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Joseph O'Brien
Reply just too good for Weatherby's Sales race rivals
On the day that he admitted that his days as a Flat jockey are most probably numbered, young Joseph O'Brien showed exactly why he is already being tipped as a future Irish champion jumps jockey by landing the tremendously valuable Weatherby's Insurance £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes at Doncaster's St Leger meeting n board his father Aidan's talented colt Reply, writes Elliot Slater.
In a television interview screened before the six-furlong juvenile contest, 18-year-old O'Brien accepted that at 5'11 and already weighing 9 stones the prospects of him remaining active in Flat racing as a jockey for more than a couple more years are fairly slim and that he is already looking ahead to a career over the jumps. For the time being the talented youngster continues to make hay and he gave Ballydoyle's unconsidered Reply, 20/1 in the horse racing odds, a super-confident ride to bag one of the most valuable prizes of the entire British Flat racing calendar, with some £207,000 going the way of winning connections.
A winner at the Curragh in May, Reply had been far from disgraced when just over four-lengths fifth to La Collina in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the track in August, (returning after a mid-summer break), but was disappointing when beaten the same distance into sixth behind Caspar Netscher in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York's Ebor fixture a couple of weeks later. Those following the horseracing tips may have written him off.
Connections felt that the tacky ground at York was all against the son of Oasis Dream and suggested that the better going and less competitive nature (despite the 22 runners) of the sales race had proved ideal for their winner. A return to Britain looks on the cards for Reply who seems most likely to step back up into the top grade and tackle the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on October 8 on his next outing.
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