By Bren O'Brien
Danny O'Brien's task to revive his credentials as one of Melbourne's leading stables is starting to ramp up, with the Flemington-based trainer admitting the green shoots are showing after a long period of rebuilding.
O'Brien spent three years caught in the middle of the very public cobalt scandal, which looked set to put an end to his career after he initially received a four-year disqualification from the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board.
O'Brien and fellow Flemington trainer Mark Kavanagh fought the case all the way to the Court of Appeals, where they were cleared of more serious administration charges, and ended up receiving relatively small fines for presentation of horses with elevated levels of cobalt.
Twelve months on from the end of that protracted saga, O'Brien's rebuilding project is starting to gather place and he has trained 11 city winners at 20 per cent strike rate this season, highlighted by promising stayer Vow and Declare's (Declaration of War's) Listed win during the Flemington carnival.
At the heart of O'Brien's revival has been another racing figure who knows a thing or two about comebacks, Damien Oliver.
Oliver has ridden 11 winners for O'Brien this season, including the recent city winners Second Bullet (Encosta De Lago), Embrace Me (NZ) (Shamexpress) and Order of Command (Squamosa).
"We’ve been really pleased. Damien is really working hard. When you have been at the top for as long as he has, you still have to have that hunger and he's certainly got it." - Danny O'Brien
Speaking on RSN's Racing Pulse, O'Brien said Oliver's hard work had been a key factor in the stable's recent form.
"We’ve been really pleased. Damien is really working hard. When you have been at the top for as long as he has, you still have to have that hunger and he's certainly got it. He's been a really good contributor for us the past six to 12 months, and more importantly, his raceday has been as good, if not better than ever," O'Brien said.
"I think he's just one of those guys who is always trying to squeeze that last five percent to make sure he has got the best chance of winning. He's just always thinking about it and he's got a plethora of experience from being in Melbourne since he was a 16-year old at Freedmans. He's ridden everywhere. He's ridden all types of horses, you'd be silly not to listen to him."
Skiddaw ready to shine on debut
Oliver rides all three of O'Brien's horses at Flemington on Saturday, including the first starter Skiddaw (Hinchinbrook), a $240,000 yearling who the trainer has high expectations of ahead of his debut in the VRC Member Duane Rogers Plate for the 2-year-olds.
"He's a really nice colt. I trained the mother (Hidden Message {NZ} (Pentire {GB}) who was a really nice filly and he has had a couple of trials and suggested he is ready to go to the races," he said.
Skiddaw was a $240,000 yearling purchase
A half-brother to the promising Phoneme (Choisir), a recent Flemington winner for Chris Waller over 1400m, Skiddaw looms as a well-developed colt, who will appreciate more distance in time.
"I do think he will end up getting to 1400m to a mile." - Danny O'Brien
"He's precocious enough as a 2-year-old. Over the 1200m down the straight is a decent enough test. But I do think he will end up getting to 1400m to a mile. It’s always interesting when you take a nice young horse to the races for the first time and he's done enough at home to suggest he’ll show up," he said.
O'Brien could be in for a big day at his home track, with the stayer Lycurgus (Star Witness) set to start odds-on in the Voting Open Monday For All-Star Mile Hcp and emerging 3-year-old filly Made Me Shiver (Uncle Mo {USA}) one of the leading chances in the Flemington Event Staff Handicap.
Lycurgus set for deserved win
O'Brien has a lot of confidence in Lycurgus' winning chances.
"He's even money, which suggests he has as much chance of winning as losing, but I'd say he's probably got more of a chance of winning than losing," he said.
Lycurgus
"He was good the other day behind a horse that was well handicapped because he hasn't won often (Etymology (New Approach {Ire})) and he proved that when he came out and won the Bagot. I think with 56.5kg, he's certainly the one to beat."
Shiver to peak
Made Me Shiver, a last-start benchmark winner at Geelong, is ready for the step up in distance and class, according to her trainer.
"This race has been her goal the whole preparation. She's had three runs which have all been excellent and given her a good foundation to step to the 2000m. She looks to have come on from Geelong and her win there was excellent," he said.
The mood around O'Brien's stables is upbeat and he gave an indication that there was better to come as he takes the cover off his next generation of horses in the coming months.
"It’s good to get some green shoots. We’ve got some horses who are showing some talent and hopefully making their way through to better races over the rest of the season," he said.
"You can’t win races without good horses, so hopefully we’ve got a good group coming through." - Danny O'Brien
"We certainly are getting a larger amount of young horses and certainly some nice ones amongst them. You can’t win races without good horses, so hopefully we’ve got a good group coming through."
"I think it takes a couple of seasons to build up the numbers and the momentum, but we are happy with how everything is going.
