horses, when they're going to run on your dirt-mile races, they kind of need that six-furlong pace. And we always thought he would get much further than six and wanted it. But we were just trying to keep the pace in him. But there's every chance that we could do that with him.

"He's a big, hearty horse that's had plenty racing. And it would be interesting to see what would happen if we did. There's definitely a chance that he could. … He's tactically quick. And he's big strong horse, a very good mover. and he has loads of experience and loads of strength and scope, we think.”