Tag Archive for: Aidan O’Brien

Auguste Rodin to retire after Japan Cup swansong

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Dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin is set to retire to stud following a final run in the Japan Cup in November.

The son of Deep Impact is a six-times Group/Grade One winner, landing the Futurity Trophy as a juvenile before securing Derby glory at both and Epsom and the Curragh last year.

He subsequently claimed the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf at three before winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier this summer.

It is fitting he will return to the country in which his sire made his name for his final on-track appearance before commencing stallion duties for the 2025 season at Coolmore’s base in Ireland.

Auguste Rodin beat King Of Steel at Epsom
Auguste Rodin beat King Of Steel at Epsom (Tim Goode/PA)

“Auguste Rodin is out of Rhododendron, one of the best Galileo mares, and by Deep Impact, Japan’s best stallion,” said Aidan O’Brien, who has overseen the colt’s career.

“He connects two of the most powerful breeding lines in the world. He has been a pleasure and a privilege to train.

“He is just a very unique horse and we’re very excited to see what he will achieve at stud. We will be supporting him with our own mares.”

Auguste Rodin has been ridden in all but one of his races by Ryan Moore, who added: “He’s been an unbelievable horse for us. We have always thought the world of him. He has everything you’d want.

“He has so much pace. He could kill horses for speed, and he was able to stretch that out over 12 furlongs. Horses like him are so hard to find. An incredible horse.”

Coolmore’s MV Magnier is excited to see Auguste Rodin join the stallion ranks, rating him alongside some of the very best sires to stand at the stud.

Auguste Rodin was a top-level winner at Ascot in June
Auguste Rodin was a top-level winner at Ascot in June (David Davies/PA)

He said: “Auguste Rodin is an exceptional racehorse and stallion prospect with the blend of class, speed and pedigree that only the best possess.

“He is a very special horse for us, and I truly believe he ranks up there with the best middle-distance racehorses and sires that we have stood here before him like Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, Montjeu, Caerleon and Camelot.

“Physically he fills the eye so well as he has extra quality and movement so I can’t wait to see his first crop in Ballydoyle in 2028. We are going to do all we can to give him the best possible opportunity to follow in his illustrious predecessor’s footsteps.”



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Kyprios team ‘probably looking’ to take Cadran path

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The Prix du Cadran appears the most likely next port of call for star stayer Kyprios.

Aidan O’Brien’s charge was a spectacular victor at ParisLongchamp two years ago, winning by 20 lengths despite hanging badly across the track in the home straight.

That victory put the seal on a vintage campaign which also saw him win the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Irish St Leger – and while he was beaten in each of his two starts last term after recovering from a career-threatening injury, he has bounced back to regain all three of those titles this season.

In the aftermath of his most recent triumph at the Curragh, O’Brien did not rule out the possibility of Kyprios dropping back in trip for a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on October 6, but he appears set to stick to the staying route the previous afternoon.

Fiona Craig, racing adviser to part-owners Moyglare Stud Farm, said: “I think he’s probably looking at the Cadran, all being well. With Kyprios that does come down to how he is a couple of days beforehand.

“I don’t think he’ll run in the Arc, I think it will be the Cadran or the Long Distance Cup at Ascot, and the further he goes the better.

“After the injury, we just have to see how he is a few days before he runs, but I took Eva (Maria Bucher-Haefner, Moyglare owner) down to see him after the Leger win and he seemed good.

“I think the hope is to bring him back next year and go for the Gold Cup again. He obviously got injured last year and came back and ran two brave races and he’s definitely a much better horse now.

“One day there’ll be a horse out there that can beat him, at the moment there isn’t.”



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Double delight for Moore on Listowel debut

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Ryan Moore enjoyed a successful first visit to Listowel with a double on day three of the Harvest Festival.

The three-time champion jockey may have enjoyed big-race success across the globe during his glittering career in the saddle, but he had not previously been seen in competitive action at the County Kerry track.

Moore arrived with a strong book of four rides and made an instant impact aboard Thrice in the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.

Having finished a close third on his debut at the Curragh last month, Aidan O’Brien’s colt was a 1-4 favourite to open his account on his second start and rewarded odds-on backers with a comfortable four-length victory.

“He had a good run at the Curragh, he is still a bit babyish and was a little lost going around the bends,” Moore said of the son of Wootton Bassett.

“Once he got balanced in the last furlong and a half, he stayed going well to the line.

“It is a flat track, a bit quick and a bit ridgy, but the horses seem to handle it well in general.

“They have a heated weighing room here, which is good!”

Moore and O’Brien completed their brace in the MAC Hardware And Farm Supplies Irish EBF Rated Race, with Medici Venus (15-8) edging out The Marty Party by a short head.

Moore added: “She is still learning and is obviously improving, as I thought she had a lot on at the weights. She is still plenty green and isn’t quite sure what to do with herself.

“I’ve been well looked after and it’s a nice place to come and visit. I’m only here today, but I was delighted to come.”

Curvature returns to the Listowel winner's enclosure
Curvature returns to the Listowel winner’s enclosure (Thomas Weekes/PA)

The rider will have had high hopes of landing the Listed Edmund And Josie Whelan Memorial Listowel Stakes aboard the well fancied Mundi, but he could only finish sixth as the Jessica Harrington-trained Curvature took top spot in some style under Gary Carroll.

Always up with the pace, the 5-1 shot extended clear in the closing stages and passed the post with two and a quarter lengths in hand over Princess Child.

Carroll, who stepped in to take the ride in the absence of Colin Keane, who was feeling unwell, said: “I won on her last year and while she is a little bit tricky, she gave me a lovely ride today.

“The rain came, which suited her, and she liked the track and finished third in this race last year.

“She can be keen and a little awkward but is getting better with age. The pace was nice, she quickened off the bend and got to the line well.”



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Lake Victoria in Cheveley Park mix for Aidan O’Brien

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Aidan O’Brien could allow Lake Victoria to bid for back-to-back Group One victories in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday, after confirming Royal Ascot heroine Fairy Godmother will not run again this season.

Lake Victoria maintained her unbeaten record in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh and has the option of dropping back in trip from seven to six furlongs just a fortnight later on the Rowley Mile.

Fairy Godmother, not seen since her brilliant victory in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, had previously been identified as the likely Ballydoyle representative this weekend, but she has now been put away for the winter.

Paddy Power make the pair their 5-1 joint-favourites for next year’s 1000 Guineas.

“Fairy Godmother is finished for the season, we just decided to leave her off for the rest of the year,” O’Brien told the PA news agency on Monday.

“As for Lake Victoria, we were thinking we might bring her back to six furlongs for this going to the Moyglare.”

Lake Victoria is among 14 fillies in the mix for the Cheveley Park Stakes, with O’Brien also confirming Bubbling, Heavens Gate, Merrily and Truly Enchanting.

The likely favourite is the Ger Lyons-trained Babouche, who has carried the Juddmonte colours to a hat-trick of wins including a Group One victory over the O’Brien-trained Whistlejacket in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

Celandine winning the Lowther Stakes at York
Celandine winning the Lowther Stakes at York (Mike Egerton/PA)

Francis-Henri Graffard has supplemented the runaway Chantilly winner Rayevka and Ed Walker is set to saddle his Lowther Stakes winner Celandine.

O’Brien dominates the entries for the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes, with the Ballydoyle handler responsible for 10 of 18 remaining contenders. Acapulco Bay is the shortest priced.

Charlie Fellowes will justifiably have high hopes for his Ascendant Stakes winner Luther in the one-mile Group Two, while Ralph Beckett’s Convivial Maiden scorer Angelo Buonarroti is another horse worthy of respect in what promises to be an informative event.



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Whistlejacket in search of more Group One honours

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Ante-post favourite Whistlejacket and the supplemented Defence Minister are among 12 confirmations for the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.

Whistlejacket has won three of his six starts for Aidan O’Brien, including a victory on Newmarket’s July Course in the Group Two July Stakes, and he is poised to return to Headquarters in a bid for back-to-back Group One wins following success in the Prix Morny at Deauville.

O’Brien has also left in the impressive Round Tower Stakes winner Ides Of March, beaten National Stakes favourite Henri Matisse, Camille Pissarro and Treasure Isle.

Defence Minister is two from two for trainer Hamad Al Jehani and the Wathnan Racing team, having supplemented a debut win at Newmarket with victory at Haydock.

He missed Saturday’s Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury on account of soft ground after being supplemented a week ago and connections have now added him to the Middle Park field at a cost of £20,000. He also holds an entry on Thursday’s Tattersalls Stakes.

Wathnan Racing’s adviser Richard Brown said: “With all the rain and a very changeable forecast we want to have a range of possible targets for Defence Minister. He’s a very promising colt but we know he wants decent ground, so we are keeping all our options open at this stage.”

Michael O’Callaghan’s Black Forza and Charlie Appleby’s Gimcrack runner-up Shadow Of Light also feature along with Andesite (Karl Burke), Dash Dizzy (Charlie Johnston), Intrusively (Ed Bethell) and Jouncy (Andrew Balding).



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Monday Musings: Of Real Racing Heroes

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Less than a year after areas of Southwell racecourse, including the main grandstand and offices, were flooded to a depth of up to three feet, it played host last Friday to a unique presentation, writes Tony Stafford. No racing there, nor even the Big Trucks event that was lined up for the following couple of days, just one group of five horses galloping for a mile around its Tapeta oval.

Yet the mesmeric draw of City Of Troy and four of his lesser stablemates, accompanied by trainer Aidan O’Brien, was sufficient to entice 1,500 people – that was the pre-event estimate but on the ground the feeling was that the figure had been exceeded – to come to see it.

Here were Ryan Moore, Wayne Lordan, Brett Doyle, Rachel Richardson and Dean Gallagher to ride the quintet in advance of City Of Troy’s Breeders’ Cup Classic challenge at Del Mar, California, in November. (Gallagher amazingly so as it was more than 30 years ago that his dad Tommy asked me if I could find him a job in England. I did and he came to Rod Simpson, yet he is still regarded as sufficiently talented and fit to be asked to take his part in a trial of this importance.)

https://twitter.com/RacingTV/status/1837185812837855338

A few years after Dean had been signed as first jockey for the one-time Midlands greengrocer Paul Green, by then a substantial owner, he rode the Francois Doumen-trained Hors La Loi III into second place in the third of Istabraq’s triple Champion Hurdle sequence, Istabraq trained of course by Aidan O’Brien.

There was no Champion Hurdle the following year because of foot and mouth, but when Istabraq went for the four-timer in 2002, he pulled up as Charlie Swan felt he was wrong, a view confirmed by the vet’s post-race inspection. The winner, Hors La Loi III, by now trained by James Fanshawe but ridden still by Gallagher, beat Hughie Morrison’s Marble Arch, a 25/1 shot into second place.

I can throw in another small personal part to this story. I was asked to try to buy Istabraq from the July sale in 1996 and went to the John Gosden yard at Newmarket a couple of days earlier. I was shown the horse by the late John Durkan, Gosden’s assistant at the time, who said: “He’s a lovely horse. I couldn’t recommend him more highly.”

I had a budget from a Saudi prince who wanted the staying 3yo for the King’s Cup in his home country. I stayed in until 36k but Timmy Hyde, bidding for J P McManus, held sway at 38,000 gns.

I was coming back from Keeneland Sales a few years later when I heard a voice from behind me as we walked to change planes in Cincinnati. It was Timmy Hyde. He said: “Tony, you were the under-bidder for Istabraq. I know because I was standing right behind you! It’s just that that f…ing Danny Murphy is telling everyone he was!” He wasn’t.

The obvious next question was: “How high would I have needed to go?” Timmy smiled and said: “We had 100 grand if necessary!” Hardly an underbidder in truth!

The saddest part of the story was that Aidan wasn’t meant to be training the horse, it was John Durkan who would be leaving Gosden to set up his own operation in Ireland. He even came up to the Daily Telegraph’s office in South Quay Plaza, the one between Fleet Street and Canary Wharf, with our photographer Ed Byrne and Conor O’Dwyer.

But then he contracted inoperable cancer and was unable to proceed with his plans. JP McManus gave the horse to Aidan and four consecutive Festival wins, starting with the 2m5f novice and then three Champion Hurdles, earned him a place in jumping folklore, along of course with his owner and trainer. I’ve never forgotten how honest he was about the horse even though if JP had bought him, he would be training him. Istabraq died this summer at the age of 32, much lamented by his owner and family.

JP has stayed mainly in that environment, dominating owners’ championships on either side of the Irish Sea, while O’Brien has been unchallenged on the flat in his homeland and more than a match for Gosden, Hannon and the rest for most years over here.

When interviewed after a big win, Aidan invariably remembers all the people he considers have played a part in the particular horse’s preparation. It’s not about him, everyone else almost.

On Friday, as Pat Keating awaited his boss’s delayed arrival – there was a crash on the way from the airport - replying to his question: “How long <have they been walking around the paddock>? answered “Forty-seven minutes”. Aidan said: “They are set to go then.” Thirty is the usual requirement. The jockeys mounted, setting off around to the far side of the track for the American-style stalls especially brought for the event.

The imperative, apart from City Of Troy working well and acting on the surface, was a fast pace and the short-running duo that broke best, ensured that would happen. Up the straight, the markedly elongated stretch of the Derby winner’s stride not for the first time struck connections Paul Smith, son of Derrick, his son Harry and Mike Dillon, former Ladbrokes man and a close friend.

The workout was the day job. But then we saw the true Aidan. He had a quick post-work de-brief with the jockeys, giving each the chance to comment, but obviously then having the crucial talk with Ryan on how it went.

But then the crowd saw something I doubt even those that travelled from far beyond the East Midlands would have expected. Aidan smiled throughout whenever cornered by a gallop-goer to sign the nice little racecard designed by Nick Craven, one of Weatherbys’ bosses. Each signature, because we are in 2024 and not 2004, had to require a selfie. None of which the personable O’Brien refused.

There was a lengthy television interview for Sky Sports Racing with Jason Weaver, while Brough Scott added his wisdom of many years to the proceedings. Then Aidan spent ages talking to mainly young aspiring journalists, none of whom could believe this giant of racing would give them so much time.

I guess almost an hour and a half after the workout – the pre-event blurb said he would stay for 45 minutes - he went off smiling for the car to the airport, long after Keating, his travelling head lad, had caught his eye and pointed to his watch.

Aidan O’Brien may be no Frankie Dettori but where the Italian has showmanship in the extreme, Aidan has a modesty and innate kindness that you would need to go a long way to see replicated by any public figure.

It could have been a fiasco, but Aidan’s plan to give his horse an awayday must be termed a great success, not least in PR terms. I’m certainly glad I was there to see it. And I know that the final line of people waiting patiently for his signature, selfie and smile, all got their precious reward for their trip. Well done, Southwell, well done Aidan, Ryan and the rest.

*

Mentioning Marble Arch in relation to Hors La Loi III and Dean Gallagher reminded me that Hughie Morrison has been around for a good while, too. Not So Sleepy hasn’t been with us for quite as long but he did win first time out as a two-year-old at Nottingham ten years ago and in the following May, won the Dee Stakes, the pre-Derby warm-up for winners Oath and Kris Kin, the latter for Sir Michael Stoute who will retire from training at the end of the season.

Not So Sleepy has raced at least four times in each of the next nine seasons, never once having his flat handicap mark drop below 94 and now, after a wonderful repeat win in a valuable Newbury handicap on Saturday, will surely end his career rated over 100 – he was 99 on Saturday. I’ll be shocked if that has ever happened before.

Hughie trains with a rare sympathetic view of his charges – “Each one that gets injured I feel it so much”, he says. But consequently, few trainers have a comparable facility for extending their horses’ working lives. He won a Group 1 with the stayer Alcazar when that horse was ten years of age, but his achievements with the difficult to manage Not So Sleepy dwarf even that.

He finished in the first four in three Cesarewitch Handicaps and was seventh last year. He also ran in four consecutive Champion Hurdles. Despite not taking up hurdling until the age of seven, his three Grade 1 wins include a dead-heat with previous Champion Hurdle winner Epatante in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, a feat he followed with a second win in the Newcastle race.

Last December, he won a Grade 1 hurdle at Sandown in a procession, a few days short of his official twelfth birthday. Few horses have achieved half as much as Sleepy. His owner, Lady Blyth, seemed very keen as with Quickthorn recently to ascribe lots of credit to rider Tom Marquand, a sentiment reciprocated in their interviews with Matt Chapman for Sky Sports Racing.

Never a mention of the trainer and the usually forensic Chapman didn’t seem to think of bringing in his name either. Maybe Hughie was being courted and given his rightful credit for the horse’s achievements by ITV, but I have only one television set.

Also Saturday was the final day’s riding for Franny Norton, and he chose Chester, where he has been the “King” for so long, for the farewell. He did it in style, notching a treble, and it would be fitting if the course made him an ambassador for the future, especially at the May meeting.

It was a lovely weekend at any rate for some real racing heroes.

- TS



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Leading racing figures join those in attendance for City Of Troy

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York’s William Derby was among a crowd of over 700 who made the trip to Southwell to watch City Of Troy go through his paces on Friday ahead of the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Chief executive and clerk of the course at the Knavesmire, Derby was there for “personal and professional” reasons.

At heart, Derby is a racing fan, but it is also in his interests to see City Of Troy win at Del Mar given the Justify colt took the Juddmonte International earlier this year.

“I’m here for personal and professional reasons and I’m really pleased to be here, I can’t believe how many people are here,” he said.

“We were thrilled with the way he won the Juddmonte and now he’s the highest-rated turf horse in the world so it’s fantastic.

“It’s incredible the detail that has gone into today, but it’s all part of rehearsing ahead of the Classic. It will be amazing if he can win it after dominating on turf, it would be a real game changer.”

While many of the crowd were locals taking advantage of free tickets and the chance to see one of the best horses in the world, some had come to Nottinghamshire from much further afield.

Marie Mishima, who works for Tokyo TV, travelled to Southwell to coincide with a journey to Joseph O’Brien’s yard and a visit to see the now Japanese-owned Al Riffa ahead of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

However, with Japan also having a real live chance in the Classic through Kentucky Derby third Forever Young, there is real interest at home in City Of Troy.

“I came in from Tokyo yesterday as I’m doing some work ahead of the Arc de Triomphe,” she said.

“The Arc is the race everyone in Japan wants to win, but because of Forever Young this year and Derma Sotogake last year (second to White Abarrio) the Breeders’ Cup Classic is now a race we want to win also.

“City Of Troy is a very famous horse in Japan as he won the Derby.”

Although none of the Coolmore ‘lads’ were present, Paul Smith, son of Derrick Smith, was there to witness events.

He said: “Southwell have done a great job putting this on, it’s a pleasure to be here and there is a great turnout.

“I think people have embraced Aidan being here and it’s something they can all latch onto and get an insight into what he does.

“Since Newmarket (disappointment in the 2000 Guineas) it has been pretty smooth sailing, he conquered all and we are looking forward to the next challenge. I kept the belief even after Newmarket, we could see what he was doing at home.

“It’s really exciting, it will be a tough nut to crack, but he’s by Justify so he’s got an excellent chance and we’re going to give it a go.”

There was an expectant hush as City Of Troy and four stable companions made their way around the paddock, as everyone waited for Aidan O’Brien to arrive.

Despite the meticulous planning that had gone on, one thing that had not been factored in was how long it would take to get from East Midlands Airport on a Friday afternoon.

Once in situ and having delivered his instructions, the five Ballydoyle inmates entered specially made American-style stalls and the bell went.

After that, though, there was an eerie silence, with no course commentary, although the action could be followed on the big screens.

With two furlongs left to run City Of Troy began to pull clear and a respectful round of applause broke out.

“What do you make of that?” said one fan to another. “I’m not sure he beat that much!” was the reply.

While that was maybe true, the experience will have been lost on neither horse nor those in attendance.



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O’Brien left purring after City Of Troy stars at Southwell

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“The best I’ve ever seen him with Ryan”. Aidan O’Brien got everything he wished for and more having gone to the trouble of taking City Of Troy and four galloping companions to Southwell from Tipperary on Friday for his pre-Breeders’ Cup Classic gallop.

The Derby, Eclipse and Juddmonte International winner is aiming to break new ground at Del Mar in November by proving it is possible to be a champion on both turf and dirt. But while other Europeans have gone in hope rather than expectation – although Arcangues shocked the world on dirt in 1993 for Andre Fabre – City Of Troy’s sire is Justify, who won the American Triple Crown on dirt.

O’Brien has had 17 runners in the Classic, coming agonisingly close with Giant’s Causeway in 2000 when a neck behind Tiznow.

He also had a gallop in Nottinghamshire before travelling, but in those days Southwell had a Fibresand surface, not hugely dissimilar to dirt. These days it is Tapeta, a more general all-weather surface.

Nevertheless, O’Brien was keen to come to replicate a raceday and with a knowledgeable crowd of over 700 who were admitted for free, the horse knew something different was going on.

Stable companions Congo River (Brett Doyle), Democracy (Wayne Lordan), Master Of The Hunt (Rachel Richardson) and Edwardian (Dean Gallagher) could only take him to the two-furlong pole of the one-mile gallop and then it was left to him to do the rest under Ryan Moore.

While Moore had to get lower in the saddle and send him about his business, when he did that lengthy, raking stride was evident and he pulled further and further clear.

“We broke fast, we had two fast horses up front and then two miler-type horses in front, we knew that they’d have to go faster than him early,” said O’Brien.

“Obviously Ryan wanted to go forward, but he didn’t want to rev him up too much, going to America he didn’t want him in a habit of waiting.

“The pace was strong, the lads purposefully had the track slower than they would ever have done, harrowed deeper, so it was always going to be more gruelling than impressive.

“We were only going to go a mile, it’s a while since he ran and this was always going to be his last good piece of work.

“Ryan got into the straight and he stretched out, you’d have to say you were very happy. He broke well, it’ll be interesting, everyone will have an opinion and I’m sure we’ll be analysed inside out, but it’ll be interesting to see what everyone thinks.”

One reason O’Brien believes he has never had a better chance of winning the Classic is City Of Troy’s racing style.

“He’s a high cruiser and he grinds. In America you prefer not to get kickback and I think everyone in America will tell you that, in an ideal world you don’t get any and horses never really get used to getting it,” he said of the perennial dirt racing problem.

“Some horses will face it and some horses just absolutely despise it, obviously in an ideal world you’d love to be in a position where you’re not getting kickback which happens with the good horses.

“It depends on the draw and the horses around you, also with kickback you can get eye infections and all sorts. It all gets tricky, but he was in behind then and he would have got some kickback because it was much looser than it usually would be today.”

City Of Troy preparing for his gallop
City Of Troy preparing for his gallop (Mike Egerton/PA)

When it was put to him that the most impressive part of the gallop was the final 100 yards, he said: “That’s him always, he’s finishing, that’s when he’s always at his best. That’s always when you want a horse to be at his best, when his stride opens it just doesn’t shorten, it keeps going and going and going.

“Ryan said when he turned in he was only waiting, and when he got down past the furlong marker he started to open up for the line.

“We thought he was our best chance of winning the Classic since Giant’s Causeway. Really from a two-year-old we’ve had our eye on the Classic, that was with the Derby and then the Classic. Giant’s Causeway didn’t run in the Derby, he didn’t get that far.

“If you remember Giant’s Causeway going to the line, in the last 50 yards he just ran out of steam. Going the Derby trip would have really tested him, whereas this fella was changing legs going to the line and he took off again at Epsom.

“I thought today was his best, he broke very relaxed and Ryan had his hands down on him in a very relaxed manner. He turned into the straight and when he asked him to open up he was as straight as a gun barrel.

“Today was the best I’ve ever seen him with Ryan. Rachel (Richardson) rides him every day and he’s not for kids. He will maul you, you saw him at York when he was with Ryan and he was mauling him turning in, but when the tempo is strong like it was today, I thought Ryan was beautiful on him, he was floating.

“When he said ‘go’ he just kept going straight, it was all in a rhythm. He’s different, he knows it and he’s confident. Today was a test of that.

“He was keeping plenty turning in for Ryan when he wanted it and then he was going to give it him. It wasn’t nervous energy, I loved the way he came up the straight and galloped out.”

Spectators wait for City Of Troy to arrive in the parade ring
Spectators wait for City Of Troy to arrive in the parade ring (Mike Egerton/PA)

Reflecting on the day as a whole, O’Brien was stunned at the reception, stopping for selfies and autographs all along the rail.

“I wasn’t expecting this, but we’re very grateful to everybody because he would have felt it, there’s an unbelievable atmosphere,” he said.

“The minute we stopped we could feel the atmosphere and he was walking around the parade ring all that time before, that is priceless for him. He felt he was racing today and it was all lovely, he still worked and he blew off quick.

“I don’t think anyone could have done more, everybody here was a big help to him.

“He has to come out of it, he has to be OK tomorrow and then his programme will start from there.”



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City Of Troy comes through Southwell gallop with flying colours

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City Of Troy came home a long way clear of four stablemates in his highly-anticipated racecourse gallop at Southwell on Friday.

The son of Justify has won six of his seven starts for Aidan O’Brien, who was keen to give his superstar colt a taste of an artificial surface ahead of a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

While Southwell’s Tapeta track is very different to the dirt he will encounter at Del Mar on November 2, the Ballydoyle team did their best to ensure City Of Troy otherwise got as close to a raceday experience as possible in Nottinghamshire, flying over a set of American starting stalls and using a bell in the gate.

After being paraded in front of a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd, the three-year-old was walked in front of the stands before cantering to the one-mile start and being loaded into stall three under big-race jockey Ryan Moore, with Congo River (Brett Doyle) in one, Democracy (Wayne Lordan) in two, Master Of The Hunt (Rachel Richardson) in four and Edwardian (Dean Gallagher) in gate five.

Although City Of Troy made much of the running when winning last month’s Juddmonte International at York in a record time, it was notable more waiting tactics were adopted in this thorough workout, with Moore settling him at the rear of the quintet while Congo River set a sound gallop out in front.

As Congo River and Democracy began to falter, the Derby hero moved ominously alongside before the home turn before being pushed clear by Moore, powering through the line to finish in splendid isolation.

O’Brien said: “It’s a pleasure and privilege for us to come (to Southwell) and we’re so grateful to everybody for making this day happen and making it such a success.

“We’re so grateful to everyone for providing an atmosphere, the track was beautiful and all the facilities, so we feel very privileged.

“He’s a unique horse, we always thought he was, and we’ve tried to do our best for him to show that he’s something different.

“We’ve tried to prepare him for a (Breeders’ Cup) Classic, we’ve never won it and know how tough it is. When he came along we felt that he was the horse that could make it happen. There’s never any guarantee with anything, but we felt if we looked under every stone that he’d have a good chance.

“The lads slowed up the surface today, which was brilliant, and made it a bit closer to dirt. It was tough and was never going to be over impressive to look at I suppose, but we were very happy and Ryan was very happy.

“There was an even pace and he stretched out well, so hopefully he’ll come out of it and we’ll look forward to the Breeders’ Cup with him now.”

Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore at Southwell
Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore at Southwell (Mike Egerton/PA)

He went on: “We’ve had them (American stalls) for a long time now. We were going to America and horses weren’t breaking very well, they were losing two or three lengths at the stalls, which was making it very difficult, so the lads went over and got American stalls and it was brilliant.

“The lads loaded them up perfect and City Of Troy jumped on the bell and was very quick. We knew the other four were going to be forced a bit stronger early because we didn’t want him to be in front, but at the same time Ryan said he was going to go forward because when he goes to America he’ll go forward.

“It all worked out perfect, we think. The trip, the day away, but I think the big thing was the track and the surface – it’s fast and left-handed and flat and the surface was more demanding than anything we could get other than grass.

A smile from Ryan Moore as he returns to the paddock aboard City Of Troy
A smile from Ryan Moore as he returns to the paddock aboard City Of Troy (Mike Egerton/PA)

“We’ve ticked all the boxes we think we should have ticked, that doesn’t mean you’ll get success, but at least if you fail that way you’ve failed doing your best, so we’ll try.”

On City Of Troy’s schedule from now until his trip to America, O’Brien added: “He’ll have a day off tomorrow and then he’ll start riding out again and his momentum will build from there.

“He’ll work once or twice a week, depending on how he is, and I think the plan is that he’ll go to America six, seven or eight days before.

“He’ll canter on the dirt for three or four days, he’ll probably do some paddock work and some stalls work and that will be it really.

“A day in a racehorse’s lifetime is very long and he has a lot of days to get through, so we’ll try to mark down the days. Hopefully he’ll come back and be fine tomorrow first and on we go after that.

“We think he’s like Giant’s Causeway, but he’s quicker and Giant’s Causeway went close to winning the Classic (second to Tiznow in 2000).

City Of Troy before his gallop
City Of Troy before his gallop (Mike Egerton/PA)

“This horse has a little more zest than Giant’s Causeway and has a long stride. He’s dour like him and his stride doesn’t shorten it lengthens, he’s tactically fairly quick, so he has a lot of those similarities, but we think he has a little bit more class.

“Justify is an incredible horse, like something we’ve never seen. He’s made like a big quarter horse and was still able to get a mile and a half, so that’s very rare.

“He’s a Triple Crown winner and we thought we’d never be lucky enough to get our hands on a stallion like that again. It’s so exciting for us, as horses that he sires will be able to run on the dirt and the grass and City Of Troy should improve on dirt, so it will be very exciting.”

Moore said: “He achieved what the objective was, and it’s about six weeks now (to Del Mar).

“I’ve never won it (Breeders’ Cup Classic), but he’s an unusual horse and he showed how good he is at York. If he can transfer that level of ability to the dirt, then you’d like to think he’d be in the mix.”



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Antelope Canyon battles well at Naas

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Aidan O’Brien’s Antelope Canyon showed his promise with a battling victory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Naas.

The No Nay Never colt was fifth on debut over the same course and distance in July, the form of which has worked out favourably since.

On return to the racecourse he was ridden by Wayne Lordan as Ryan Moore opted to ride stablemate Mississippi River, who was taking to the track for the first time.

From two furlongs out the race was between 11-2 chance Antelope Canyon and Paddy Twomey’s 8-13 favourite Currawood, with the former battling to come home half a length to the good as the third-placed Mississippi River finished a further five and a half lengths behind.

Stable representative Chris Armstrong said of the winner: “He came forward a lot from his first run. On his first run here he was just a little bit green and the ground was just a fraction on the slow side for him.

“He’s been coming along nicely in the past few weeks. The race the last day has worked out well form-wise.

“Wayne thought he has the makings of a lovely horse. He’ll have no problems stepping up to seven furlongs, he handles the quick ground.

“We might go for something like the Legacy Stakes at Dundalk with him next and hopefully he turns into a Guineas trial horse next year.

“Ryan loved the other horse in third. He was a bit green through the middle stages and will come on a lot.

“I’d say it was a well above average maiden, Paddy’s had good form, and I’d say there will be a few nice colts come out of it.”

Carla Ridge sprung a 100-1 surprise in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.

The two-year-old daughter of New Bay was 17th of 19 on her racecourse debut at the Curragh in August, beaten 15 lengths.

As a result she started at 100-1 under Chris Hayes for her second start, but took a huge stride forward to streak to a two-and-a-quarter-length victory for trainers Eddie and Patrick Harty.

The latter said: “She’s a beautiful filly and we loved her from the day we saw her in Arqana at the breeze-ups. She was highly recommended by Katie McGivern.

“We just wanted to give her a nice day out at the Curragh first time out. She was a little bit disappointing, we thought she would beat a few more home and finish mid-division.

“We were very conscious that she wanted to go to the races and enjoy her day out and she did that. As far as she was concerned racing was the best game as she had a lovely time out. She came home and was out in the paddock within 45 minutes of the race.

“She did today what we all hoped she was capable of, winning a maiden and showing a bit of promise that she might be a stakes filly.

“We’re enjoying an Indian summer so while the ground is still on the nice side we might have a look and see what stakes races are around.

“A Listed race over six or a Group race, maybe stepping up to seven around a bend. I wouldn’t rule out running again this year.”

Cercene then shone with a smart performance to win the Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden at 5-2 for Joseph Murphy.

The filly, who was ridden by Gary Carroll, prevailed by two and a quarter lengths having come with a late charge down the outside of the track.

“We were never really happy watching it to be honest. She was going nowhere and then all of a sudden she won well,” said assistant trainer Joseph Murphy jnr.

“We think she’s a very good filly. Whether she runs again this year or not, I don’t know.

“We were kind of working back from the CL Weld Stakes all along but that might come up a bit too quick.

“Maybe the fillies Listed race at the Curragh (Staffordstown Stud Stakes) might be a nice option for her and she’s also in the Auction Final here as well.

“I’d say she could be finished for this year and she’ll get an entry for both Guineas. Hopefully she’ll build into that type of filly for next season.”



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Monday Musings: The Jugglers

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The second Saturday in September illustrated how trainers and jockeys’ agents need to be expert jugglers at this time of year, writes Tony Stafford. We had the Irish Champion Stakes, worth a total €£1.15 million (€712k to the winner) and the Betfred St Leger, £830k and £421k to the winner, yet three UK champion jockeys were riding more than 3,000 miles away from either venue.

The trio - Oisin Murphy, William Buick and Frankie Dettori - all lined up in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes for 2yo fillies over a mile and worth £177k at the Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Buick was on the 4/5 favourite for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby, the dual early-season winner Mountain Breeze, but she could only manage eighth place.

Ahead of her were Murphy, fifth on 65/1 shot Ready To Battle, for dominant local trainer Mark Casse despite being the outsider of his trio; and Dettori was one place behind on the Christophe Clement filly Annascaul, the race second favourite.

He was the only one of our itinerant trio to have a ride in the next Graded race, the Ontario Matron (G3) on the Tapeta track. He finished fourth for Casse who again had three runners without securing the win.

Only five turned up for the E P Taylor Stakes for fillies and mares, run on the turf track. In the past the E P Taylor was a frequent target for UK and especially French runners. It honours the Canadian breeder Eddie Taylor. He stood Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Northern Dancer, the stallion who first tickled the fancy of Vincent O’Brien and led, with Robert Sangster and John Magnier’s help, to the legacy of Sadler’s Wells and, through him, to his even more influential son Galileo.

This year, the E P Taylor was a tame affair considering there was £266k for the winner. Oisin got a ride here but could do no better than fourth of five on Blush for French-based trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias. All three of the visiting riders had been previous winners of the race.

Charlie Appleby and Andrew Balding staged a rematch from a Listed race on King George Day at Ascot in July, with Al Qudra, the winner of that race for Charlie and Will, going into the bet365 <they get in everywhere!> Summer Plate over a mile on the turf as favourite, having beaten New Century by just over two lengths then.

Here Oisin turned the form around on identical terms, winning by one and a quarter lengths from Al Qudra in another Grade 1 again worth £177k, as with the juvenile fillies earlier. The share of the spoils made Oisin’s awayday worthwhile and even in defeat Buick got his mitts on a portion of the 60 grand for second.

The principal reason for the Appleby/Godolphin attack was presumably the featured Rogers Woodbine Mile, with a hefty £355,000 to the winner. The Buick mount, Naval Power, was the 11/20 favourite but finished only fourth to a couple of Mark Casse runners, siphoning up between them a good deal more than half a million Canadian bucks. Naval Power had been a very close second on his previous start when Dettori had the mount in a valuable supporting race on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs in early May.

If you feel sorry for Frankie, the pensioner (in jockey terms) started out the previous weekend looking forward to a hatful of Aidan O’Brien mounts at Kentucky Downs, but only Greenfinch, who finished fourth, ran, the others being withdrawn. But then, a week yesterday at the same track, May Day Ready won a £483k first prize and that was supplemented by a double at the same track on Wednesday. Dettori won the £238k Gold Cup with Limited Liability and then the Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational with Kathymarissa and another £720k.

His win prizes amounted to £1,323,000 over the week. No wonder he loves being in the US!

What did they miss while waiting for Saturday in Canada? At Doncaster there was an eighth St Leger win for Aidan O’Brien as the inexperienced and in some ways still green Jan Bruegel edged out Illinois in a thrilling tussle up the Doncaster straight. Both colts are by Galileo and at the final opportunity, his sons dominated yet another English Classic.

Impossible to separate in the market, it looked like a potential dead-heat in the race until Sean Levey, who started out life as an O’Brien apprentice before relocating to the UK, forced his mount’s head in front close to the line.

Behind in third and fourth, also locked together, were Deira Mile and Sunway who crossed the line only a nose apart. I thought it a mealy-mouthed decision by the stewards to turn the form around, denying Deira Mile’s ever-adventurous Ahmed Al Sheikh of Green Team Racing another placed run in the English Classics of which he is so enamoured.

Bay City Roller was a good winner of the Champagne Stakes that opened the card, but it might have been a different story had not Chancellor prematurely burst out of the gate. The Gosden colt, a smart scorer at the track last time, was third at Ascot in the race where Al Qudra beat New Century.

The raft of unlikely horse/trainer/jockey partnerships on this unusual day continued in the Portland Handicap, one of my favourite races with its intermediate sprint distance of around five and a half furlongs.

Here, the unluckiest horse in training, Peter Charalambous’s Apollo One, got the services of no less a partner than Christophe Soumillon. The Belgian, a multiple champion jockey in France, had just got his mount’s brave head in front of a gaggle of horses on the far side when the favourite American Affair flew down under the stands rail under Paul Mulrennan to beat him by a nose.

It was a notable win for Jim Goldie and, given the way he finished on Saturday, the Ayr Gold Cup in five days’ time must have its appeal. Peter Charalambous is adamant he would never ask Apollo One to run in the likely soft ground at Ayr, but it would be nice to think he would win a big sprint handicap before too long.

Over the past two seasons he has finished second in four big sprints, the Wokingham and Stewards’ Cup last year and the Stewards’ Cup and Portland in 2024. His total losing distance is barely two and a half lengths in those races.

Irish Champions Weekend featured a fine return to form by the slightly unpredictable but undeniably ultra-talented Auguste Rodin. He ran a great race in the Irish Champion Stakes but just failed to cope with the tenacious favourite Economics.

It had been a brave decision by William Haggas to resist running his colt in the Derby after his sensational <I use the word advisedly> Dante Stakes romp at York and, nicely rested, Haggas had given him an ideal warm-up run at Deauville last month for his main target here.

Economics came from some way back, as did Auguste Rodin. Tom Marquand sent his mount into the lead halfway up the short Leopardstown straight, when it appeared that Ryan Moore on the dual Derby winner was going marginally the easier, even getting his head in front in the last hundred yards. Economics, to his credit, pulled out extra and, despite battling all the way to the line, Auguste Rodin had to be content with an honourable second place.

The path for both horses is set in stone. Economics will now go to the Qipco Champion Stakes for what will be only his sixth career start. Auguste Rodin has the Breeders’ Cup Turf, which he won last year, as his autumn objective.

Just behind in third and fourth were the Japanese horse Shin Emperor, who should make a bold attempt at being the first from Japan to win the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe, and fast-finishing Los Angeles, who probably would have fully extended his two stablemates at Doncaster.

His range of entries, from the Champion Stakes (ten furlongs) at Ascot to the British Champion Long Distance Cup (two miles) the same day and, a fortnight earlier, the Arc over one mile and a half reflect his untapped potential and versatility. I’d go the stayers’ route if he were mine – wishful thinking in the extreme!

Yesterday, Messrs Buick and Murphy made it back to the Curragh for the second day of the Irish Champions Weekend. They might not have won as they rode respectively Vauban and Giavellotto into second and third in the Irish St Leger, but at least they got a close-up view of the remarkable Kyprios.

Aidan O'Brien's six-year-old entire was taking his earnings past £2 million with an authoritative performance under Ryan Moore. It was Kyprios' 13th win in 17 career starts. After last year's injury problems and a curtailed season of only two second places, he has now repeated the same first five victories of his unbeaten four-year-old campaign and in the same  races.

That year (2022) he ended the season with victory in the Prix Du Cadran over two and a half miles - by twenty lengths! If he goes there and wins in three weeks it would be a double unbeaten six-timer, four of them at Group 1 level, surely a record, and one that will be exceptionally difficult to match in the future. He deserves to be regarded as at least the equal of Yeats as a stayer. Many will think him superior.

- TS



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‘One in a million’ Kyprios not ruled out of Arc contention

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Aidan O’Brien was not ruling out a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Kyprios after the popular stayer took back his crown in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger at the Curragh.

The son of Galileo carried all before him in 2022, winning the Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup, Irish St Leger and Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend at ParisLongchamp, but suffered a life-threatening injury the following spring and was beaten on his Irish Leger comeback and again on Champions Day at Ascot, albeit performing with credit given the circumstances.

The six-year-old has returned to his very best this season, however, regaining the Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup, and it was no surprise he was the 2-5 favourite market leader to do the same in the final Classic of the year on home soil.

After tracking his pacesetting stablemate The Euphrates for much of the one-mile-six-furlong contest, Kyprios was bustled into the lead at the top of the home straight as Ryan Moore looked to draw the finish out of Marco Botti’s Yorkshire Cup and Princess of Wales’s Stakes hero Giavellotto.

The latter was travelling ominously well in the hands of Oisin Murphy but was unable to reel in the hot favourite, who galloped on remorselessly to prevail by two and a quarter lengths.

The Willie Mullins-trained Vauban came from the rear of the field to throw down his challenge and split Kyprios and Giavellotto in second.

Kyprios on his way to another victory at the Curragh
Kyprios on his way to another victory at the Curragh (Niall Carson/PA)

“He’s so special and we can see what he did there today,” O’Brien said.

“He’s a very, very special horse and every year he seems to be improving. That even looks to be his best again. Ryan said he won so easy.

“It’s a special place and a special race and these kind of horses are once in a lifetime.

“In the Ascot Gold Cup very few horses are able to get that far (two and a half miles), but this horse has serious class as well.

“He’s so genuine to get through what he did and still be the way he is and stay the way he does and relax the way he does. He’s one in a million.”

Paddy Power make Kyprios their 4-6 favourite from 11-10 for the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup while offering 25-1 from 50-1 for the Arc.

When asked if he could run again this year, O’Brien added: “I’m not sure, he doesn’t have to. The way we approach every race is that we see how he is and have a chat and then see if we go again.

“He looks very fresh there. He could run in an Arc, we knew that, at any time. It’s important to mind him, do the right thing for him, and let him tell us how he is and where he wants to go at that time of the year.

“There is only one Arc and he has a serious engine. He just doesn’t get tired, he keeps going.”

Reflecting on the issue that Kyprios had last year, O’Brien said: “He got an infection in a joint capsule, but Eva (Maria Bucher-Haefner of Moyglare Stud) was so patient with him and there was no pressure to do anything with him.

“Whether he raced or didn’t last year there was absolutely no pressure and it’s the patience that Eva had with him.

Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner, owner of Kyprios, and Ryan Moore with the trophy after winning the Comer Group International Irish St Leger
Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner, owner of Kyprios, and Ryan Moore with the trophy after winning the Comer Group International Irish St Leger (Niall Carson/PA)

“There are so many people did a lot of work with him and we’re so grateful to them all.

“Having so much time and no pressure on anybody gave us the time to get him back.”

Bucher-Haefner, daughter of the late Walter Haefner, who purchased Moyglare in 1962, said: “It’s the first time I’ve been here that he’s won. I was here last year and he was second. What beautiful work they’ve done with him because he was quite sick.”

When asked if we’d see him next year, she said: “I’d say yes, I would love to see him again.”



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Lake Victoria swoops for Moyglare Stud success

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Lake Victoria upstaged her better-fancied stablemate Bedtime Story in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.

Bedtime Story had created a huge impression when winning the Chesham Stakes by nine and a half lengths at Royal Ascot and while her subsequent two wins were more workmanlike, she was the 4-5 favourite to extend her unbeaten record to five.

Ryan Moore set out to make all the running aboard the daughter of Frankel and dual Nunthorpe heroine Mecca’s Angel, but Aidan O’Brien’s youngster was flat out entering the final furlong and her four rivals were queuing up to challenge.

Lake Victoria – also a Frankel filly out of a Group One winner in Quiet Reflection – had looked a smart prospect herself in winning on her course and distance debut before following up in the Group Three Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket last month, and she finished best down the outside of the five-strong field to win going away by a length and a quarter under Wayne Lordan.

Ollie Sangster’s British raider Simmering filled the runner-up spot, just ahead of O’Brien’s apparent third string Exactly in third and Red Letter in fourth. Bedtime Story passed the post last of five.

O’Brien said: “She’s a very good filly. She won here the first day, she got to the front and was very green. Ryan said she got to the front way too early that day, but her pace took her there and she obviously still won.

“She went to Newmarket and Seanie (Levey) won on her and she won very impressively. She’s a very classy filly.

“We thought she would be second to the other filly. Ryan’s filly just hit the gates, he just couldn’t get her back then and that was it. When that happens it’s usually over.

“She’ll be grand too, she’s a little bit like her sister and we’ll just go gentle and slow her down a little bit.

Lake Victoria (right) swoops for victory
Lake Victoria (right) swoops for victory (Niall Carson/PA)

“It’s always a worry after what she did in Ascot that could happen and we took it very gentle the next twice afraid it could happen but it still happened.

“We’ll work another way out just to get her to go to sleep again. Wayne rides her out the whole time and he will do that.

“I’m delighted for Wayne. He’s a great fella and he does a lot of work, day in day out at home.

“He’s a great rider and we’re so lucky to have him here after what happened in the Irish Derby. He went through a tough time for four or five months and nobody deserves it more. He’s a world-class rider.

“It’s a possibility the winner could go to the Cheveley Park. We ran her here with the thought in our head that she could be a Cheveley Park filly.

“We thought she’d be second to the other filly. She’s a very fast filly and that was the plan. We took our time on her, let her relax, and didn’t want to give her a tough race.

“Wayne gave her a brilliant ride. She’s fast, she’s by Frankel but she’s made like a sprinter.”



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Resurgent Kyprios looking to snatch back Irish St Leger title

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Kyprios will be a warm order to cement his status as the world’s leading stayer by regaining his crown in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger.

Aidan O’Brien’s charge looked set to dominate the division for years to come after a faultless 2022 campaign which saw him win the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup, the Irish Leger and the Prix du Cadran, but a life-threatening injury suffered the following spring looked set to bring his career to an end.

His trainer felt it was a remarkable feat in itself that the six-year-old made it back to the track in the autumn.

And while defeats in this race and again on Champions Day at Ascot suggested his best days may be behind him, Kyprios has re-established himself as the staying king this term by winning a second Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup ahead of his return to home soil this weekend.

“I thought there was no chance in the world that he could come back, I don’t think anybody did, so it was incredible what the people around him did,” said O’Brien.

“We’re very happy with him, he’s in very good form. He’s a hard horse to read, as he’s very lazy and only does what he has to do, but he did look very good at Goodwood the last day.”

The Ballydoyle handler already has one eye on a potential third Gold Cup success at Royal Ascot next summer, adding: “That is what we’ll be dreaming about. It’s very hard to get a Gold Cup horse, as with those classy stayers, once you get past the two-and-a-quarter, very few get that far.

“He’s an unusual horse in that he’s a Group horse over a mile and a quarter, I’d say, but he gets two-and-a-half, which is very rare.”

Giavellotto winning the Yorkshire Cup in May
Giavellotto winning the Yorkshire Cup in May (Mike Egerton/PA)

The biggest threat to Kyprios appears to be Marco Botti’s Giavellotto, who has enjoyed back-to-back Group Two wins in Britain this season – landing the Yorkshire Cup at York’s Dante meeting in May and the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket in July.

Botti feels his stable star has plenty in his favour at the Curragh on Sunday, but is under no illusions about the obstacle standing in his way.

“This has been the plan for a while and he seems in good order. The ground is hopefully not going to be too soft and it’s nice Oisin Murphy is able to ride him, as we don’t have to change a combination that has worked well so far this year,” said the Newmarket-based Italian.

“We freshened him up after Newmarket and he’s lightly-raced this year. He likes a bit of space between his races, so I don’t think that should be an issue.

“Kyprios is a very good horse and obviously it’s a strong race, but we knew that. Our horse seems to be in the same form he was before he won the Princess of Wales, so fingers crossed.”

The Willie Mullins-trained Vauban finished second to Giavellotto in the Yorkshire Cup and has since finished fourth in the Gold Cup, third in the Curragh Cup and won the Lonsdale Cup on his return to York last month.

Connections will be hoping for a positive showing to tee him up for a second tilt at the Melbourne Cup in November.

O’Brien has a second string to his bow in The Euphrates, while Giavellotto is joined on the trip across the Irish Sea by Karl Burke’s Al Qareem.

Adrian Murray’s Crypto Force and German raiders Waldadler and Nastaria complete the line-up.



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Bedtime Story out to write her next chapter in the Moyglare Stud Stakes

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Bedtime Story puts her unbeaten record and huge reputation on the line in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.

A daughter of Frankel out of the dual Nunthorpe heroine Mecca’s Angel, Aidan O’Brien’s filly has so far lived up to her regal breeding with four successive wins including a sensational nine-and-a-half-length victory against the boys in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.

She had to work harder than many expected on her most recent outing in the Debutante Stakes, scoring by just half a length as the 1-16 favourite, but O’Brien is confident she will be seen in a better light when she steps up to Group One level for the first time this weekend.

“We’re happy with her and we didn’t want to give her a grueller the last day,” he said.

“She’s a big, high tempo filly – that’s what she is. When the tempo is strong and hard, she only really kicks in after the two furlong marker and it never really kicked in at all at the Curragh.

“We didn’t want to do that to her (give her a hard race) before the Moyglare.”

The ante-post favourite for both the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks, Bedtime Story is just one of several high-class juvenile fillies residing at Ballydoyle this year.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien at York
Trainer Aidan O’Brien at York (Mike Egerton/PA)

Her opponents on Sunday include two stablemates in Exactly and Lake Victoria, with the latter also protecting an unbeaten record after following up a debut success over this course and distance with a Group Three triumph in Newmarket’s Sweet Solera Stakes.

Fairy Godmother, not seen since charging home to win the Albany at Royal Ascot, is another name to conjure with ahead of a crucial stage of the season.

“They seem a nice team of fillies. Lake Victoria is in the Moyglare as well and Fairy Godmother goes to the Cheveley Park (at Newmarket on September 28),” O’Brien added.

Ollie Sangster’s Simmering was second to Fairy Godmother at the Royal meeting and has since won the Group Three Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot and a Group Two in France.

“She deserves to take her place and has been in very good form since Deauville,” said Sangster.

“Naturally it is a very competitive race as you would expect, but we think she deserves to be there and we would like to think she has a nice chance.

“The step up to seven furlongs really suited her at Deauville and she was strong through the line. It will hopefully be nice ground there on Sunday which will help.

“It’s my first runner in Ireland and just my second in a Group One, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The Ger Lyons-trained Red Letter was beaten a head by Lake Victoria on her introduction and confirmed that promise with a dominant display at this track in July.

Red Letter was an impressive winner on her second start at the Curragh
Red Letter was an impressive winner on her second start at the Curragh (Niall Carson/PA)

Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte, said: “I would say (a lack of) experience would be the worry for her as she’s only had two starts whereas some of the main protagonists have had three, four or even five runs.

“That has to be a bit of a concern jumping into a Group One, but we feel she is a nice filly and the form of her two maidens is pretty good. We would like to think she’s a filly who could improve even further next year, but if she could finish in the three and run well it will be a good result.

“Bedtime Story was outstanding in Ascot and won nicely in the end the last day so she looks a high-class filly to be fair, and Ollie Sangster’s filly looked very good in France, so it’s a high-class renewal. Numerically there might not be many runners, but there are some nice fillies.”

The juvenile colts get their chance to shine in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, with O’Brien fielding the unbeaten hot favourite Henri Matisse, as well as Rock Of Cashel and The Parthenon.

Charlie Appleby has saddled three of the last six winners of the Group One contest in Quorto (2018), Pinatubo (2019) and Native Trail (2021) and has this year supplemented the impressive Vintage Stakes winner Aomori City.

Speaking on the Godolphin website, the Moulton Paddocks handler said: “Aomori City brings a nice profile into this and has earned his chance at this level on the back of his Vintage Stakes win.

“We felt there was marked improvement with the step up to seven furlongs at Goodwood and he deserves to be respected.”

Hugo Palmer’s Seagulls Eleven is another British challenger, while the home team also includes Joseph O’Brien’s French Group Three winner Cowardofthecounty and Adrian Murray’s Hill Road, who made a huge impression on his debut at Leopardstown a month ago.

Hill road impressed on debut
Hill Road impressed on debut (PA)

Murray said: “It’s a big step up for him, but at home he looks a very, very good horse and his work is very good.

“We were going to go for the Group Two at Leopardstown on Saturday but Kia (Joorabchian, owner) was very keen to go for the Group One so we’ll give it a go and hopefully he will be good enough.

“He was very good first time at Leopardstown and I would say he has improved again. He has done some very good pieces of work since.”



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