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        RACING FORUM >> Irish Septuagenarian has Melbourne Cup in her sights
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Torquil



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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 0:24 am

The Melbourne Cup is built on fairytales and missions and now another one is in the pipeline with 70-year-old Irish trainer Jessica Harrison targeting this year's Gr1 Melbourne Cup, reports theage.com.au. Harrison is now one of Ireland's most dominant trainers, with a team spanning Gr1 two-year-olds to jumpers. Torcedor, a horse purchased in France for €70,000 by leading Singaporean trainer Laurie Laxon in partnership with leading owner Peter Vela and Cambridge Stud Principal Sir Patrick Hogan, has emerged as a likely candidate to travel from Harington's Irish stable to Flemington for the first Tuesday in November. And he's by Fastnet Rock, considered a much greater chance of siring a Golden Slipper winner than a two-mile major. Laxon is in no doubt though as to either Harrington's training pedigree or judgment, observing, "She's a remarkable horsewoman who's taken the horse to another level and she could be the second woman in history to train a Melbourne Cup winner." Of course, the first was Laxon's wife Sheila, who trained Ethereal to victory in 2001. Since joining the Harrington yard, Torcedor has had a throat operation and been given time but has jumped into Ascot calculations by winning his last two starts. Harrington commented, "If we did choose to come to Melbourne, and I've visited Australia a lot of times, it won't be an afterthought. It will be that the horse has a genuine chance of winning a great race." Torcedor certainly has a distaff pedigree full of staying class. Granddam Lydonville is a half-sister to Gr1 Ascot Fillies Mile winner Ivanka, while herself being the dam of Champion European Stayer and sire Yeats. Reply
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