PAT HEALY: This week Pat reflects on the return of Envoi Allen at Down Royal and looks ahead to this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup

Down Royal

There was a great atmosphere at Down Royal over the two days and it was the least the patrons there deserved.

Gordon Elliott had seven winners and his operation is truly up and running. The team are obviously in good form, and it was a great weekend for them.

Envoi Allen made his return and while he would be wanting to beat those rivals in the manner he did, it was impressive and hopefully he will be back to himself.

The thing that really caught my eye when Envoi Allen was being led back into the winners’ enclosure was that Gordon Elliott went out of his way to say well done to Rachael Blackmore and to give Envoi Allen a pat on the backside to say well done to the horse. Fair play to Gordon Elliott for doing that.

It was also good to see Paul Nicholls and Bryony Frost coming over and managing to nick a Grade One. It was a fantastic Champion Chase and a great result for racing.

Breeders’ Cup

Hopefully Tarnawa can repeat her success of last year, but she’s got a tough task drawn in 13.

I’ve been to Del Mar before, for the last Breeders’ Cup there and walked the track. It’s a tight turf track, as tough a track as you’d find anywhere, with an awfully short straight. I can see them stacking up turning into the straight and you will need all the luck in the world to get a gap. They’re going to have to decide if they are going to come wide and stay wide.

Colin Keane is going to have to make a decision and he’s going to have to stick by it. I think him and Dermot Weld will want to come up with a plan.

Tarnawa’s going there in great form, the ground should be in her favour, and she’s got plenty of toe, it’s just a question of will she have the space and time to use that and get home from a tough draw.

Aidan O’Brien

People say Ballydoyle haven’t had a great year, yet Aidan’s sitting on 18 Group One winners. You just have to look at him over his career and he is ‘Mr Consistency’, but he’s like every other trainer and he can only deal with the tools that he has. You can’t have the best tools in the shop ever year.

Anytime Aidan O’Brien goes to the Breeders’ Cup all his horses have a chance. Aidan thinks about the Breeders’ Cup all year long, it’s always at the back of this mind. If he comes away with a winner or two, I won’t be surprised.

If Love came back to her form which saw her win the Oaks in 2019, then I’d say she is probably his flag-bearer.

Emmet Mullins

He’s a Mullins! He trains beside his Uncle Willie. It’s another compliment to these guys – Gordon Elliott was at Martin Pipe’s for a while, Willie Mullins was under his father’s wing for a while – when they’re working beside these geniuses, they are obviously learning the whole time.

I think Emmet keeps a small team by design, but it will be interesting to see if he chooses to branch out a bit more, as he’s certainly proved that he’s well accomplished at the game.

He has a great horse in Cape Gentleman. He won the Irish Cesarewitch pulling a train, he’s won over hurdles and now twice over fences. Not many horses can do that. It’ll be interesting to see when the spring comes along with the likes of Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown what target Emmet has for Cape Gentleman.