The injury that has cost Atlantic Jewel her chance in the Cox Plate means she has most likely run her last race.
While trainer Mark Kavanagh hasn’t ruled out a return to racing in the autumn, Atlantic Jewel’s owners have a selection of the world’s best stallions waiting to serve a mare who is also one of the world’s best.
Atlantic Jewel is a daughter of the outstanding sire Fastnet Rock who, like her, is owned by the Irish-based Coolmore Stud.
While the breeding season has virtually concluded in the southern hemisphere, Coolmore’s Michael Kirwan said one option for Atlantic Jewel would be to travel to Ireland and be served to northern hemisphere time early next year.
If that is the case her most likely mate would be Europe’s leading stallion, Galileo.
The offspring of such a mating would almost certainly not be seen in Australia because it would be giving away at least six months in growth and maturity to locally bred horses.
Atlantic Jewel’s injury threw the Cox Plate picture into confusion with the New Zealand galloper It’s A Dundeel and the imported runner Fiorente now contesting favouritism at around $4.
Most bookmaking firms have refunded bets laid on Atlantic Jewel, even though any made before acceptance time on Tuesday would normally have been forfeited.
A spokesman for Sportingbet Australia said rumours had circulated for more than a week that all was not well with Atlantic Jewel.
“We’d hardly written a bet against her for the past week,” Michael Felgate said.
The firm had priced Atlantic Jewel as short as $2.10 over the past few weeks, but had offered as much as $3.30 in the past few days.
“Since last Thursday she had gone cold,” Felgate said.
