04 November 2023 , 01:06
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A trying day for Aidan O’Brien on Breeders’ Cup Friday ended better than it started when he won the Juvenile Turf.
The stable first choice River Tiber was denied a chance to run in the race by US vets unhappy with the fitness of the colt.
Ryan Moore switched to Unquestionable and still got the result the team wanted, claiming a one-two for O’Brien as he beat Mountain Bear by one and a half lengths.
However Mountain Bear pulled up lame and was quickly taken off the track for evaluation which later revealed a fracture.
“He has a non-displaced condylar fracture so that’s a little fracture down into his cannon. It’s not displaced so that’s good.
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“It’s the kind of thing that happens a lot so he’ll get a cast on him for four weeks and should be fine. He’s down in the barn and settled in. They were unbelievably quick to pick him up and bring him down. It did no damage and that’s very good news
“It’s only a little hairline at the front of his cannon. I would imagine he won’t travel until it’s 100 per cent perfect.”
Unquestionable was due to be ridden by Frankie Dettori until Moore pulled rank after River Tiber was ruled out.
Unquestionable and Ryan Moore get a warm reception at Santa Anita (Getty Images)O’Brien said: “Unquestionable looks like he could be a French Guineas type of horse so that’s what we will be training him for. The spring will clear up the picture for us but he is obviously a lovely horse to look forward to next year.
“He has had some runs that weren’t up to scratch but we had good reasons for that.”
The trainer said he accepted the ruling by US vets which prevented River Tiber from taking his place in the field.
“We were sorry to see him going out but rules are rules,” he said. “We thought he was ready to run. Obviously the vets disagree. Whatever the authorities decide happens and we accept that. It was going to be his last run of the season anyway.
“The vets thought he was a little bit stiff this morning. I don’t wake up the same every morning. He was a bit stiff but as time has gone by we wouldn’t really bat an eyelid at it.
“But with all the hysteria and everything that’s going on, nobody wanted to take a chance and I really respected that. He’ll probably be perfect tomorrow morning.”