Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien, having experienced a trying run with his major Spring Carnival charges, is preparing for one final runner at Sandown’s meeting next Saturday.
The last horse to represent O’Brien during the Melbourne spring season will be Small Fry, who is slated to compete in the $750,000 Zipping Classic. This 2400-metre Group 2 race will serve as Small Fry’s farewell start for O’Brien before he joins the Phillip and Tommy Stokes stable, and O’Brien is hoping for a successful send-off.
“He’s going to run in the Zipping, he had a nice run at Geelong obviously and that’s the plan for him,” O’Brien commented.
“He’s owned by OTI, Terry Henderson and the team there, and we love working with the guys and it would be nice if he could finish off the couple of weeks here on good note.”
O’Brien had a team of nine horses residing at the Werribee quarantine facility this spring, with five of them being entered in the Melbourne Cup. The best result achieved by his runners was fourth place, secured by Sons And Lovers.
Defiantly, who was at one point a favourite for the Melbourne Cup, finished fourth in his sole start on Saturday, the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m), after missing a start in the Cup itself.
Small Fry delivered O’Brien’s most significant result of the spring carnival when he finished second in the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m). He was beaten by a narrow margin of half-a-length by Point Of Law, whose subsequent start resulted in a victory in the Melbourne Cup.
O’Brien jokingly expressed regret over selecting the Geelong Cup as the venue to secure a Melbourne Cup start for Small Fry, but acknowledged it demonstrated the horse’s current form.
“We picked the wrong prep,” O’Brien admitted with a laugh.
“But he seems in good form anyway. We don’t do a lot with him, but he seems in good form and it looks like a nice spot for him.”
Small Fry is expected to face strong competition at Sandown. Ciaron Maher is considering a start for Juja Kibo and Middle Earth, who were placegetters in the past two Melbourne Cups, and the previous year’s Zipping Classic winner, She’s A Hustler, is also expected to be present.
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