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By Dylan Jenear ValueChecker
Breeders’ Cup 2010 News: Rip Van Winkle Retired After Setback
21/10/10
Multiple Group 1 winner Rip Van Winkle has been retired to stud following a setback, so will miss out on another crack at the Breeders’ Cup, for which he was around the 7-1 mark for the Mile, and in the region of 16-1 for the Classic, a race in which he was well beaten in at Santa Anita at the 2009 Breeders’ Cup.
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The four-year-old’s trainer, Aiden O’Brien, made the following comments to the Racing Post: ‘Rip Van Winkle has had a very slight setback and, while it is very minor, it would have meant forcing him to get him to Churchill Downs. So the decision has been made to retire him.’
Rip Van Winkle will stand at Coolmore Stud where he will join the likes of his sire, Galileo. Rip was beaten just a length by the brilliant Sea The Stars in the Eclipse at Sandown last year, and the highlight of his campaign in 2010 was victory in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York.
It appears that there will not be a strong European challenge for the Classic this time round, with the Marco Botti-trained Gitano Hernando, who is a top-priced 25-1 with Victor Chandler and William Hill at the time of writing, potentially the only raider from another continent. The son of Hernando landed the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita last autumn, beating Colonel John, who went on to finish 4½ lengths fourth to Zenyatta in last season’s Classic.
The amazing Zenyatta is a best-priced 4-1 with Ladbrokes to retain her Classic crown. The mare took her unbeaten run to 19 races when successful in the Lady’s Secret Stakes at Hollywood Park at the beginning of October, and will be the one to beat at Churchill Downs on November 6, although Bob Baffert’s Lookin At Lucky, who was just foiled in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2009, is likely to pose a big threat.
