Khoo only worried about wide gate for Lord O'Reilly
  Story By Michael Lee     

Friday, 20 April 2018: Trainer Leslie Khoo saw “Singapore Guineas” written all over a fetching O’Reilly yearling parading at the Karaka sales ring two years ago.

The Leslie Khoo-Ryan Curatolo pairing put Lord O'Reilly through his biggest test this Sunday.
The Leslie Khoo-Ryan Curatolo pairing put Lord O'Reilly through his biggest test this Sunday.



The former top jockey duly made a bid and ended up coming home with a NZ$80,000 purchase.


Two years later, Khoo is two races away from the target he has set for the gelding since named Lord O’Reilly by his new owner MA Racing No 2 Stable, the third Leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, the $1 million Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) on May 26.

But before the two-time winner from three starts gets there, the second Leg, the $500,000 Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) this Sunday will be just as crucial a stopover.



Khoo gave the first Leg, the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) won by Be Bee a miss for a good reason – the race was too close after Lord O’Reilly impressively scored his second win in a Novice race over 1200m the week before. Besides, he had always set his sights on the last two Legs, which he felt were more up his ward’s alley.



Khoo is convinced Lord O’Reilly may even win the 1400m Leg – which would finally end an 11-year-long chase for that elusive first ‘black type’ win in the Katong boy’s own backyard (the Singaporean did win a few feature races when he trained in Ipoh before settling at Kranji) – but the wide alley in the capacity 16-horse field has doused his confidence a little.



“Everything’s gone well for Lord O’Reilly. He had his last gallop yesterday (Wednesday) and I was very happy with that,” said Khoo.



“The horse is very well. This morning I checked his feed bin and he didn’t leave an oat.



“If you ask me, the only setback is the barrier 13. My preference was somewhere like 8 or 9.



“He’s a horse who needs to go forward, but at the same time, inside draws would be tricky in such big fields as there may be some traffic jam and he may get stuck on the inside.



“I’ll leave it to the jockey how to ride him anyway, but he needs to be quite close to the speed.”



Khoo said they are up against a smart batch of three-year-olds this year, but has pinpointed the Cliff Brown-trained Mister Yeoh as Lord O’Reilly’s main threat in the Classic, even if the Singapore Guineas remains the Holy Grail.



“Cliff’s horse Mister Yeoh is the main danger. He also has Zac Kasa, who has the early speed, but to me, he’s a question mark over 1400m,” said Khoo.



“Ricardo Le Grange also has three very good horses (Tesoro Privado, King Louis and Captain Jamie), and I think the pace will be very fast.



“Unlike some of the horses, my horse is proven over 1400m (scored his maiden win over that distance in Restricted Maiden company). If he gets all the luck in the running, he should have his say.



“Hopefully he runs well and then the Guineas is next. It’s worth one million dollars now, but that’s always been the race I had in mind when I bought him as a yearling in Karaka.”



Ryan Curatolo, who has been Lord O’Reilly’s partner at all his three starts, was on the other hand, treading more carefully, preferring to concentrate on the task at hand first.



“He won very well last time, but this is the second Leg of the 3YO series now, it’s the real competition,” said the French jockey.



“It won’t be an easy race and I actually had a gut-feel he would draw badly yesterday, and that was exactly what happened. I was hoping for a 4 or 5 so he does not make too much effort to go forward.



“But after the two EA’s are scratched, he would drop to 11, and there will be a lot of speed on the inside. Be Bee has a big advantage in barrier No 1, Zac Kasa and Yabadabadoo will also try to go forward from their low draws.



“So, yes, my first reaction was no good, but we had no choice but to accept it, and after looking at the speedmap more closely, I’m not all that concerned we will get caught wide.



“The good thing with this horse is he can go forward or take a sit, and then switch off.”



Curatolo said he had a healthy respect for his rivals, with the Le Grange-trained Tesoro Privado standing out as the main danger, but he also felt Lord O’Reilly has come on since his last race.



“This is no doubt his biggest test, as there are so many good three-year-olds in the race, but on form, I think Nooresh Juglall’s horse (Tesoro Privado) will be a big factor,” he said.



“I gallop Lord O’Reilly every week, and also do a bit of canter with him. He also trialled very well last week (April 10 when fourth to Preditor).



“What I like is that he is coming right at the right time, especially in terms of maturity. His condition is improving and he has also grown a little bit.



“To me, he’s more of a 1400m-1600m horse, but don’t forget he’s only three. So let’s see how he runs this Sunday before making any assessment about the Guineas.”