Punters are struggling to get their head around many runners in this year’s Cox Plate, none more so than Victoria Road.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained entire, a four-year-old by Australian time, is the only UK-prepared galloper in the 2040-metre Group 1 and will be having his first Australian start in Saturday’s $5 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.
Adding to the conundrum is that he is by a stallion with only a couple of crops to the track out of a speedy Invincible Spirit mare who never raced beyond 1207m.
Victoria Road finished second-last at his only start over 2000 metres, which came in the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville on August 15, which was won by subsequent Arc De Triomphe champion Ace Impact, but O’Brien said he had excuses that day.
“The day he ran against Ace Impact it was a slowly-run race and he was drawn down the inside and he didn’t get any cover, which didn’t suit him,” O’Brien told RSN927.
That was Victoria Road’s first run since winning the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (1609m) at Keeneland in November last year, while his final run before coming to Australia realised a Group 2 win in the Dullingham Park Stakes (1609m) at Leopardstown on September 9.
Victoria Road won the Group 3 Prix De Conde (1800m) the start before his Breeders’ Cup success and won another Listed 1600m event at two in France with O’Brien suggesting his best performances came after being stepped up in trip.
“He ran three or four times over five and six furlongs and that kind of a trip and it’s only when he stepped up to seven (furlongs) and a mile that he really started coming into his own,” O’Brien said of the winner of four of his 10 starts.
“He’s very well-made, strong, with a great constitution and he took it really well. The more racing he got, the better he got.”
Victoria Road is the best-performed to date from Saxon Warrior, a son of Deep Impact who won the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy (1609m) at two, Group 1 2000 Guineas (1609m) at three and was also placed in the Coral Eclipse (2001), Irish Champion Stakes (2012m) and Irish Derby (2414m).
His other stakes winners are Group 2 Blandford Stakes (2011m) heroine Lumiere Rock, Moon Ray, a 1400m Group 3 winner in France, and Listed winners Zulu Warrior, Sans Voix and Freydis The Red.
Saxon Warrior is also the sire of Gan Teorainn, who finished second at Group 1 level at 1600m in France before coming to Australia and last Saturday’s finished third over 2000m at Randwick.
Victoria Road’s dam Tickled Pink won three of 12 starts, including the Group 3 Sprint Stakes (1006m) at Sandown and Group 3 Abernant Stakes (1207m).
Her four others to race are all winners, albeit at 1408m or below, but she is a half-sister to Pivotal mare Halfway To Heaven, who is the dam of former champion mare Magical (Galileo) and multiple Group 1 winner Rhododendron, whose son Auguste Rodin– who is also by Deep Impact – won this year’s Epsom Derby (2414m).
“He has a fast pedigree, but he’s by Saxon Warrior and what’s unusual about him is we probably started him short but as he went up in distance he really improved,” O’Brien said.
“We think obviously a mile-and-quarter will be no problem for him and he could even get further.”
Victoria Road will carry the colours of Ozzie Kheir in the Cox Plate after which he will remain in Australia with subsequent campaigns to overseen by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
