Diego Velazquez showed his versatility in pulling out all the stops to land the Romanised Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh.
Aidan O’Brien’s son of Frankel was winning for the fifth time in his 10-race career, but was tackling the shortest distance he has encountered since making a winning debut over the same course and distance as a two-year-old.
The 11-8 favourite for the Group Two event in the hands of Ryan Moore, he was well away and always in a handy position alongside Adrian Murray’s Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up California Dreamer.
Moore may have been low in the saddle inside the final quarter-mile but he had a willing ally and although the challengers were queuing up a furlong from home, it was only David Marnane’s 25-1 shot East Hampton who emerged from the pack to lay down a stern challenge in the closing stages.
Diego Velazquez, however, was never headed and even though East Hampton was within a neck at the winning post, the class of the Ballydoyle colt was always keeping him on top.
O’Brien said: “A mile is probably his trip. We were preparing him for Ascot and we had him in the stalls at Leopardstown, but he got upset and had to be withdrawn (from the Amethyst Stakes) and that upset his Ascot plan.
“I wasn’t confident enough to tell Ryan to ride him as forward as he would have liked (in the Queen Anne Stakes) because he hadn’t had a run. They only walked the first half of the race, so it was a non event really.
“We knew he would come forward a lot from then to today and he did well to win today over seven. He’s a brave horse and Ryan gave him a good ride.
“He’s a very well-made horse – powerful, strong, a great walker. Physically as a specimen he’s a tank really.
“We’ll go back up to a mile now for the Sussex or the Jacques le Marois, something like that.
“He’ll have no problem getting back up to nine furlongs or a mile and a quarter at the end of the season.”
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Paddy Twomey and connections of Carmers are working back from the Betfred St Leger with their Queen’s Vase hero, as they plot the best route to Doncaster in September.
Unraced at two, the Wootton Bassett colt is a perfect three from three this season, most latterly in the Group Three at Royal Ascot, where he showed his stamina for a mile and six furlongs.
“Carmers is in good form. The plan is to go for the Leger and how we get there remains to be seen,” said Twomey.
“The owners are keen on going for the Voltigeur (at York) and there is also the Vinnie Roe in Leopardstown. We could stay at home and just go straight there, so we’ll see.”
Twomey – who said his beaten Ribblesdale Stakes favourite Catalina Delcarpio would be coming back to 10 furlongs – added: “He’s a grand horse and doesn’t show you much at home.
“He went to Ballinrobe and won, eight days later went to Navan and won, a month later went to Ascot and won. It’s hard to find a horse like him.”
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One Look relished a step up in trip when bouncing back to her best in the Curragh’s Al Shira’aa Racing Meadow Court Stakes.
The four-year-old burst onto the scene here at the Curragh in a valuable event as a two-year-old and has been one of Paddy Twomey’s top performers ever since.
She began this season in great form, winning the Park Express Stakes at this track before returning to give Porta Fortuna a fright in the Lanwades Stud Stakes, but was disappointing when last seen in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Sent off at 100-30 for her first try at 10 furlongs, she relished the return to her beloved Curragh and served a reminder of her class in the hands of Wayne Lordan to deliver a decisive length success over Dermot Weld’s Azada.
Twomey said: “It was great to come here and win again at the Curragh. She seems to like the Curragh and is a lovely filly.
“Ascot didn’t work out for her, probably on ground quicker than she’d like and a trip as short as she’d want to go.
“She ran over nine and a half furlongs at Gowran last year and we felt on pedigree that stepping up in trip would suit her. She was brave today, she didn’t have the easiest passage through but won nicely.
Paddy Twomey with jockey Wayne Lordan after the victory of One Look (Niall Carson/PA)
“She’s won a Group Three with a penalty, so we’re going to have to look at better races.
“She’s in the Nassau, she could run here in the Blandford Stakes on Champions Weekend and races on Arc weekend. We’ll have a think and pick our spots, but she’s a four-year-old now and will probably run more than she has in the past.”
Sir Mark Prescott’s Tasmania, the 5-2 favourite, had to settle for a running-on third.
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There will be no Ascot repeat for Amiloc, who will be a notable absentee from the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
The Ralph Beckett-trained three-year-old enhanced his reputation with a fifth straight win in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, but a return to the scene of his finest hour is now off the cards, with the track’s midsummer Group One feature deemed to be coming too soon for David and Vimy Aykroyd’s unbeaten gelding.
“It’s a training decision and Ralph felt he could just do with a little bit more time having had a hard race at Royal Ascot,” said the Aykroyds’ racing manager Patrick Cooper on the decision to miss the weekend highlight.
“The real racing for this horse will be in the autumn time and Ralph thinks it’s a little too quick after his last race, it’s nothing more than that and nothing untoward.”
Amiloc was a general 10-1 chance for the King George, which could see Coronation Cup one-two Jan Brueghel and Calandagan renew rivalry, and holds entries for both the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York (August 20) and the Curragh’s Comer Group International Irish St. Leger (September 14) later in the summer.
However, connections appear undecided on their next move at this stage, as they anticipate heading overseas in search of valuable prizes before the year is out.
Cooper added: “We’ll hopefully go on the road with him in the autumn time, we haven’t overly thought about it, but the big-money races are at the end of the year.
“All those races in Hong Kong, Australia and America are all on the radar and I suspect we will be on the road at some stage.”
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Aidan O’Brien’s Sugar Island produced a sweet performance on debut to claim the Sycamore Lodge Equine Hospital Irish EBF Fillies Maiden at the Curragh.
With Ryan Moore switching to the daughter of Dubawi following the absence of anticipated favourite Signora, the regally-bred juvenile was sent off at 9-2 for the seven-furlong contest, coming home decisively by half a length.
O’Brien said: “She was really just ready to start off. Ryan said she was green but still won nicely and he liked her.
“She’d have no problem going into a Group race over a mile and you’d like to give her another run before then.
“I thought she’d be still a maiden after this and then we could run her in another maiden. Sometimes it’s easier on them when they can have two runs in maidens.
“She’ll stay a mile and a quarter next year.”
O’Brien and Moore added to their tally with Light As Air in the Hong Kong Thoroughbred Breeders Alliance Irish EBF Maiden, the 1-2 favourite having last been seen finishing well down the field in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot.
O’Brien said: “We thought he was a well-handicapped horse. He was unlucky at Leopardstown and was also placed at Navan, but was a bit disappointing at Ascot last time.
“Today we thought he’d win easier than that, but we think there is more to come with him. Ryan gave him a good ride.
“We might give him a little more time now. He’d a tough race there and Ryan said the second horse kept coming with him all the way, but he didn’t lie down.
“He stays well and looks like he could get further.”
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Royal Ascot sprint star Lazzat is pencilled in to make his next start on home turf, as the Prix Maurice de Gheest beckons again.
The gelded four-year-old, who is trained in France by Jerome Reynier and owned by Wathnan Racing, was an excellent winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on his first start for new connections.
His next port of call is likely to be the Deauville feature, a Group One he won by an impressive three lengths last season.
“We were delighted with him at Ascot, that was a very serious performance,” said Richard Brown, racing manager to Wathnan.
“He probably had a hard enough race, they always do at that level, so we said we’d give him a bit of a chance to give him a bit of a wind down and then wind him back up again.
“His next run will be in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and Jerome’s delighted with him, he came out of the race very well.
“We could have brought him back quicker if we’d wanted to, but we just thought we’d give him the chance now to be a fresh horse going into the autumn.
“We want to look after him, he’s a multiple Group One winner and he’s clearly a very high-class animal.
“We’ll race him with his long-term future in mind and hope he can be around for the next few years.”
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All roads lead to the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for Leffard, after his emotional victory in the Grand Prix de Paris.
French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget was marking his return to the big time, having battled with cancer in recent years and seeing his string much reduced, also abandoning a plan to join forces with Jerome Reynier.
He had in fact been without a Group One success since the brilliant Ace Impact won the Arc in 2023.
Leffard races in the colours of Gerard Augustin-Normand, also the owner of Le Havre, Leffard’s sire and a Prix du Jockey Club winner for the same connections.
— IFHA's Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (@worldsbesthorse) July 13, 2025
“He’ll run in the Prix Niel and the Arc, that will be his programme,” said former trainer John Hammond, racing and bloodstock adviser to Augustin-Normand, who owns the colt in company with Ecurie Antonio Caro.
“It was an emotional day given what Jean-Claude has been through, it was a big day, a big, big win.
“He’s a lovely looking horse, really good looking and very correct. He didn’t run at two, he’s a very nice type and hopefully he’ll be competitive in the autumn, but he’s going to have to step up a bit.
"Allez petit va !"
🤩 Pris par l’émotion, Jean-Claude Rouget accompagne Leffard dans la la dernière ligne du Cygames Grand Prix de Paris (Gr.1) pic.twitter.com/uvDdi810X8
“On a line through the horse who finished third, New Ground, he was beaten about the same as he was by Lambourn in the Derby so we’ve a rough idea where we are. He was beaten five and a half lengths in Paris and five lengths at Epsom, so in theory that gives you a bit of a line.”
Hammond – twice an Arc-winning handler in his training days, courtesy of Suave Dancer and the magnificent Montjeu – added: “He’s got an outstanding pedigree and he means a lot to the owners, so it’s exciting.”
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Aidan O’Brien’s Action is bred to be top class and there is plenty to look forward to judged on a debut full of promise at the Curragh.
The apparent second string of three runners for Ballydoyle, the son of Frankel is a half-brother to dual Derby winner Lambourn, so the seven-furlong distance he faced in the opener on Irish Oaks day was always likely to be on the short side.
Having sat in the slipstream of his front-running stablemate New Zealand for much of the way, Action looked to be back-pedalling passing the two-furlong marker, but the penny dropped late on and he was fairly motoring at the line, in the end beaten just a nose and half a length into third place.
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Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa stamped his class on the Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup.
The dual Group One winner had played a supporting role in three previous outings this year, finishing third in the Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia and fourth in the Prix Ganay in France before finding the globetrotting Rebel’s Romance too strong Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Stepping up to a mile and three-quarters for the first time, the Dylan Browne McMonagle-ridden 4-5 favourite saw out the trip in some style, rocketing clear late on to claim Group Two honours by five lengths from Shackleton.
Crash, bang, wallop – what a stayer!
Hardwicke Stakes runner-up 𝐀𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐚 thrives for a step up to 1m6f with a frankly effortless success in the Curragh Cup 💥 pic.twitter.com/LDSaytuzF0
Stable representative Kevin Blake said: “That was brilliant, he’s a horse with a lot of class and he was last to first in a National Stakes here in fairness to him.
“No one ever felt that he needed that trip, but it made sense. He was relaxed, Dylan said he was very easy to ride over that trip, he quickened up and it was really good.
“I’d say it’s most likely that he’ll go straight to the Irish Leger from here. There is a possibility of the Group One that he won in Berlin last year (Grosser Preis von Berlin), but I’d say it’s more likely he’ll go straight there.
“The Melbourne Cup is in the minds thereafter. We all know what comes with that but that would be what we’d like to do, if we’re allowed.”
New Zealand and Ryan Moore won the opening race at the Curragh (Niall Carson/PA)
Odds-on favourite New Zealand led home a one-two-three for Aidan O’Brien in the Juddmonte Chaldean Irish EBF Maiden.
Despite finishing only seventh on his debut at this venue three weeks ago, the Frankel colt was sent on his way the 10-11 favourite to open his account in a race won by Henry Longfellow and The Lion In Winter in the past two years and was soon bowling along in front under Ryan Moore.
He was under pressure from two furlongs down, but kept responding to his rider’s urgings and had just enough up his sleeve to repel his previously unraced stablemate Issac Newton by a nose, with another Ballydoyle newcomer Action – a half-brother to dual Derby winner Lambourn – an eyecatching third.
Of the winner, O’Brien said: “He’s a lovely big horse, he hasn’t a clue what he’s doing yet – he’s massive, the power and the size of him.
“We’ll go gentle and let him come on. He learned a lot from the first day, we liked him before that and he was very green. The first day he was a little bit slow away and you could see him today, he never travelled a yard.
“He’s a big horse and he’s all power. I know he’s not short of speed, but he looks like a big, middle-distance horse.”
The Ado McGuinness-trained Go Athletico (20-1) swooped fast and late under Shane Foley to claim top honours in the €100,000 Kwiff Supercharged Betting Scurry Handicap.
Go Athletico (right) gets up to win the Scurry Handicap (Niall Carson/PA)
“It’s a nice birthday present – I’m the big 60 today,” said McGuinness.
“I suppose class is permanent and form is temporary and he did lose his form big time. He slipped back down and we were very disappointed with him.
“He’s a good horse and he’ll probably pitch up in Galway now in the Ahonoora Handicap, that’s where he’s going to do next.”
Stop The Nation was a 15-2 winner of the Lavazza Sprint Nursery Handicap for trainer Jack Davison and 3lb claimer James Ryan.
“I had a baby boy at 23.59 last night and James Ryan lost his claim there. It’s a real feel-good winner on many fronts,” said Davison.
“He’s a good colt and he’s learning the whole time. He’ll be a lovely horse for the Goffs Million.”
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Aidan O’Brien has suggested the Coolmore partners are leaning towards running Jan Brueghel rather than dual Derby winner Lambourn in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Last season’s St Leger hero Jan Brueghel opened his account for the current campaign in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month and looks set for a rematch with the runner-up that day, French star Calandagan, in Ascot’s midsummer highlight.
While the Ballydoyle handler was not ruling out the possibility of Epsom and Curragh winner Lambourn taking on his elders when speaking at the Kildare track on Saturday, connections appear more likely to chart a path towards a third Classic bid in the Betfred-sponsored Leger at Doncaster in September.
O’Brien said: “At the moment I’d say Jan Brueghel is most likely to go to the King George, with Continuous.
“Lambourn is still on the boiling pot for it, but I don’t think he’ll be forced into it by any means and he is a three-year-old.
“Jan Brueghel seems to be in very good form and everyone seems to be very happy with him. I’d imagine the lads might let him go there.
“That would mean Lambourn would have a couple of easy weeks and he might go to the Great Voltigeur (at York), even though he’s a Group One winner, and kind of set him up for the Leger.
“They haven’t really decided yet, but reading between the lines that’s what could happen.”
Delacroix won a pulsating renewal of the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown (Chris Radburn/PA)
O’Brien also confirmed his Eclipse first and fourth Delacroix and Camille Pissarro are both being trained for next month’s Juddmonte International at York, despite bookmaker support prompting speculation the former could drop back to a mile for a clash with Field Of Gold in Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes, while the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe remains the long-term target for Los Angeles.
“We have Delacroix and Camille Pissarro being trained for the Juddmonte at York and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. They’ll be taking that slot at the moment,” he said.
“Los Angeles is on a break and he’ll maybe go to the Prix Foy on Arc trials day with the view of going to the Arc with him.
“Delacroix loved Leopardstown and was very good around there. Whether the lads decide to go to York or not before that, they’ll make that decision. He seems in good form at the moment.”
Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with ITV Racing, O’Brien revealed his Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Lake Victoria may not run again.
The Frankel filly was ruled out of Royal Ascot last month after suffering a setback and has not yet returned to work.
O’Brien said: “She is not back in exercise yet. She’s doing very well physically, but she’s not back in work yet.
“John (Halley, vet) will make the decision on whether she comes back into work for this year or is left alone until next year or is retired altogether. They’ll be decisions that will be made as weeks go by.”
The trainer is preparing both Whirl and Bedtime Story for the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, but admitted he was “a little bit uneasy about running them against each other”, hinting Whirl could be rerouted to the Yorkshire Oaks should his Epsom and Curragh Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk head elsewhere.
Gstaad and Ryan Moore after winning at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)
With the highly touted Albert Einstein “probably not” going to run going to run again this season, O’Brien’s juvenile team for the second half of the season is set to be led by Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad, who has several Group One options coming up.
O’Brien added: “Gstaad is very well, he’s come out of the Coventry very well. We’re thinking he could be a Heinz (Phoenix Stakes) horse, he could take in Deauville (Prix Morny) and he could take in the National Stakes and he could end up being a Dewhurst horse at the end.”
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Rod Millman continued his love affair with the Weatherbys Super Sprint, as Anthelia regained the winning thread to deny Royal Ascot winner Havana Hurricane in a thrilling finish to the Newbury feature.
The Devon handler credits the valuable two-year-old contest as salvaging his career when winning it for the first time with Lord Kintyre in 1997 and after striking again with Bettys Hope in 2019 was making it a hat-trick with the Middleham Park-owned filly – who was picked up for a bargain price of £6,000 as a yearling.
Anthelia was sent off the 6-1 co second-favourite and looked booked for second when Eve Johnson Houghton’s Windsor Castle Stakes victor and 6-4 market leader Havana Hurricane burst onto the scene inside the final furlong.
Regular partner Lewis Edmunds was also conjuring maximum effort from the daughter of Supremacy, though, and after showing the blistering speed that had been a hallmark of her campaign to date, Anthelia stuck her head down to be rewarded with a short-head success.
“I didn’t know if she had got there and she had to make a bit of ground inside the final furlong as Eve’s horse got first run on us,” explained Millman.
“I don’t try to buy cheap horses, I try to buy nice horses cheaply. She’s a lovely filly to be involved with and we’re so lucky to have a nice filly like this.
“It’s a wonderful race for any trainer, but especially the small trainers and it kept me in business many years ago when I was struggling and then won it with Lord Kintyre. After that people sent me horses and we’ve been fine ever since.
“We always try to have a nice horse for it and I’ve spent a lot of money on entry fees as the trouble is you have to enter them before you know how good they are. So you’re sort of running for your own prize-money, but if you’re lucky enough to have the right horse it’s a great race.
“My wife always says, what’s mine is half hers and what’s hers is hers, so she’ll enjoy this.”
Connections had deliberately skipped Royal Ascot after landing Sandown’s Listed National Stakes earlier in the season, but suffered disappointment when trying six furlongs for the first time in Newmarket’s Empress Stakes last month.
However, having bounced back with a lucrative £134,092 haul, Anthelia could now go in search of further sales race bounty before dipping her toe in at a higher level.
Anthelia in full flow (Jonathan Brady/PA)
“We’ll probably go for Harry’s Half Million (York, August 21) and then there’s some nice Group races later in the season,” said Millman.
“The Empress went wrong last time, but she’s a good filly and proved it today. It wasn’t that she didn’t stay in the Empress, she was just in the bad position but it wasn’t the jockey’s fault, it was my fault as I gave the instructions and I gave myself a good telling off afterwards.
“I think she’s quite nice, but it is always another ball game taking on the big girls. She’s effective over five and six furlongs and once you start trying to go further you’ve got to be a better class again to be effective at that distance, but I have not ruled it out.”
Johnson Houghton, meanwhile, could potentially seek immediate compensation at the Qatar Goodwood Festival with the runner-up having been thwarted in her continuing quest for a first Super Sprint victory.
Trainer Eve Johnson Houghton had to settle for second (Nigel French/PA)
Johnson Houghton said: “I’m thrilled but gutted is the best way of putting it, it’s my unlucky race.
“I’m pleased for Rod but gutted for us and I think if we hadn’t had the rain he might have won, but I can’t possibly say that as there is no way of knowing and the winner is a very good filly.
“She’s a Listed winner, we’re a Listed winner and they should have finished like that really as they are two good horses and two cheap horses we have done well with, so clever us – aren’t Rod and I clever.
“We might as well have a look at Goodwood now, but I don’t think he wants soft ground as it just dents his turn of foot. I don’t know if we’ll go go five or six furlongs just yet, I need to have a think about it.”
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Ballysax Hank completed a successful raid when partnered by Harry Cobden in the Unibet Summer Plate Handicap Chase at Market Rasen.
The Gavin Cromwell-trained six-year-old was one of a handful of Irish horses to travel over for the valuable summer feature, with Cobden taking the ride in his quest for a third successive triumph in the big handicap.
The duo started as the 9-4 favourite, though Ballysax Hank may have given his backers a few tense moments when making his rider’s job rather difficult with some fractious behaviour at the start.
The chestnut travelled at the rear and had plenty of horses to pass when he turned for home, but with plenty up his sleeve he was well able to pick them all off and score by an easy five lengths from Mickey Bowen’s Courtland and Nicky Henderson’s Bhaloo in third.
Explaining how the ride came about, Cobden said: “I was buying cattle and Keith Donoghue called me while I was in the ring at Salisbury.
“He said, ‘do you want to ride Ballysax Hank on Saturday?’, and I said, ‘yes, put me down on him’. Keith and Gavin were talking and they said I can ride the horse and it has worked out great.
“I was only hacking away for much of the race, but I knew as soon as I turned in it was all over. I just didn’t want to hit the front too soon.
“Gavin is brilliant. There was no real instructions and he doesn’t tie you down to anything. The horse was playing up at the start, and I didn’t want to get among the other horses.
“I was a bit further back than I should have been, but sometimes you have got to do what is right.
“He was very fit and ready for the day, although there was a second I thought I was coming off him (at the start), but he jumped well and was always in a nice rhythm.
“All us professional lads are paid to do a job and when you are on the horse’s back you have got to do what you think is right as opposed to what you are told to do.
“He crept into it really well and when asked he picked up. It is great how it has worked out and I’m delighted.”
It may have been more solid than spectacular, but Minnie Hauk eventually wore down Wemightakedlongway to avoid a shock and double her Classic tally in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh.
The Frankel filly got the better of stablemate and subsequent Pretty Polly Stakes winner Whirl when landing the Oaks at Epsom in early June and was a prohibitively-priced 2-11 favourite to follow up against six rivals in the Irish equivalent.
Settled in third for much of the mile-and-a-half contest, with fellow Aidan O’Brien-trained runner Island Hopping deployed in a pacesetting role and Oaks and Pretty Polly fourth Wemightakedlongway splitting the pair in second, Minnie Hauk was under pressure to close the gap with two furlongs to go.
Joseph O’Brien’s Wemightakedlongway proved a willing adversary, but the red-hot favourite eventually took her measure and passed the post a length and a quarter in front under Ryan Moore to give O’Brien his eighth Irish Oaks success.
“We thought we’d be sitting second and Dylan (Browne McMonagle, on Wemightakedlongway) got the second position, so Ryan had to make a decision, he was either going to sit second on Dylan’s inside, in behind Wayne (Lordan, on Island Hopping), or pull back out of it in a way that he wouldn’t have been boxed in,” said the Ballydoyle handler.
“Obviously that’s a decision Ryan had to make quickly and it was the right decision. It wasn’t over-fast. We knew Joseph’s filly was a good filly and Dylan gave her a very good ride.
“She (Minnie Hauk) is one of those fillies that you’re probably never going to see the best of until the tempo is very strong and very high. She cruises through her races.”
Minnie Hauk with jockey Ryan Moore after winning the Irish Oaks (Niall Carson/PA)
Minnie Hauk is the 2-1 market leader for next month’s Yorkshire Oaks with Paddy Power, who also make her the 10-1 joint-favourite for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
O’Brien added: “The boss (John Magnier) asked Ryan where to go with her and he said to go to the Yorkshire Oaks. The boss said, ‘what about if we give her a break and train her for the Vermeille and give her a French Arc prep?’.
“All those things are open and we’ll see how she is. I think she can do either of those things, but if she’s going to the French trial she’d have to have a couple of easy weeks. Obviously if she’s going to York, she wouldn’t have those couple of easy weeks.
“She had a very easy race today, I’d say. The tempo wasn’t very strong so she should come out of it well. I’d imagine in the next week or so we’ll have a fair idea, but they are her two options.
“Looking at her she’d probably love York. She has a big stride and it’s a Flat track, too. Obviously the boss will decide with Derrick (Smith) and Michael (Tabor).”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.81039158-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-19 14:58:492025-07-19 15:40:13Minnie Hauk makes it a Classic double with battling Curragh victory
Arizona Blaze secured the biggest victory of his career to date in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh.
Adrian Murray’s charge has run a number of excellent races in top-class company, finishing on the podium in the Norfolk Stakes, Railway Stakes, Phoenix Stakes and at the Breeders’ Cup last season, while just last month he finished a neck second to Time For Sandals in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.
Also a dual Group Three winner, the Amo Racing-owned Arizona Blaze was a 9-4 joint-favourite for this Group Two assignment and having been positioned on the front end from the start David Egan, he finished off strongly to deny Ed Walker’s hat-trick-seeking British raider Mgheera by two lengths.
Arizona Blaze bolts up in the Group Two Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes, with David Egan giving the @AMurrayRacing colt a bold front-running ride 👏 pic.twitter.com/lG8jfAsrr0
— The Curragh Racecourse (@curraghrace) July 19, 2025
Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian said: “We’ve had a tough time at the Curragh. This guy deserved a big win, to be honest.
“He’s been second in a Breeders’ Cup and second in a Group One at Royal Ascot, this was a well-placed race for him.
“The ground was going a little bit softer than he’d like it because he likes really quick ground, but he just handled it very well.
“He’s never run a bad race really. Adrian and Robson (Aguiar) have done an amazing job with him in the past two years.
“I probably have to thank Aidan (O’Brien) for not running a horse in this race!”
Arizona Blaze (left) was a clear-cut winner (Niall Carson/PA)
He added: “The entire team at Amo, whether it’s in the UK or here, needed this little boost. We’ve had a little bit of a tough start to the season, but it’s been good.
“You’re in sport and I’ve been in sport all my life. Unfortunately in football it happens as well. You’re going up for a big Champions League game and you get a hamstring, a knock or something goes wrong. You have to cope with those kind of moments and suck it in.
“This year we’ve had a very big investment in Freemason Lodge and a very big investment across the globe. That investment has to still show itself.
“We’ve had so many injuries this year – one after the other. We had a massive setback just recently with Ghostwriter, who unfortunately had an injury.”
Coral cut Arizona Blaze to 8-1 from 12-1 for the Nunthorpe at York, with Paddy Power 10-1 from 20-1 about the Sprint Cup at Haydock.
Joorabchian said: “We haven’t made any plans, this is a good moment for us.
“Everyone always said every time I came to the Curragh we always seemed to not get a winner, so I’m happy he’s actually broken my duck.
“I think we’ll aim for the Breeders’ Cup. I think he’ll get a Group One somewhere.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.81038754-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-19 14:52:172025-07-19 14:52:17Arizona Blaze sparkles in Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh
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