O’Brien gamble pays off as trainer cleared for Cup racing bubble

Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien made the ultimate Melbourne Cup gamble by leaving Ireland on Sunday evening not knowing whether he would be able to be trackside at Flemington to see his stayer, Twilight Payment, defend his crown on Tuesday.

But the bet paid off and good news awaited him when he arrived in Melbourne on Monday evening to be greeted with the news that an emergency meeting of Racing Victoria’s crisis management team had ruled that he would have the same privileges as Australian trainers in the racing bubble.

Joseph O’Brien (second from left), pictured with Lloyd Williams and Corey Brown after Rekindling’s 2017 Melbourne Cup win.Credit: Getty Images

O’Brien, who is double vaccinated, made the 17,000km trek with his girlfriend, Tara Armstrong, knowing there would be no need for hotel quarantine in Australia but was still mindful of the strict Covid protocols as the couple transited in Singapore on Monday.

He had a Covid test before leaving Ireland and was due to have another on arrival in Australia and will be clear to attend the races as part of the racing bubble - providing both results are negative. Armstrong will be able to go to the track but will not be in the racing bubble.

“I hope to get to see [jockey] Jye [McNeil] before the race, but I will speak to him on the morning of the race. We are just going to follow the Covid protocols we are given,” O’Brien said. “This is the world we are in these days. We are very lucky to get to Australia.”

Twilight Payment was one of 22 Cup runners to pass a final vet check on Monday, but Delphi and Future Score, after showing signs of lameness, will face further raceday examinations before being allowed to take their places in the Cup field.

O’Brien had been scheduled to head the Breeders Cup at Del Mar in the US but his two runners fell by the wayside, which allowed him to make a snap decision to head to Melbourne on the weekend.

“When you are lucky enough to have a runner in the race like the Melbourne Cup, you want to be there,” O’Brien said. “We haven’t been able to come for the past couple of years

“We didn’t have very long to decide, it was five or six hours from when we found out we could go to when we were on the plane.

“Once we had the clearance I said to Tara let’s go.”

The 28-year-old has already won two Melbourne Cups and added the Cox Plate with State Of Rest earlier in the spring and has made a habit of bringing the right horses to Australia.

“Rekindling and Twilight Payment might not have been the best horses I have had but they have been the best horses for the Melbourne Cup. You need to have a high-class horse to come to Melbourne,” O’Brien said.

“I’m very lucky with the support of Lloyd and Nick Williams to have the right horses to come down to compete in it over the last couple of years.

“We are hopeful of a big run from Twilight Payment.

“The horse has had a similar preparation. His form is at least as good as last year. He is a year older with a lot of weight on his back, but we are in to give it our best shot.”

Outside $2.80 favourite Incentivise, Twilight Payment has been the best-supported runner in the Melbourne Cup since drawing barrier two on Saturday night but was still a $13 third pick in betting.

He is looking to continue Team Williams’ recent success in the Cup with the famous navy silks with white armbands saluting being on the back of three out of the past five winners.

Lloyd Williams, who has a total of seven Melbourne and has an obsession for the race no one can match, believes his two runners, Twilight Payment and Pondus, will be running for the minor money if Incentivise sees out the 3200m.

“The favourite wins if he stays,” Williams said. “Twlight Payment will be hard to beat if the favourite doesn’t stay.”

Victorian racing minister Martin Pakula said it was a feather in the cap of the great race to have O’Brien arriving for Cup day.

“It would suggest to me he thinks Twilight Payment is a good chance too, by the way,” Pakula said.

“It’s a great sign for the race and probably a pretty good pointer to Twilight Payment’s chances in it, and a concrete example of what’s possible with the quarantine status of the incoming flights being changed.

“It wouldn’t have been possible before today.

“I think it’s a great feather in the cap of the Melbourne Cup that one of the world’s best trainers has decided to undertake a very long journey for the great race. It’s fantastic.”

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.