Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien confirms Group 1 St Leger winner Jan Brueghel, a $21 Melbourne Cup candidate, for race that stops a nation

Aidan O’Brien is set to field a runner in the Melbourne Cup for the first time since Tiger Moth finished second in 2020.

Aidan O’Brien could field a runner in the Melbourne Cup for the first time since Tiger Moth finished second in 2020.

O’Brien’s Group 1 English St Leger winner Jan Brueghel will go into quarantine on Friday (AEST) at Newmarket.

The second shipment to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival includes Harry Eustace-trained Docklands, a Cox Plate contender, and Cup hopeful Sea King.

Sayedaty Sadaty, for Ciaron Maher, will also enter quarantine.

O’Brien had six entries for the race that stops a nation.

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The Irish trainer has been runner-up in the Cup twice with Johannes Vermeer (2017) and Tiger Moth (2020).

Caulfield Cup runner-up Anthony Van Dyck failed to finish the 2020 Melbourne Cup after he sustained a catastrophic injury.

Jan Brueghel is $21 for the Melbourne Cup with Ladbrokes behind Warmonger ($15), Circle Of Fire ($17), Point King ($18) and Saint George ($18).

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“At the moment we think Jan Brueghel will be the one who will travel down to Australia,” O’Brien told the Racing Post.

“They have to go into quarantine shortly and he’s the one we think we will send.

“He’s come out of the St Leger very well and everything seems fine with him. Everyone is happy.”

Jan Brueghel defeated stablemate Illinois in the English St Leger a fortnight ago.

2024 St Leger - Jan Brueghel pic.twitter.com/bNf0WuQarr

— History of Horse Racing (@horsevault) September 14, 2024

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The Galileo colt boasts a perfect record to date with four consecutive wins, going from a Curragh maiden to Group 1 winner.

The tenacious northern hemisphere three-year-old — four on Australian time — has won his past three starts, including two at Group 3 level, by a neck margin.

Jan Brueghel is slated to carry 54kg in the Melbourne Cup.

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O’Brien last week complained “ridiculous” Melbourne Cup veterinary protocols disadvantaged three-year-olds “because they are still growing and their bones are still maturing”.

The safety protocols, including CAT scans before quarantine and again in the week before the Melbourne Cup, were introduced in 2021 after Anthony Van Dyck tragically became the seven horse in as many years to die in Australia’s biggest race.

The Melbourne Cup has been run and won without incident, thankfully, the past three years.

Originally published as Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien confirms Group 1 St Leger winner Jan Brueghel, a $21 Melbourne Cup candidate, for race that stops a nation