Tower Of London Enters Melbourne Cup Picture

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With 44 British Classics, two wins in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, 18 Breeders’ Cup victories, more triumphs at Royal Ascot than any trainer in history, and three Champion Hurdles to boot, not many global prizes have eluded the clutches of Aidan O’Brien.

There are, however, a couple of notable absentees from the Ballydoyle trophy wing. The Breeders’ Cup Classic remains a goal, with the yard having come so close with Giant’s Causeway back in 2000, and so does the greatest Australian race of them all – the Melbourne Cup.

Joseph 2-0 Aidan

First tackling the most valuable handicap in the world with the brilliant four-time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats, who finished only seventh in 2007, O’Brien has come closer since with Mahler (third in 2008), Johannes Vermeer (second in 2017), and Tiger Moth (second in 2020). He is yet to add his name to the list of British or Irish trainers to have claimed the prize, however.

Dermot Weld (1993 and 2002) and Charlie Appleby (2018) are on that list, as is a trainer whom Aidan knows particularly well – his son Joseph O’Brien. Landing the 2017 edition with Rekindling, Joseph repeated the trick when Twilight Payment held on by half a length to deny Tiger Moth in 2020.

Following that narrow second, Aidan O’Brien has given the Melbourne Cup a miss in the past three seasons. However, it would be no surprise to see him have a crack at the 2024 edition, with one of the most likely candidates bouncing back to form at the Curragh over the weekend.

Tower The One To Scale the Heights?

As a son of Galileo and a full brother to 2017 St Leger and Irish Derby winner Capri, Tower Of London certainly has the genes to succeed in high-class events over 1m4f and further. However, following a solitary maiden success as a two-year-old, he didn’t quite hit the heights of his sibling during his Classic campaign – winning at Listed level but managing only a staying-on third behind stablemate Continuous in the 2023 St Leger.

That Doncaster effort suggested that a further step up in distance may suit. Connections were quick to test that theory. Things didn’t go to plan in the competitive Irish Cesarewitch on his final start at three, but his first two starts of 2024 hinted that we might be witnessing the emergence of a new staying star.

First up in the Group 3 Red Sea Turf Handicap at Riyadh, Tower Of London defied all manner of trouble in running to get up close home and score by a head. Stepped into the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan for his next assignment, he oozed class on his first crack at two miles. Patiently ridden by Ryan Moore, he rattled through the gears in the straight to leave a solid field trailing in his wake on route to a two-length success.

Wheels Come Off at York

Given that scintillating start to 2024, it was no surprise to see the good-looking bay sent off as the 7/4f for the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup. Having already won over the 1m6f trip and on good ground, Tower Of London produced a mystifyingly poor display to trail home 11 lengths adrift of the winner, Giavellotto. A post-race examination revealed he had lost a shoe during the race, but that only partially explained an effort way below his previous outings, leaving the colt with questions to answer.

Bouncing Back in the Curragh Cup

Given two months to get over whatever ailed him on the Knavesmire, Tower Of London returned in the Group 2 Comer Group International Curragh Cup on Saturday, 20th July. Taking on Vauban, who had finished six lengths ahead of him at York, Dermot Weld’s dual Group 3 winning filly Shamida, Willie Mullins’ Ascot Gold Cup fourth Vauban, and stablemate Grosvenor Square, who arrived from the Irish Derby, Tower Of London would need to be somewhere near his best to come out on top.

Turning into the home straight, it didn’t look like Tower Of London, or anything else, would be getting to Grosvenor Square. Setting off like an express train, the mount of Gavin Ryan was soon rattled into a 10-length lead. Rather than diminishing, that advantage stood at a yawning 20 lengths at the furlong pole, with nothing else appearing likely to bridge the gap. And then Ryan Moore switched Tower Of London into the clear. What followed was an emphatic finishing burst from the four-year-old, which saw him reel in the leader to win going away at the line.

Back to form, proven over two miles, in his peak years, and with O’Brien stating in the aftermath that, “He’s a very good horse and can travel anywhere…He Could be a Melbourne Cup horse”, Tower Of London may be the horse to finally break O’Brien’s duck in the November highlight.