Donnacha O'Brien hopeful Porta Fortuna can thrive at Breeders' Cup

Donnacha O'Brien is confident there will be plenty for his family to cheer at Del Mar when Porta Fortuna bids to break his own Breeders’ Cup duck and City Of Troy attempts to give his father Aidan a historic first success in the Classic.

The 26-year-old never found the scoresheet at the Stateside showpiece as a jockey, but came close to glory as a trainer at Santa Anita 12 months ago when Porta Fortuna rattled the crossbar in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

She has since dominated against her own sex at a mile in Ireland as well as Britain and after winning her third Group One of the campaign in the Matron Stakes last month, the daughter of Caravaggio is poised to board the plane once more for another trans-Atlantic mission.

Porta Fortuna will be competing against colts and geldings for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, but her handler is confident she has all the attributes to thrive in an all-star field that could include Charlie Appleby’s 2000 Guineas hero Notable Speech and Christopher Head’s Ramatuelle.

"All is on course and she has a few more bits of work to go, but all is going well so far and we’re on track," said O’Brien.

"It’s going to be a very good race and there is no doubt about it, it is probably going to be the strongest field she has ever faced. She’s a filly who is progressing with every run and she’s enjoyed a super season, so I think she has deserved a crack against the boys and we will see what she can do.

"She ran a cracker at the Breeders’ Cup last year, she’s the kind of filly that’s very tactically versatile in terms of European racing, but it is also a big advantage when you go to America.

"It means you can break on terms and get a decent position if you get a good draw, which is obviously going to