by Mike Curry
Irish classic winner Mastercraftsman rolled to a convincing victory on Friday in his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
The three-year-old Danehill Dancer colt powered to a five-length romp in the Diamond Stakes (Ire-G3) on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Dundalk, his first start on a synthetic surface.
Mastercraftsman stalked the pace from third under Johnny Murtagh, launched his winning bid inside the final quarter-mile, and coasted to a clear win. He completed 1 5/16 miles in 2:12.18 to improve to seven wins in 11 career starts for trainer Aidan O’Brien.
"Delighted with that,” O’Brien told Racing Post. “There was no pussy-footing around, they went a really good pace. We were a bit worried about the distance, but it is very hard to beat class.”
Last year’s European champion two-year-old male, Mastercraftsman won the Boylesports.com Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) and St. James’s Palace Stakes (Eng-G1), both at a mile, this season for owners Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor.
Mastercraftsman entered the Diamond Stakes off a third-place finish in the 1¼-mile Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes (Ire-G1). With the Diamond victory, he earned a starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon on November 6 at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park meeting via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series. But O’Brien said he has a different agenda for Mastercraftsman, preferring the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface or TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) as targets.
"Johnny [Murtagh] was very cool on him and told me, when he asked him to close, he probably got to the front a bit too soon,” O’Brien said. “He handled the surface and that was what we wanted to find out. He'll definitely go to Santa Anita, probably for the Classic—though he's in the Mile, too—as well as Rip Van Winkle."
A half brother to graded stakes winner Genuine Devotion (Ire), Mastercraftsman is out of the winning Black Tie Affair (Ire) mare Starlight Dreams.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor