Michael O’Callaghan is eyeing the wealthy in Dubai with his half-brothers I Am Superman (Ire) (Footsteps on the sand {GB}) and Fastnet Crown (Ire) (Hallowed Crown {Aus}) before moving to a new purpose-built field near Curragh ahead of the appropriate season.
However, the Irish top coach has said that he remains ambivalent about his position with Amo Racing despite sending in Crypto Force (GB) (Time Check {GB}) to make sure glory to G2 Beresford S. for Kia Joorabchian’s primary ownership vehicle at last season’s Currag Championship.
Cryptoforce joined John and Thady Gosden’s stables shortly after that win, and O’Callaghan revealed that none of Amo Racing’s horses, including Olivia Maralda (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Crispy Cat (GB) (Ardad {Ire}) and Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), have returned to their home turf for the new season.
He explained, “They haven’t come back yet. I’m not sure what Amo’s plan is. There have been rumors of Indestructible returning, but with the way they move the balls throughout the winter, I’ll know more in the next few weeks.”
I Am Superman, who O’Callaghan is said to crave and retain a part of, initially showed high form for the home coach before being moved to Australia in search of good prize money. than.
Now in his second stint with O’Callaghan after returning home from Peter and Paul Snowden, I Am Superman will be the target of top-level races in Dubai and is said to have settled into life. at Meydan with his stable friend and half-brother Fastnet Crown.
O’Callaghan said, “I bought I Am Superman as a hobby. He won three races for us and ran well in the 2019 Irish Guineas. I actually sold him to Hong Kong later that year but he lost to the vet for something. It wasn’t clear on the x-ray so we decided to keep him.
“We took him to Australia for the bounty and decided to leave him there with Peter and Paul Snowden. He was there for about two years and earned about a quarter of a million dollars in prize money.
“To be fair to the Snowden family, they feel they never really understood him because, every time they felt they were ready for him, the ground turned against him. He suffered only one breathless bout in Group 1 in his most recent start there and comes from a family that has improved a lot with age. I wanted to get a little bit of a hit from him myself before his form faltered, that’s why we brought him back and are now targeting him with a big bonus here. Dubai.”
He added, “He’s in great form. He had a holiday in Australia after his last run there. When he comes back here, it’s just a case of building him back in Dubai. He’s gone to Dundalk to gallop at the racecourse and he’s ready to go. His first run will be at the Zabeel Mile and his main target will be G1 Jebel Hatta on March 4. He might have a mid run but we’ll get past the Zabeel Mile first. If he gets an invite for Dubai World Cup Night, we have to look at that too.”
“Fastnet Crown is growing and I’ve been wanting to elevate it for a while. He won his prep race at Dundalk last week and will start running more than a mile and a half on Friday the 13th and we’ll continue from there. Both horses have gone through that well and they are in excellent form.
The Fastnet Crown will carry the colors of owner and breeder Michael Smith, whose Fastnet Lady (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) is rapidly becoming a prolific chick.
O’Callaghan said, “The two of them came out of the Fastnet Lady, whom Michael also bred. I bought his I Am Superman and we’ve known each other ever since. He sent me the Fastnet Crown, the half-brother, and we also have a half-brother with I Am Superman here. The mare was very lucky for him with the first two ponies, I Am Superman is rated 114 and Fastnet Crown is rated 106, so she is a good mare and I understand that she is currently is in the herd of ponies to Australia (GB). Michael went to Royal Ascot, there was a Derby day winner at Curragh and he is also going to Dubai. He loves it and I’m glad he’s a lovely man.”
In the country, O’Callaghan appreciates Gozen (Ire) (Kuroshio {Aus}). As the winner of his Punchestown debut last September, Gozen may have been unlucky not to win the G3 Staffordstown S. at Curragh when forced to race widely. O’Callaghan has a Classic aspiration for scumbags who don’t sell bargains.
He said, “Gozen’s first intended goal will be the 1,000-plus Irish Guineas Test at Leopardstown over a mile, which we won with Now Or Never (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}). She did a great job over the winter and, I know it’s a cliché, but, for all she did last year, she’s going to improve on that because she’s a fat person. , uncouth. She is very prolific in the winter so I am really looking forward to her.”
Recalling how Gozen fell through the cracks at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale, O’Callaghan added: “It’s fair to say to Eddie Ahern, who deposited her, he always felt she needed time. time but he really likes her. He just lets her trot in the wind and, for those watching, it may leave more questions than answers. I remember seeing her and I wrote in my catalog, ‘acting lovely but she just trotted; any problems?’
“Funny, Michael Shefflin, who was in a relationship with Eddie, called me a few weeks later to ask if I wanted to try her out for a month. He told me that, if I liked her, I could buy her alone. That’s how it all happened.”
When asked if he wanted to sell Gozen at any stage in last season, O’Callaghan said: “There was a lot of interest after she finished second in Group 3. Her form. very good and you could even say she was a bit unlucky at Curragh not to win. She will improve to power up and I imagine mileage will be her bare minimum this season. She has a lot of natural speed.”
Seven of O’Callaghan’s 15 winners in Ireland last year were recorded with two-year-olds. The number is 13 from 17 in 2021. Few fishers focus as much on juveniles as O’Callaghan and he has high hopes for the next crop at his new facility in Brannoxstown near Curragh.
He said, “We have a lovely little girl Inns Of Court (Ire) – an adorable little boy figure. She is truly a housewife. I also have a beautiful pony Mehmas (Ire) and a Sioux Country dirty. They look like cute two year olds and I love them. They did a lot and it all broke in August. “They trotted and built their path as much as they could. They should have sped up a few stretches just before Christmas before taking a little break and starting back on Monday morning.
He added, “We will completely move to the new ground at the end of January. It was a slow process between buying the place, getting planning permission, and then the building. The gallop has been done for over two months now so they should be well settled by the time they have horses on it, which is good. We’ve built the venue from scratch and look forward to getting there in full this season.”
