O'Brien Believes Breeders' Cup Turf Will Suit Mogul

Trainer Aidan O'Brien believes missing the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) might actually have been a blessing in disguise for Mogul who will try to give him an unprecedented seventh win in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).

Heading into this year with six Breeders' Cup Turf victories, O'Brien is already the leading trainer in the race's history.

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 ParisLongchamp would not have suited him anyway and thinks the tight turns of Keeneland Nov. 7 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 Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), but either way, she is most certainly heading in the U.S. 

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 2-year-old. She's danced every dance and traveled 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."

Battleground, next year's ante-post favorite for the QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas (G1), is set to appear for the first time since winning the Veuve Clicquot Vintage Stakes (G2) at Goodwood in July, and he is the anticipated betting choice in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America (G1T). 

O'Brien said: "We think Keeneland will suit him. He's a big powerful horse out of Found (the 2015 Breeders' Cup Turf winner at Keeneland). 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 Keeneland, Circus Maximus and Lope Y Fernandez, will contest the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T). 

"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.