SCORE ONE FOR THE ASSISTANT TRAINER

By Graham Potter | Monday, November 3, 2025

Take a bow David Casey?

David who … you might well ask as the name will not be that well known in Australia but, while the behind the scenes stable operatives seldom get a glimpse of the spotlight, trainer Willie Mullins had no hesitation in naming his right hand man as the reason he was at Del Mar winning the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf with Ethical Diamond on the weekend.

And that happened while Casey was nearly thirteen thousand kilometers away in Melbourne managing the Mullins trained Absurde’s final preparation for his third tilt at the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.

The story behind the story is an interesting one.

Ethical Diamond was originally earmarked for a Melbourne Cup campaign by the Mullins stable, but that option fell through when Ethical Diamond was deemed ineligible for the trip down under with the gelding having received surgery to repair a fracture in 2024.

Mullins stated that Australia’s strict vet protocols prevent horses from racing after such an injury … and that was when Casey came up with the suggestion to tackle the Breeders’ Cup instead.

“My assistant trainer David Casey … he does a lot of my entries, and he said let’s do the Breeders’ Cup instead. I thought, why not?

"David was instrumental in that decision.”

Score one for the assistant trainer.

In the meantime, Casey has been responsible for looking after the stable’s Melbourne Cup candidate Absurde … and even here there was a moment of uncertainty.

On Thursday, Racing Victoria vets were not entirely happy with the gait of Absurde. The horse had to undergo another vet check and, on Saturday morning, Absurde duly passed that examination and was given the all clear to take his place in the big race.

So, with an enforced Melbourne Cup discard now a Breeders’ Cup winner, if Casey’s touch with the horse is as anywhere near as good as his placing of a horse, Absurde could make it an exceptional couple days for the Mullins and Casey team.

In the parade ring they will place the horse in the hands of jockey Kerrin McEvoy whose knows a thing or two about what is required to win the Cup.

McEvoy has done just that three times already, saluting on Brew in 2000, Almandin in 2016 and Cross Counter in 2018.

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