Tag Archive for: Aidan O’Brien

2025 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Betting Trends

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Staged at Ascot racecourse, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is run over a distance of 1m4f and is generally regarded as Britain’s most prestigious all-aged flat horse race.

With over £600,000 up for grabs for the winner the it goes without saying the race always attracts horses from the best yards around the country with Sir Michael Stoute and Saeed Bin Suroor, who have won the King George six and five times, are the trainers with the best recent record in the contest.

While the powerful Aidan O’Brien yard have won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes four times. Don’t forget the John Gosden yard either – they’ve won the race 3 times in the last 9 years.

In 2023, we saw the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum win the race in a tight battle with Westover. Hukum became only the third 6 year-old win win the King George since 1951.

While last year in 2024 we had a 25/1 shock win with the French-trained Goliath winning for the Graffard team.

Here at GeeGeez, we take a look back at the recent winners of the race and gives you the key trends to look out for ahead of the 2025 renewal – this year run on Saturday 26th July.

Recent King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Winners

2024 - Goliath (25/1)
2023 - Hukum (13/2)
2022 – Pyledriver (18/1)
2021 - Adayar (9/4)
2020 – Enable (4/9 fav)
2019 – Enable (8/15 fav)
2018 – Poet’s Word (7/4)
2017 – Enable (5/4 fav)
2016 – Highland Reel (13/8 fav)
2015 – Postponed (6/1)
2014 – Taghrooda (7/2)
2013 – Novellist (13/2)
2012 – Danedream (9/1)
2011 – Nathaniel (11/2)
2010 – Harbinger (4/1)
2009 – Conduit (13/8 fav)
2008 – Duke of Marmalade (4/6 fav)
2007 – Dylan Thomas (5/4 fav)
2006 – Hurricane Run (5/6 fav)
2005 – Azamour (5/2 fav)
2004 – Doyen (11/10 fav)
2003 – Alamshar (13/2)
2002 – Golan (11/2)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Trends

22/23 – Previous Group 1 or 2 winners
21/23 – Had won over 1m4f before
20/23 – Placed last time out
19/23 – Had 2 or more runs already that season
18/23 – Returned 13/2 or shorter in the betting
18/23 – Previous Group 1 winner
18/23 – Aged 3 or 4 years-old
14/23 – Had run Ascot before
13/23 – Won their previous race
13/23 – Aged 4 years-old
10/23 – Favourites that won
10/23 – Won at Ascot before
9/23 – Ran at Royal Ascot last time out
5/23 – Trained by John Gosden
3/23 – Trained by Aidan O’Brien
8 of the last 14 winners from stalls 3 or 4
No winner aged 7+ ever (since race first run 1951)
No winner from stall 1 since 1999 (Daylami)
Just three 6+ year-old winners since 1951
Frankie Dettori has ridden the winner in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2017, 2019 and 2020
2 of the last 10 winners were that season’s Epsom Oaks winner
Just 1 French-trained winner since 2007 (Goliath 2024)
Adayar (2021) and Galileo (2001) were the last horses to do the Derby/King George double in the same season
Trainer John Gosden won the race in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2019 & 2020
Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor won the race in 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 & 2004
Trainer Aidan O’Brien won the race in 2001, 2007, 2008 & 2016
The average winning SP in the last 10 runnings is 13/2

 

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Illinois part of strong-looking cast for Goodwood Cup

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Gold Cup runner-up Illinois is the star name among nine confirmations for the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.

The two-mile contest is the feature event on the opening afternoon of the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Tuesday and with his Royal Ascot conqueror Trawlerman not in attendance, Illinois is the odds-on favourite to break his Group One duck for Aidan O’Brien.

The Ballydoyle handler has also left in his runaway Bahrain Trophy winner Scandinavia, who is the only three-year-old in the potential field, while in Trawlerman’s absence John and Thady Gosden could saddle the improving French Master, consistent stayer Sweet William and Military Academy.

Alan King will be encouraged to see some ease in the ground for his 2022 Goodwood Cup hero Trueshan, who has not been seen in competitive action since finishing fourth at ParisLongchamp in late May.

Saeed bin Suroor’s Gold Cup third Dubai Future, the Andrew Balding-trained Subsequent and Sunway from David Menuisier’s yard are the other contenders, with the latter poised for a first outing over two miles after finishing fourth in the Hardwicke Stakes last month.

Menuisier said: “He ran well at Ascot and Oisin (Murphy) felt he’d be better over further.

“He stayed a mile and three-quarters in the St Leger last year so we’re hopeful he’ll get the trip. The blinkers seemed to help him concentrate, so we’ll keep them on.”

The Pulborough-based trainer also houses an interesting contender for the Group Two Coral Vintage Stakes on the same card in the form of Goodwood Galaxy, who is owned by the Goodwood Racecourse Owners Group and made a strong impression when winning on debut at Salisbury earlier this month.

“He’s really well and on Tuesday, he did a piece of work and came through it like nothing happened, so I’m very pleased,” Menuisier added.

“When you win first time out, you really only have two options, go for a novice with a 7lb penalty, or take a shot at a stakes race. These days, novices and maidens are so strong that you can easily bump into a Godolphin or a Gosden horse that turns out to be Group class, and you’re giving them weight. At least in a stakes race you know it’s a good level, but at level weights.

“Goodwood is our back garden, so we’re going there relaxed and grateful to have such a nice horse in the yard, but we’re going there to try and win.

“Glorious Goodwood is very close to my heart, more so than Royal Ascot, if I’m honest. It’s the meeting of the year where you want to go and show your colours. Training for the Goodwood Racecourse Owners Group there, it’s nearly a dream come true.”

Goodwood Galaxy is one of 18 juveniles in contention for the Vintage, with Aidan O’Brien’s pair of Brussels and Dorset, Charlie Appleby’s Pacific Avenue and Eve Johnson Houghton’s July Stakes victor Zavateri among the leading hopes.

Group Two honours also up for grabs in the HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes, which features Ralph Beckett’s dual winner Kinross, the Gosden-trained defending champion Audience and Andrew Balding’s French Guineas runner-up Jonquil.

Henri Matisse ready to renew Field Of Gold rivalry at Goodwood

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Aidan O’Brien has confirmed Henri Matisse on course for a rematch with his Royal Ascot conqueror Field Of Gold in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

O’Brien’s Wootton Bassett colt ended last season in victory at the Breeders’ Cup and struck Classic gold in the French 2,000 Guineas before finding only John and Thady Gosden’s Field Of Gold too good in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

The Ballydoyle handler said: “He’s being trained for the Sussex and is going good so far. We’re very happy with him and he is progressing.”

Also a runner-up at the Royal meeting was Illinois, in the Gold Cup behind Trawlerman, and he too is set for a trip to the Sussex Downs, where he could be joined by an emerging stablemate.

O’Brien said: “At the moment he (Illinois) is going for the Goodwood Cup and it’s possible that Scandinavia could go there as well.

“We were very happy with his run in Ascot. We’d prefer he had another year before he went there (for the Gold Cup), but that is the way it worked out.”

O’Brien also outlined plans for Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad, who will be seen next in top-level action at the Curragh.

He said: “The plan is to go for the Phoenix Stakes (August 9). That is the way we are thinking at the moment.”

Diego Velazquez prevails in Minstrel Stakes

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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.”

Sugar Island surprises O’Brien in winning Curragh start

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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.”

Action-packed Curragh Eyecatcher one to follow

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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.

Jan Brueghel poised to be the Ballydoyle big gun in the King George

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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
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
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.”

Minnie Hauk makes it a Classic double with battling Curragh victory

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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
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).”

True Love powers home for Railway Stakes demolition

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Royal Ascot heroine True Love showed her male counterparts the way home with a scintillating display in the GAIN Railway Stakes at the Curragh.

Aidan O’Brien had saddled 14 previous winners of the Group Two contest, with Rock Of Gibraltar (2001), George Washington (2005) and last year’s victor Henri Matisse (2024) among them, and it was significant his chief hope this time around was the sole filly in a field of four.

Having filled the runner-up spot on her first two starts, True Love (1-2 favourite) was an impressive winner of the Queen Mary Stakes and followed up in fine style, travelling strongly under Ryan Moore before quickening five lengths clear of stable Puerto Rico with the minimum of fuss.

O’Brien said: “Obviously she’s fast so we weren’t sure she’d get six (furlongs). I suppose we were finding out a little bit about her really.

“She was a Queen Mary winner so it was very hard for Ryan not to ride her. We couldn’t be happier with her really.

“Obviously the Phoenix Stakes would be there for her as well as the Prix Morny and the Cheveley Park. It was a Group Two today and she’d be ready for one of those Group Ones now.”

Coolmore supremo John Magnier was making a rare appearance on track and said: “She’s a good individual and she’s very well bred, it’s the Galileo family.

True Love after winning the Railway Stakes at the Curragh
True Love after winning the Railway Stakes at the Curragh (Gary Carson/PA)

“Somebody told me that this is the first time in 30 years that a filly has won this race.

“There is a real pedigree there and a pedigree like that is like a road map, anything can happen.”

When asked whether he felt True Love could be a contender for next year’s 1000 Guineas, for which she was cut to 16-1 from 25-1 by Paddy Power, Magnier added: “Fingers crossed. It’s no mean feat to win the Queen Mary, either.

“The old breeders used to really think a lot of that race, it started a lot of families.”

O’Brien: Lake Victoria future not certain

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Aidan O’Brien has revealed his Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Lake Victoria may not run again.

The Frankel filly enjoyed a faultless juvenile campaign, winning each of her five starts including Group One strikes in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, the Cheveley Park and at the Breeders’ Cup.

Following an interrupted preparation she could finish only sixth on her return to action in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, and while she bounced back to her best with a brilliant display in the Irish equivalent, she was subsequently ruled out of Royal Ascot and has not yet returned to work.

O’Brien – who is weighing up whether to run Jan Brueghel and/or dual Derby winner Lambourn in the King George at Ascot next weekend – said of Lake Victoria in an interview with ITV Racing: “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 Ballydoyle handler also confirmed his Coral-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.

Gstaad and Ryan Moore after winning at Royal Ascot
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.”

Minnie Hauk has chance to join an illustrious roll of honour

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Epsom heroine Minnie Hauk is all the rage to provide Aidan O’Brien with an eighth victory in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks on Saturday.

Alexandrova (2006), Peeping Fawn (2007), Snowfall (2021) and Savethelastdance (2023) are among the Ballydoyle handler’s previous winners of the Curragh Classic and he is responsible for four of the six runners in this year’s renewal.

The undoubted star of the show is Minnie Hauk, who six weeks ago got the better of a thrilling Epsom Oaks duel with stablemate Whirl, a subsequent Group One winner in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

Speaking earlier this week, O’Brien said: “Minnie Hauk has been fine since Epsom, she had a little break and everything has been good since.”

The biggest threat to the odds-on favourite appears to be Joseph O’Brien’s s Wemightakedlongway, who was just over five lengths behind Minnie Hauk when fourth at Epsom and then looked a little outpaced when occupying the same finishing position in the Pretty Polly.

“We are looking forward to running Wemightakedlongway. There is some rain forecast and any rain that falls we think might help her chances,” said O’Brien junior.

Johnny Murtagh, who rode a record six Irish Oaks winners during his illustrious career in the saddle, is represented by Subsonic. The Lope De Vega filly remains a maiden after two starts, but was only half a length behind Minnie Hauk on her on her Leopardstown debut in October.

The field is completed by Fozzy Stack’s 85-rated outsider Bay Colony.

Albert Einstein return still appears some way off

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Albert Einstein, who missed Royal Ascot with a sprained joint, is still on the sidelines.

His trainer Aidan O’Brien remains hopeful his exciting juvenile will make it back time to run in some of the major end-of-season races in the autumn, although a return to action still appears some way off.

He holds entries in September, including in the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.

O’Brien said: “He’s not near to running yet, he’s not back cantering yet. He’s just been on a break.

“We’re still hoping he’ll be back for something in the autumn, but it will depend on how he is really.”

Albert Einstein’s reputation has only risen in his absence with O’Brien winning the Queen Mary, Coventry Stakes and the Norfolk yet hailing the Wootton Bassett colt as perhaps the best of his crop.

Following Gstaad’s impressive Coventry win O’Brien said: “Albert Einstein was always something very different and a very quick horse, incredibly quick from the day we worked him.

“Gstaad is a big horse who travels well and with lots of speed. We always thought this was a top-tier horse alongside Albert, but your man was just so fast it was different.”

Benvenuto Cellini makes winning mark at Killarney

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Benvenuto Cellini followed the same path as an illustrious former stablemate with victory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Killarney.

His trainer Aidan O’Brien sent out subsequent Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck to land the mile contest in 2018 and Benvenuto Cellini was sent off the 2-5 favourite to add his name to the roll of honour.

Partnered by Wayne Lordan, the impeccably-bred Frankel colt came home a two-and-three-quarter-length winner over stablemate Endorsement, with connections now eyeing a step up in calibre next month after improving from his initial start.

Ballydoyle representative Chris Armstrong said: “Benvenuto Cellini had a lovely run at the Curragh and coming here, this was going to be a lovely race for him. He was very babyish at the Curragh and again today where he jumped out and led, but Wayne said he was looking at the cars on the inside.

“It looked a decent maiden and he went away and won well so that is a decent sign. He improved from the Curragh to here and will improve again from here to his next run, which could be in the Futurity Stakes. Whatever he does you’d think will be a bonus as he’ll make up into a smashing middle-distance horse for next year. He is one with a touch of class.

“You only have to look at some of the previous winners around here, and even at the horses who have finished in-behind, to see how good these maidens are and you need a stakes horse to come here. There aren’t many who win here who aren’t above average.”

The Lion In Winter heading back to France for Prix Jacques le Marois

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The Lion In Winter will return to France for his next outing when he will step back up in trip for the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

Winter favourite for the Guineas and Derby, a setback in the spring held up his preparations for the Classics and he missed Newmarket, making his comeback in the Dante at York when he could only finish sixth before trailing home well beaten in the Derby.

Dropped markedly in trip to seven furlongs for the Prix Jean Prat, Aidan O’Brien’s charge showed plenty of his old sparkle, beaten just a short neck and a short head into third by Woodshauna.

Speaking at Navan on Sunday, stable representative Chris Armstrong said: “It was lovely to get him back on track after all the promise he showed last year.

“He has come out of the race (at Deauville) very well, and everyone is happy with him at home.

“He is going to go to the Jacques le Marois next in Deauville. Obviously, it is going to be a fascinating race during the summer.

“In fairness, the horse adapted coming right back from a mile and a half to seven (furlongs) last week pretty quickly.

“Back up to a mile in the Jacques le Marois should suit him.”

Jean-Claude Rouget back in the big time courtesy of Leffard

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Jean-Claude Rouget returned to the Group One winner’s enclosure as Leffard got up to deny Trinity College in a pulsating finish to the Cygagames Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp.

The dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning trainer – who has had health battles and seen his string much reduced over the last year – was clearly emotional after Cristian Demuro put Leffard’s head down right on the line to edge out Aidan O’Brien’s Trinity College.

Ryan Moore and Trinity College had tracked Frankly Good Cen before switching out and showing a smart turn of foot, one that looked like it would seal matters. That was not counting for Leffard, however, and he too picked up in great style when asked to leave the pair battling out.

After the shortest of waits, Leffard – who holds an Arc entry – was announced the winner, putting a below-par effort in the Prix du Jockey Club – in which Trinity College had been fourth before winning at Royal Ascot – behind him and fully justifying the decision to supplement for the Paris showpiece.

Rouget told Sky Sports Racing: “It was fantastic when I saw the horse coming. I was very confident there was not a big difference between the two (Leffard and Trinity College).

“I knew he was very good, but I had to find a new confidence in him (after the Prix du Jockey-Club). He was so well this week and the field was not tremendous I decided to supplement him. When I saw six runners, it was possible to be third and we did better.

“I think yes (he is an Arc horse), because when I bought him I was sure I bought a good horse.

“It’s a big fairytale, life continues and we do other things.”

Rouget said the Prix Niel would be the Arc prep race for his winner, and added: “This is a great moment for my team in Pau. It’s hard to sum it all up in a few words. Their support is what kept me going. Without them, I would have quit.

Leffard powers up alongside Trinity College to win the Grand Prix de Paris
Leffard powers up alongside Trinity College to win the Grand Prix de Paris (Scoopdyga)

“My assistant, Jean-Rene Dubosc, did a remarkable job. He took two weeks off and will be returning from vacation a happy man!”

Demuro said: “It’s incredible for Jean-Claude Rouget. He made the trip here and I’m so happy for him.

“It’s amazing that he’s back and winning a Group race. He’s a father figure to me. Leffard is a superb horse, and I had a great trip – he’s really top class.”

Of Trinity College, who was trying 12 furlongs for the first time, O’Brien said: “He ran a very good race. I don’t think there’s much more to say. The distance wasn’t an issue.”

In third was New Ground, who was fourth in the Derby at Epsom but did not help his chance here in pulling far too hard for Colin Keane.

His trainer Henri-François Devin said: “He was very sharp throughout the race. He’s a somewhat tricky horse. The pace was too slow for him — below what he needs. Even so, he finished very well, which is impressive for a horse that pulled so much.

“For now, we’ll shorten him up. Once he settles down more, we might revisit longer distances.”