Ascot Gold Cup winner Order Of St George is unlikely to go to Australia for the Melbourne Cup with the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe among his targets.
Just 13 days after winning the Saval Beg, Order Of St George was the 10-11 favourite to give trainer Aidan O’Brien his his seventh winner in the two-and-a-half mile (4000m) event on Thursday (Friday AEST).
All looked to be going well for last year’s impressive Irish St Leger winner with Ryan Moore giving his mount ample cover in the middle of the field through the early stages.
But inside the final half-mile, Order Of St George found himself shuffled back with more horses in front of him than behind him and left with what looked a mountain to climb.
After being forced to sit and suffer, the split eventually came for Ryan Moore and when it did the response was immediate.
Once in command Order Of St George stretched out to cross the line three lengths clear of Mizzou.
He is part-owned by Australian Lloyd Williams, and RaceBets cut the four-year-old to 11-1 from 20-1 for the Melbourne Cup.
“I think the plan is to give him a little rest and bring him back and get him prepared for the Irish St Leger and if that all ends well, he could go for the Arc,” O’Brien said.
“You never know if they are going to get the trip if they have never been over that.
“He won the Irish St Leger on soft ground by 11 or 12 lengths off a strong pace and if he wasn’t going to stay there were very few horses that would.
“He is a seriously class horse. He just has a big Rolls Royce engine.”
The defence of his Irish Leger title is high on the priority list before the the Arc for which he was introduced at 16-1 by William Hill.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up Max Dynamite finished 10th of the 17 runners in the Gold Cup.
