Why $5 million Cox Plate raider wasn't purchased

What happened surrounding the purchase of the potential Cox Plate raider, A Boy Named Susie?

It was initially reported that Ciaron Maher purchased the gun northern hemisphere colt for $5 million, but the three-year-old’s trainer Donnacha O'Brien confirmed that those reports were incorrect.

But now we have some insight into what went wrong.

Prominent racing owner and SENTrack regular John O’Neill was offered into the horse.

O’Neill explained that multiple trainers were “aggressively” searching for weight-for-age guns and stayers, and A Boy Named Susie popped up, alongside other international horses.

“Yes, I did (get offered into the horse),” started O’Neill.

“He’s a very, very nice horse, (David) Hayes, Ciaron (Maher), and Gai (Waterhouse) were very aggressively in the market, looking for weight-for-age stars and Melbourne Cup style horses.

“I have a guy that does some form for us, Ozzie (Kheir’s) got a guy that's doing extraordinary form too. The guy that did the form for us was querying the Epsom Derby form. He thought the French Derby was the best form.

“There was a couple of other horses in that race that have ran terrific races as well, so they were the horses that we had a really good crack at.”

The respected owner continued by stating that Will Bourne from Ciaron Maher Racing had done “a heap of work” with Donnacha O'Brien, allowing an opportunity to purchase A Boy Named Susie.

However, O’Neill and others decided not to go ahead with the purchase due to results found in the colt’s CT scan.

“Will Bourne had done a heap of work, I think with Donnacha, and clearly there was an opportunity to buy the horse. Will had put a group of people together,” explained O’Neill.

“Obviously it was all subject to them approving that process, but there was definitely an opportunity to get in the horse, and as per usual, he went through the full vetting scenarios and passed the vet beautifully, everything was fine.

“And then they did the CT scan, and we decided not to proceed. So, the horse passed the vet perfectly, there wasn't any challenge whatsoever, but we did the CT scan and decided not to continue. (The offer) was (going to be) north of $5 million.”

O’Neill admitted that him and the group of potential owners were devasted that the deal couldn’t go through, however.

“I will say one thing; we were all absolutely gutted that happened because we were very happy to come out and have a crack at the Cox Plate,” O’Neill stated.

“Ultimately, we wanted to bring him out for the Cox Plate, Donnacha was going to train him for that race, and then Ciaron was going to take over.

“He's a beautiful horse, I'll tell you what, he's a proper horse.”

A Boy Named Susie is still $13 to take out the Group 1 Cox Plate on October 24 at Flemington despite not being purchased by Australian connections.

The reports of Ciaron Maher purchasing gun northern hemisphere colt, A Boy Named Susie, are not true, according to trainer Donnacha O'Brien.

It was understood in some Australian media that the three-year-old had been purchased by Ciaron Maher Racing for $5 million, and the son of Starspangledbanner was set to be targeted at the 2026 Cox Plate.

O'Brien addressed those reports, exclaiming that A Boy Named Susie had not been sold, but they may still run the horse in the prestigious Victorian Group 1 regardless.

"He hasn't been sold,” O’Brien told Racing Post.

“There's been plenty of interest in him since the Eclipse and there have been discussions with various parties, but no deal has been done.

"We've decided to hold on to him for now and we have some big plans for him at the end of the year such as the Breeders' Cup, the Cox Plate and the Irish Champion Stakes.

"It's been a bit disappointing to see various news outlets report on the sale without checking sources or confirming with us."

Australian bookmakers have marked the colt at a price of $15 for the Cox Plate.

But just how good is A Boy Named Susie and does he have what it takes to win the 2040m Group 1 this year - provided they go that way?

“He's pretty good,” expert UK racing broadcaster Nick Luck told SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.

“He could have finished maybe a little bit closer in the French Derby behind Constitution River. (But) it was a race that was dominated by Aidan O'Brien's three horses who finished first, second, and third, and nothing else could really get into it from off the back.

“He was the best of the rest and given where he was positioned and how inexperienced he was, I thought he ran great.

“Then he surpassed that again in the Eclipse – you’re splitting Constitution River, who's the best horse in Aidan O'Brien's stable at the moment, and Hawk Mountain, who is a pretty talented animal and was a Group 1 winner at two (years old) and has been placed in a classic at three (years old) – that’s really good form.

“He's certainly a perfectly viable contender for the Cox Plate, and that's the race that Donnacha O'Brien was always suggesting he might run in."

With O'Brien hopeful to run A Boy Named Susie in the Cox Plate this year, it will be interesting to see if the talented horse will make the flight down to Australia.

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