O'Brien hits crossbar again as Johannes denied by Gailo Chop

Report: Australia, Saturday

Caulfield: Ladbrokes Stakes (Group 1) 1m2f | turf | 3yo+

Close, but no cigar for Aidan O'Brien just yet. Only a couple of inches have come between O'Brien and equalling Bobby Frankel's top-level world record in the last 24 hours - a nose in the Fillies' Mile at Newmarket and a head in the $1 million Ladbrokes Stakes at Caulfield.

Just like September at Newmarket, Johannes Vermeer stormed home and would have been in front in another stride but the winning post arrived just in time for the front-running Gailo Chop and Mark Zahra.

There was a strong raiding party for the 2000m event (1m2f) with Riven Light representing Willie Mullins but he faded into seventh having looked menacing on the home turn. The Taj Mahal, O'Brien's other runner in the race, only beat one home.

Gailo Chop nicked a few lengths out of the field on the home turn and it was left to 23-year-old Katelyn Mallyon to deliver the final challenge on Johannes Vermeer, a 30-1 outsider. They failed, but only just.

"Coming into the home straight, he quickened up so much underneath me that I thought he would go past anything," said Mallyon. "He probably peaked just a little bit before the post came but overall it was a great run. He is going to relish the Caulfield Cup distance. He is a beautiful big horse and he relaxed good out there."

She added: "It was amazing to get the call-up from Aidan O'Brien. He is such a softly-spoken man and it was terrific to get such a great insight into the horse. He is an amazing trainer and it was so exciting for me to be riding for him."

Mullins' assistant David Casey, who is based in Melbourne for the Spring Carnival, revealed the quick ground was the main contributor to Riven Light's tame finishing effort.

He said: "Everything went great through the race. If you had told me before the home turn that he would only finish seventh, I would have been bitterly disappointed. He seemed to have settled beautifully and travelled into the race nicely.

"Glen [Boss] just said he couldn't pick up on the ground. He said that he would be a serious horse on soft ground."

Also at Caulfield on Saturday

Ladbrokes Herbert Power Stakes (Group 2) 1m4f | 3yo+

Wall Of Fire warmed up for a crack at the Melbourne Cup by chasing home Lord Fandango in the Group 2 Hervert Power Stakes.

The 2400m (1m4f) trip was on the sharp side for the Hugo Palmer-trained four-year-old, who had not run over a trip so short since July 2016, and it was hardly surprising to see him do his best work late under Mark Zahra, snatching second close home.

Wall Of Fire is currently number 31 on the Melbourne Cup ballot but long odds-on to sneak in near the foot of the weights and Palmer plans to freshen him up for the big one at Flemington on November 7.

Palmer said: "It has been a while since he ran so I was nervous about that. He had to give a quality field weight too and he very nearly managed to do it. I'm thrilled."

He added: "Leigh Jordan, who looks after us internationals so well, seems to be pretty confidence about us getting a run in the Melbourne Cup so that would remove the necessity of having to run him again.

"If we do need to run him again we might go to Geelong. I think he is more likely to freshen up and shoot the breeze at home. We will let him enjoy himself and make sure he is fresh and well for the big day."

Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas (Group 1) 1m | 3yo

There was a 100-1 shock in the feature event of the day as Mighty Boss somehow managed to sneak up the inside to land the $2 million contest under a cool ride from Michael Walker, who few could deprive a day in the sun after a rotten run of injuries.

It looked set to be a straight shootout between Kementari and Catchy, the favourite and sole filly in the line-up, but Mighty Boss failed to read that script and stayed on best of all on the rail to score by a neck.

Walker said: "I have had operation after operation over the last three years. It has been six months on, two months off. Six months on, two months off. There were times when my weight went out of control. I'm pretty strong at the moment. I'm fit, light and hungry."

He added: "I said to Mick [Price] the other day to try put me on a good one and he said he hadn't got any!"

Schweppes Thousand Guineas (Group 1) 1m | 3yo fillies

The Godolphin-owned Alizee was a very warm order for the fillies' Classic but she could only take third behind Aloisia, who provided trainer Aaron Purcell with a first Group 1 success.

Winning jockey Luke Nolen said: "That was really good. She got a perfect run. She was a relatively cheap purchase in the grand scheme of things. It is not how you win, it is how you celebrate and I will definitely celebrate this properly."

Caulfield results

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