When Jamie Osborne saw Toast of New York, then rated a lowly 78, win at Wolverhampton by an almost embarrassing margin of 12 lengths in September last year, an audacious idea started taking shape in his mind – why not aim him for the Dubai World Cup night?
The two-year-old Bay Colt, who turns three this week, gave himself an early birthday present by winning the 1,900m $2 million UAE Derby in sensational fashion.
After his horse showed a clear pair of heels to more fancied rivals, Osborne said his plan with Toast of New York was a well-thought out one, and driven mostly by the belief that he is a truly exceptional horse.
“I have got a lot of moderate horses, so comparing him against them was tricky. But after he won two fairly ordinary races at Wolverhampton, I knew he had the potential to be one of the best horses in the world,” said an elated Osborne, who himself was a National Hunt jockey of repute with more than 1,000 wins.
“We certainly were not expecting him to win, and to win like that? Not in my wildest dream.
“Seeing him win like that was pretty choking. I’m speechless, really. He didn’t even break a sweat. Horses like him are freaks, he does seem to be something special.
“It is luck to get your hands on a horse like this, and when you do, you just have to make sure you don’t make a mess of it," added Osborne, who has had just one Group One winner (Milk It Mick in the 2003 Dewhurst Stakes) since becoming a trainer.
Speaking on Toast of New York’s journey from Wolverhampton to Dubai, Osborne said: “It was a plan we hatched last autumn. In racing, all plans do not come off, but he improved all winter. If at any stage we thought he would have been an embarrassment here, we would have pulled the plug.
“At the rating of 78, the other option was to protect his handicap mark and win the Britannia Royal Ascot, which is £50,000 to the winner. But when we saw all the noughts attached to this race (he won $1.2 million at the UAE Derby), we thought let’s just blow the 78.
“The only reason we ran him for a second time in Wolverhampton (in a novice race in November, which he won by 16 lengths) was to blow his handicap mark, so that he could get into this race.
“I feel sad for Adam Kirbey, who rode him that day. I said to him that whatever happens, make this horse look good. Win as far as you like to get him here. So, Adam paid the price because he gave him a couple of slaps in the last furlong and was banned for that.
“But we never thought it was a completely stupid plan. We prepared him well through the winter. I always believed that if the Toast of New York I knew turned up here, he would be very competitive.”
The performance on the allweather track was so good that Osborne did not rule out a run in the Kentucky Derby in America, even though it is held on dirt.
