Excel exceeds expectations
Sunday 21 October 2012
Aidan O'Brien believes Excelebration is still "on the upgrade" after the four-year-old ran out an impressive winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
The Ballydoyle trainer confirmed the Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita on November 3 remains a likely objective for the colt, who established his position as the champion miler in Europe without Frankel.
"The boys (Coolmore) had it in their head they would go to the Breeders' Cup after Ascot. I think if everything is well, that is the way it is looking," O'Brien told At The Races.
"He has progressed with every run and we have only had him this year, so we were experimenting with him a little bit. The beauty with this horse is he is on the upgrade.
"We have learnt a lot about him. He is a very fast horse right up to a mile, which he gets well. He shows an awful lot of speed and is a very classy horse."
O'Brien would love Excelebration to stay in training as a five-year-old, but accepts the horse is now such an attractive proposition as a stallion.
He went on: "It would be a dream for us (to keep him in training), but obviously we have to be realistic. He would be very sought after now for breeding. He has shown form at two, three and now at four and has shown he is very high class at a mile now.
"We would be hoping and dreaming about that, but those are decisions that have to be made. It would be a big decision and I wouldn't be sure."
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