Murtagh favours Duke for Classic test

After the tragic, rainswept nadir of Monmouth Park, the Breeders' Cup Classic seems ready for a fresh start. Last year, the carcass of George Washington was dragged from a filthy slop. Tomorrow week, at Santa Anita, the richest prize in the American sport will be staged on a synthetic surface for the first time – and will duly be contested by three of the outstanding colts in Europe, each guaranteed favouritism had they taken up turf options at the meeting instead.

Two of them, moreover, represent George Washington's trainer. It is a significant vote of confidence, or thanks. At the same time, Aidan O'Brien expects the race to retain a residual identity, as an unsparing test of commitment. And, as a result, he yesterday indicated that Johnny Murtagh, his stable jockey, will surprise the bookmakers in his choice between Henrythenavigator and Duke Of Marmalade.

Ladbrokes, for instance, responded to the publication of provisional fields for the 25th Breeers' Cup by making Henrythenavigator 5-1, behind only the American champion, Curlin, on 3-1. They dismissed Duke Of Marmalade at 12-1. But O'Brien, whose intention to run both horses was revealed in this newspaper on Tuesday, said that Murtagh's current preference – pending one last piece of work – was for Duke Of Marmalade.

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"If the Classics of years gone by are anything to go by, I'd imagine you want a horse that gets a mile and a quarter well," he explained. "And the one thing you know about Duke is that the dirtier it gets, and the tougher it gets, the better he is. In the Classic they have to be real hard. With Henry, you'd hope that he will get a mile and quarter, but with a horse that won a Coventry [over six furlongs] at two, you couldn't say it was definite."

In broad terms, however, O'Brien is in doubt that the race has had a wholesome change of character. "The statistics show it's a much safer surface, and I think it's fairer for everyone," he said. "It's halfway between turf and dirt, and I think it'll benefit the breed of racehorses, all over the world. Usually, on the dirt, it has been about the horses that survive."

He used that last word figuratively, but nobody knows its literal dimensions better. As it is, the switch from dirt in California has also enabled John Gosden to gamble over the unproven stamina of Raven's Pass, who finally beat Henrythenavigator at Ascot last month. For it is now possible to view this race as rather less alien than the one over a mile on turf.

"The two-turn Mile is somewhat of a lottery," Gosden observed. "They get pretty quickly into a sharp bend there and the draw is very influential. I remember they had carnage in the race one year, when Barathea went straight on and demolished half the field. I had two in the race, Catrail and Wolfhound, and wouldn't be too keen to get involved in something like that again."

Raven's Pass will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, apparently because Jimmy Fortune might not be at his sharpest after a 10-day suspension. "If you've sat out the best part of a fortnight, to throw yourself straight into that cauldron is not easy," Gosden observed, before complimenting Fortune for the way he has absorbed what must be a shattering blow.

Dettori worked Raven's Pass round Lingfield on Wednesday. "The horse settles very well now, and switched leads very smoothly," Gosden said. "Curlin sets a very high standard, but he was obviously vulnerable on turf [when beaten for the only time this year]. Is this more akin to turf than dirt? That's the big question. But what we have is as level a playing field as you are ever going to get."

Overall there is a decided sense of renewal in the meeting's international complexion. The hosts have responded to charges of complacency and parochialism, extending the meeting to a second day and 14 races, and have been rewarded with 29 European entries. Among the most fascinating are two made by David Wachman, at the end of his breakthrough season. Bushranger, winner of two Group One prizes already over six furlongs, will tackle the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over a mile, while Pursuit Of Glory also steps up in distance for the fillies' version.

Both, moreover, have turned down the turf alternatives introduced for the first time last year. In other words, now that the Americans have been prepared to show a bit more adventure, then so, too, will the Europeans.

Chris McGrath

Nap: Redesignation

(Newmarket 5.30)

NB: We'll Come

(Newmarket 4.55)