Breeders' Cup Turf: Magician, The Fugue, Indy Point could meet again

ARCADIA, Calif. - Magician, the winner of Saturday’s $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, will be part of a formidable team of 4-year-olds for trainer Aidan O’Brien in 2014.

O’Brien said in a press conference on Saturday that Magician will stay in training next year, as will Ruler of the World, the winner of the 2013 English Derby. Add Kingsbarns, a Group 1 winner in England in 2012, and O’Brien’s powerful stable should have strong representation in the major European stakes for older horses.

If Magician returns to Santa Anita for the BC Turf on Nov. 1, 2014, he could face the second- and third-place runners from Saturday’s race – The Fugue and Indy Point.

The Fugue, the lone filly in Saturday’s race, will return to England this week. Trainer John Gosden said on Sunday that a decision on her future has yet to be made, but that she could stay in training. The Fugue won Group 1 races in England and Ireland in late summer.

Indy Point, the winner of the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship here on Sept. 29, will race next year. He could be sent to Dubai for a race on the Dubai World Cup program, trainer Richard Mandella said on Sunday. The options include the $10 million Dubai World Cup on the synthetic track, or two $5 million turf races – the Dubai Duty Free over 1 1/8 miles or the Sheema Classic over 1 1/2 miles.

Bred in Argentina, Indy Point was foaled on Sept. 2, 2009. He won the Argentine Derby and three other stakes in that country in 2012. Since Indy Point physically turned 4 a few months ago, Mandella expects further improvement in 2014.

“He has accomplished a lot for a horse that just turned 4,” Mandella said. “It’s exciting to think what could happen next year.”

Magician made his first start over 1 1/2 miles in the BC Turf, and immediately took to the distance. Ridden by Ryan Moore, Magician closed from seventh in the final quarter-mile to catch The Fugue by a half-length.

Owned by Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith, Magician has won 4 of 8 starts and earned $1,944,496. He won the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas in May, but was last of nine in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. The BC Turf was his next start.

Magician and Ruler of the World are by top European stallion Galileo.

“What we have seen with them is they get better as well from 2 to 3 to 4,” O’Brien said of the stallion’s progeny. “We couldn’t be more excited about it.”