Racing Diary: Virus puts the brakes on O'Brien

There is no good time to get the cough but there is certainly no worse time to get it than halfway through the season and this means that Aiden O'Brien, the record breaking champion racehorse trainer in both Britain and Ireland, may have to shut up shop!

It was his three-year-olds who started coughing a few weeks ago and not surprisingly this has now spread to the two-year-olds which means that he may have to close down his stable for a couple of weeks in an effort to stop the virus spreading.

If this had happened in mid winter when there was no racing it would have been a minor irritation but for it to happen now with the big Ebor Meeting at York starting next week followed by the St Leger Meeting at Doncaster next month it could not have come at a worse time.

There is of course plenty of the current season left for his horse's to have a little recovery break and come back racing and for some it may be a blessing in disguise but if this virus is one of those that hangs on and on then that spells trouble for the most successful stable in Europe.

Despite the illness in his Ballydoyle Stable O'Brien did manage to send out the first and second in Sunday's Group 1 Pheonix Stakes at the Curragh thanks to Spartacus and Marino Marini but it was noticeable that his big race favourite Hold That Tiger was well beaten in last place and was reported to be in 'respiratory distress.'

The best thing would be to close the place down for a few weeks but that is easier said than done because O'Brien looks after the most powerful stable of thoroughbreds in the world and their job is to win the world's top races.

Next week there are a number of top races including the International, the Gimcrack, the Nunthorpe and the Yorkshire Oaks and the York August Meeting is traditionally the place where O'Brien cleans up.

At this moment in time he may not even have a runner at the meeting!

Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor's horses may not have the virus but his stable star Sakhee still ran a very disappointing race in his comeback at Deauville last Sunday.

Admittedly it was the colt's first run since finishing third in the Dubai World Cup back in March so he might have been a bit ring rusty but he had been sending out all the right signals on the gallops here at Newmarket and to be beaten in a race he was fully expected and entitled to win was a major setback.

There are some who say he may have lost his appetite for racing and if he were to retire he would become one of the world's most sought after stallions but I believe you have to allow a horse one bad race.

After all they are not machines and he could still bounce back and win the Prix de L'arc de Triomphe for the second year running at Longchamp in Paris in October.

Godolphin rider Frankie Dettori is also hoping to bounce back after a bout of chickenpox which he caught from his children.

There is some exciting racing this weekend with the admirably tough and consistent Mubtaker a major contender in Saturday's Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Group 2) at Newbury.

Mutaker who is owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry, has never finished out of the first two in 10 races and could have most to fear from Henry Cecil's High Pitched who has been working well here at Newmarket.

The other group race on Saturday's card at Newbury - the Hungerford Stakes - could well go for the second year running to Attavus who is working well here at Newmarket for trainer George Margerson.

Bond Boy and Halmahera who finished first and second in the Stewards Cup at Glorious Goodwood a couple of weeks ago renew rivalry in the Great St Wilfrid Handicap at Ripon in a race named after Ripon's patron saint. This six furlong race has attracted a massive 47 entries although only the top 23 will be able to take part.

Arlington Park in Chicago which this year hosts the 2002 Breeders Cup in October plays host this weekend to the Arlington Million and although it seems a lifetime ago since Lord Derby's Teleprompter won it, trained by Bill Watts and ridden by Tony Ives, I believe an English horse can win it again.

We have two chances in the shape of Ulundi trained by Paul Webber and Freefourinternet from the Brian Meehan Stable. Both will love the fast ground and I believe Freefourinternet is way overpriced at 25 to 1 and looks tremendous value to bring this valuable prize back across the Atlantic.