Order of Australia Returns to Keeneland

There aren't many sure things in horse racing but here's one: Order of Australia  won't be 73-1 going to the post Oct. 9 in the $750,000 Keeneland Turf Mile (G1T).

Those were the odds on the now 4-year-old Australia  colt when he led an Aidan O'Brien-trained trio to a 1-2-3 sweep in the 2020 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) 11 months ago, also at Keeneland.

After that shocker, Order of Australia went to Hong Kong, where he mustered only a sixth-place showing in the Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) Dec. 13—a race won by Hong Kong superstar and reigning Horse of the Year Golden Sixty.

He was slow into stride this year but has picked things up as the weather changed, finishing third behind the powerful pair Palace Pier  and Poetic Flair in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois (G1) Aug. 15 at Deauville and second behind only odds-on favorite Baaeed  in the Sept. 5 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1).

O'Brien has been targeting the U.S. trip since mid-summer.

"He has plenty of speed and gets a mile well," the trainer commented after Order of Australia's pacesetting win in the seven-furlong Romanised Minstrel Stakes (G2) at the Curragh July 18. "He's a horse to look forward to and can go to America later in the year."

Accordingly, Order of Australia arrived at Keeneland Oct. 5 after a brief quarantine in Louisville. He and two stablemates had a light work the next morning.

"That was what we call a steady canter," said O'Brien assistant Kieran Murphy. "They went to the track Sunday morning back home."

Order of Australia would be guaranteed a fees-paid slot in the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Mile with a victory at Keeneland thanks to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series.

Owned by a Coolmore partnership that also includes Anne Marie O'Brien, Order of Australia was bred by Whisperview Trading. He is out of the Danehill  mare Senta's Dream , who also produced the late Santa Barbara , winner of the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1T) at Belmont Park and the Beverly D. (G1T) at Arlington International Racecourse, and Iridessa , a group/grade 1 winner.

Ivar , who finished fourth behind the O'Brien trio in the Breeders' Cup, will try again in the Keeneland Mile. The 5-year-old by Agnes Gold  won this race in 2020 when it was known as the Shadwell Turf Mile but has raced only once since the Breeders' Cup, finishing sixth in the May 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1T) at Churchill Downs. In that, he was away last of nine, raced wide, and made up a lot of ground to be beaten only two lengths for it all as Colonel Liam  and Domestic Spending  dead-heated for first.

Ivar is trained by Paulo Lobo, who also saddles In Love, another 5-year-old by Agnes Gold. Winner of a Keeneland allowance heat in October 2020, In Love exits a victory in the Sept. 8 TVG Stakes at Kentucky Downs.

The rich Kentucky Downs meet also sends the first four from the Sept. 6 WinStar Mint Million (G3T)—Pixelate , Somelikeithotbrown , Monarchs Glen , and Argentello . Pixelate is a Godolphin homebred City Zip  colt; Somelikeithotbrown, a 5-year-old by Big Brown  ; Monarchs Glen, a 7-year-old Frankel  gelding; Argentello, a 6-year-old by Intello .

Among the others in the Keeneland Mile, Tell Your Daddy  was a front-running winner of the Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2T) over yielding turf at Saratoga Race Course in his last start, Diamond Oops  won the six-furlong Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes (G2) on the Keeneland main track last October, and Field Pass  was a fading fourth in the April 9 Maker's Mark Mile (G1T).

Entries: Keeneland Turf Mile S. (G1T)

Keeneland, Saturday, October 09, 2021, Race 10

• Grade IT
• 1m
• Turf
• $750,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:46 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Front Run the Fed (KY)	Francisco Arrieta	126	Caio Caramori	20/1
2	2Argentello (IRE)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	126	Conor Murphy	30/1
3	3In Love (BRZ)	Alex Achard	126	Paulo H. Lobo	20/1
4	4Space Traveller (GB)	Daniel Alexander Tudhope	126	Brendan P. Walsh	6/1
5	5Tell Your Daddy (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	126	Thomas Morley	8/1
6	6Ivar (BRZ)	Joseph Talamo	126	Paulo H. Lobo	5/1
7	7Pixelate (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	126	Michael Stidham	9/2
8	8Brown Storm (CHI)	Hector Isaac Berrios	126	Amador Merei Sanchez	50/1
9	9Monarchs Glen (GB)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	126	Michael J. Maker	20/1
10	10Order of Australia (IRE)	John R. Velazquez	126	Aidan P. O'Brien	7/2
11	11Diamond Oops (KY)	Florent Geroux	126	Patrick L. Biancone	15/1
12	12Field Pass (MD)	Flavien Prat	126	Michael J. Maker	12/1
13	13Somelikeithotbrown (NY)	Jose L. Ortiz	126	Michael J. Maker	9/2