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URL: https://forum.thoroughbredvillage.com.au/forum_posts.asp?TID=55273 Printed Date: 23 Apr 2024 at 6:32pm Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Aiden O'BrienPosted By: djebel
Subject: Aiden O'Brien
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2015 at 5:07pm
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Replies: Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2015 at 5:07pm
David O'Meara: "I have never been approached by anyone at Coolmore"
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
O'Meara quashes Ballydoyle rumours
BY LEE MOTTERSHEAD7:55PM 24 AUG 2015
THE hottest rumour in racing was on Monday night firmly quashed by http://www.racingpost.com/horses/trainer_home.sd?trainer_id=22839#topTrainerTabs=trainer_record_race_form&bottomTrainerTabs=trainer_big_race_wins" rel="nofollow - David O’Meara as one of the sport’s most highly respected and widely admired young trainers poured cold water on intense speculation linking him with a move to Ballydoyle.
The whispers suggesting http://www.racingpost.com/horses/trainer_home.sd?trainer_id=7978#topTrainerTabs=trainer_record_race_form&bottomTrainerTabs=trainer_big_race_wins" rel="nofollow - Aidan O’Brien , the most successful Flat trainer of the modern era, could leave the John Magnier-owned Ballydoyle have become rife in recent days, making their way into the written press, television and social media.
Racecourse gossip during last week’s Ebor meeting culminated in two newspapers, one in Britain and one in Ireland, linking O’Meara with the most coveted post in his profession.
With Coolmore and Ballydoyle sticking to their long-held policy of not commenting on speculation, there remained the possibility for it to continue, but the North Yorkshire-based O’Meara – who has trained more than 500 winners despite taking out his licence only in 2010 – on Monday repudiated the rumours in unequivocal terms.
Speaking to the Racing Post, he said: “I have never been approached by anyone at Coolmore regarding Ballydoyle. There is no substance to the rumour.”
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 03 Oct 2017 at 7:07pm
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: Morston
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2017 at 6:39pm
AOB regained his world record for group 1 wins in a calander year yesterday making it 26 so far this year.
He beat the record held by Bobby Frankel.
There are still a few more group 1s to go before flat racing ends in Europe....then there is America and Australia
Posted By: Morston
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2017 at 3:36pm
Now 27 following Mendelssohn’s win at Del Mar last night.
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2017 at 3:44pm
Imagine how Australian centric punters would be carrying on if Churchill was an Aussie horse being asked to test himself out of his comfort zone.....
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2017 at 6:21pm
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2018 at 9:47pm
Aidan O’Brien: the man, his methods, his beliefs, the Derby and his horses
By Andy Stephens
Wed 30 May 2018
Champion trainer Aidan O’Brien will seek a record-equalling seventh Investec Derby success at Epsom on Saturday. Andy Stephens spent a morning with him on the gallops at Ballydoyle.
https://www.racinguk.com/horses/saxon-warrior" rel="nofollow - Saxon Warrior and Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle (Racingfotos)
It is 7.45am on a mild Monday morning at Ballydoyle and Aidan O’Brien is watching first lot go through their paces.
Seventy regally-bred thoroughbreds are exercising in close vicinity in serene surroundings that have been a playground for a dozen Derby winners.
The noise of air being inhaled and exhaled through flared equine nostrils, not to mention 280 limbs flicking over the all-weather gallop, is intoxicating. There are few places on earth any racing enthusiast would rather be.
One horse is out on his own and catches the eye. O’Brien volunteers that it is Saxon Warrior, the odds-on Investec Derby favourite, and the powerfully-built colt is a sight to behold as he powers past under regular work rider Richella Carroll.
“He’s very sober, a relaxed horse but sharp,” the champion trainer says.
“What I mean by that is that he reacts to things very quickly. He doesn’t have to go to first gear to second; to third, to fourth and then fifth. He can go from second to fifth in a flash. It’s an impulse, I suppose.
“Most horses live in the middle ground but he doesn’t. He sleeps, or he’s alive. It makes him different.”
As to why the unbeaten colt is more or less working solo, he adds: “He gets privileges at the moment. We don’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
Saxon Warrior is odds-on for the Derby on Saturday (Racingfotos)
There is no suggestion the 2,000 Guineas winner is tricky or resents the company of inferior workmates, but something O’Brien says later resonates.
“Very few horses are leaders, it’s like people,” he observes. “Most horses like to drop in with the crowd and go along with the crowd. People are the same.”
O’Brien has been out on his own almost since 1996 when he became the youngest person to win the Irish trainers’ championship, a title he has won continuously since 1998.
Still only 48, he is seeking a record-equalling seventh Investec Derby success on Saturday when Saxon Warrior will be joined by stablemates Delano Roosevelt, The Pentagon, Kew Gardens and Zabriskie.
His overall tally of victories at the highest level stands at an astonishing 302 heading into the two-day meeting at Epsom. His record haul of 28 Group One winners last year indicates he might reach 500 in the next decade.
Yet for all his domination you suspect that O’Brien, too, is at times happy to slide back among the pack.
_Saxon Warrior is reshod under the gaze of his trainer _(Racingfotos)
This is a man who never craves attention or adulation, and always talks in quiet, measured tones. He never shows a hint of arrogance and accepts defeat graciously.
He praises his horses, staff, facilities and the owners - the Coolmore collective of John Magnier, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith - but always falls short of praising himself.
He has been there, done that and got a suitcase full of T-shirts but 20-odd years of sustained success have not altered his understated manner.
“I’m a small cog in a big machine” became his default answer last autumn as he closed in on Bobby Frankel’s Group One record.
At one stage during our morning together he even goes as far as suggesting “if I hadn’t met Annemarie (his wife) I’d still be working for Jim Bolger.”
He and Annemarie have four children; two daughters in Sarah and Ana, and two Classic-winning jockeys in Joseph and Donnacha, and have come a long way since their early days when involved in National Hunt racing.
“We had a big interest in training jumpers, but we also always had an interest in the well-bred Flat horses,” he says.
“One of our big things was to be able to get those good pedigrees and to train those good horses.”
These days, virtually every animal in his care begins life with a significant genetic head start and Coolmore’s breeding empire, with star stallions at every turn and 500 broodmares alone based in Ireland, means he has a conveyor belt of brilliance to constantly attack the top races all over the globe.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien has considerably more horses than predecessor Vincent O'Brien (Racingfotos)
Training bloodstock worth hundreds of millions of pounds brings inevitable stresses and strains but from the outside it appears the only person putting O’Brien under pressure is O’Brien himself.
A tortured genius?
He often strikes as an intense figure on the racecourse and, even on home soil, the coiled spring does not seem to completely unwind.
An example occurs when he talks to every rider as they return from working his string. Each is signed off with a “good man” or “good girl” and, for at least a minute, he is nervously rubbing his hands without seemingly being aware of the habit.
He is up by 5am every day and it might not be 10.30pm until he retires. His mobile phone is never switched off. Seven days a week; month after month; year after year. It is an unrelenting cycle.
His long days revolve completely around his horses and those closest to him, with his extended family being the 190 staff at Ballydoyle. Impressively, he seems to know the names of them all.
When press photographers ask O’Brien to pose with Saxon Warrior, he insists that the first snaps are instead of horse and groom. A small gesture, but one that speaks volumes.
Saxon Warrior with groom Richella Carroll (Racingfotos)
His manners cost him nothing but earn him the respect and loyalty of everyone.
It is difficult to gauge whether O’Brien’s meticulous methods have taken a personal toll but he hints that in the past he has paid for letting his batteries dwindle.
“I have found that without rest, you will be broken up emotionally and physically,” he says. “There is an awful lot of stuff going on every day and you have to be as clear as you can and sleep is important for that. I try and sleep whilst we are travelling and empty my mind at night.
"I take everything one day at a time and don't take anything for granted. Circumstances change things for everyone in the end, but we'll keep doing our best until we have any changes.”
His good time, as he describes it, is in the early evening when he will wander around the 14 yards that make up a base where champions such as Sir Ivor, Nijinsky, Alleged, Roberto, El Gran Senor, Roberto and The Minstrel were moulded before him.
Six are for the older horses, with the other eight being for two-year-olds or horses who require isolation or a period of quiet. O’Brien’s home is in the middle of it all.
In total, there are 200 boxes. His predecessor, the legendary Vincent O’Brien, no relation, who first trained here in 1951, never had more than about 60.
O’Brien talks of friendly rivalry between the respective yards and on occasions the A Team is upstaged by something in the B Team. That happened last year when Wings Of Eagles, a 40-1 chance, gave him his sixth Derby success at the main expense of stablemate Cliffs Of Moher, who started favourite.
Groom Kurram Sheikh puts the sheet on to U S Navy Flag (Racingfotos)
"The stables are divided up into colts and fillies,” he says. “We then separate the best colts, the second-best colts and the third-best colts. They can't all be in one yard so we have to separate them up and the top colts are in the Giant's Causeway yard.
"When we go away to America (for the Breeders’ Cup), Ballydoyle is emptied and washed out and painted for a new year. There is then a pecking order which the lads decide as to what horse ends up in one yard.
"A lot of thought goes into all of this and wherever the horse lands, they stay there for the year. There is no promotion or relegation.”
O’Brien is content for others to have the final say. “I watch, listen and smile,” he says. “I might not always agree with it (who goes where) but I let it happen. I can often see where there could be a very good horse in the second yard but that’s great for the people in there because I know they have a chance of having a big horse, and they’d know that as well.
“That’s what keeps them going because they’d love to have a horse better than in the No 1 yard. It’s a friendly rivalry, but at the same time intense. That’s the way life is, isn’t it?”
All the time O’Brien is talking, alarms on his phone are going off and there is regular interaction on walkie talkies.
At 9.48am he gets a call asking about overnight declarations and after a brief chat about weather conditions at the track in question, passes on his instructions and asks that Ryan Moore is informed.
It seems late to be making decisions about running plans - the cut-off time is 10am - but today he is ahead of schedule.
“Things can change ten times in the minutes before 10am,” he says, having moved into the indoor barn where Capri, the St Leger winner, is rearing up on two legs to show his impressive grey physique. “It could go down to maybe the last ten seconds before.”
Then it is back outside to see his impressive battalion of two-year-olds who, because it’s been such a wet spring, have yet to gallop on turf.
One spooks and it causes a domino effect. O’Brien turns horse whisperer and offers calm, soothing reassurance. “Gently lads. Talk to them. Take your time. Steady. Take your time lads. Just talk to them.”
He is learning about each of the youngsters day by day and trying to get inside the heads of each.
“There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to training,” he says. “You are trying to find the key to every horse and the craziest things can work sometimes.
“They are made up of all these different genes and you have to find methods to kick them off. With some horses you never learn the key but if you have the best people around, all working with the best interests of the horse in mind, then you have a better chance of making it happen.”
Eighteen years ago, O’Brien was unlocking the brilliance of Galileo. He was in the infancy of his training career but he handled the son of Sadler’s Wells with precision and in 2001 the colt went on to give him his first Derby triumph.
Subsequently, Galileo has gone on to become the Daddy of all sires with many of his gifted sons and daughters keeping O’Brien ahead of the pack.
Aged 20, Galileo is still going strong at Coolmore, the centre of equine excellence owned and run by the Magnier family, which is about half an hour from Ballydoyle.
Sadler’s Wells was active in the breeding sheds until the age of about 25 and all the signs are that Galileo will emulate him. He remains a strong, passive individual who dislikes his ears being touched but enjoys having his teeth scratched.
He might perhaps help produce another 800 offspring before his time as a stallion is up, although the odds on him fathering another blessed with as much ability as the freakish Frankel, himself now excelling at stud, seem slim.
"He’s been the most incredible stallion and all of his horses seem to have real courage about them,” O’Brien says.
Galileo has sired three Derby winners and two for O'Brien - Ruler Of The World (2013) and Australia (2014). He is also responsible for New Approach (2008) - and features in the pedigrees of the past six 2,000 Guineas winners.
He has consistently stamped his horses with speed, stamina, good looks and calm temperaments.
The challenge for Coolmore has been mixing up the chemistry and they might just have come up with a game changer in getting access to Deep Impact, the Japanese middle-distance champion, for their Galileo mares.
Saxon Warrior, out of Maybe, is one of three Deep Impact offspring at Ballydoyle - the others are https://www.racinguk.com/horses/september" rel="nofollow - September and Conclusion - but plenty more will soon arrive.
Multiple Group One winners Minding and Winter are in foal to him. So are Maybe's sisters Fluff and Promise To Be True, plus Found's sister Best In The World.
“Deep Impact could be massive and is very exciting,” O’Brien said. “The world is a small place now so he will continue to be important to us.
"Saxon Warrior has a very strong blend of Danehill, Galileo and Deep Impact in him. Those three strong traits make him a horse that we haven't had before so he is very different.
"He is strong and powerful. He is built like a miler, but we always thought he would stay. He goes like a horse who will love middle distances. You can see all of those strong traits in him.”
In the distance is Deep Impact’s daughter, September. She appears extremely fresh and well but a tilt at the Investec Oaks had to be shelved because of a minor muscle problem in her back quarters.
”She wants to canter, but she’s not ready,” says O’Brien, his eye following her every step. “She’s a small filly with a big personality. She’s clean winded and we were looking forward to her for the Oaks. Maybe she will be OK for Royal Ascot.”
O'Brien does not drink alcohol and has few hobbies but is a regular church goer who encourages everyone to stay in contact with their beliefs.
“You can only control the things you can control and you don’t worry about the things you can’t,” he says. “You just hope there is a far greater power there that might help control the things you can’t.
“That’s the reality of life for us all, really. Everyone has their own beliefs and nobody knows who is right or wrong but it’s always a help if somebody has a belief.
“We do our best of what we do every day and then if there is extra help out there we are always very grateful for it. If everyone says a prayer it doesn’t matter what it is, or to who it is, it’s always a help for us all.
“Have a prayer, learn a prayer and say it. It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or you don’t believe it. If you learn a prayer and say it every day it will be a help to you long term, we believe."
Does he pray for his horses? “No” he says.
It is difficult to believe he will do anything but train thoroughbreds but a final question, asking him if he can imagine a time when he won’t, draws a surprise response.
“Of course I can,” he says without hesitation. “And I’ll be taking it very easy when that does happen.”
But first of all there is another Derby to be won. Then another. Then another. The Ballydoyle win machine remains in the safest hands.
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2018 at 9:50pm
I wonder how many pass thru his stable that dont give a peep, and where they end up after ???
------------- animals before people.
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 12 Apr 2021 at 5:50pm
Think I tried this before. These are links to Racing Post Aiden O'Brien "stable tours".
Posted By: Second Chance
Date Posted: 12 Apr 2021 at 5:52pm
Certainly can't argue with that.
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 12 Apr 2021 at 5:54pm
Do the links work SC ?
The second and third ones seem to.
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: Carioca
Date Posted: 12 Apr 2021 at 9:01pm
Unbelievable set up , now I know how Davey Crockett felt like at the Alamo .
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 31 Mar 2023 at 10:44pm
Inside the mind of a genius - what makes Aidan O'Brien tick
'We're always chasing. We're just hanging in there, because I know what's coming'
https://www.independent.ie/opinion/independent-journalists/michael-verney/" rel="nofollow - Michael Verney
ONE of the best ways to find the perfect work-life balance is to
chase a job that doesn’t feel like a chore and it’s fair to say that
Aidan O'Brien relishes every second he spends in Ballydoyle.
"It
doesn't really," the world-renowned Flat trainer replies when asked
whether the job ever loses any of its excitement. "This is what we love
doing every day."
Such devotion to a 300-strong squad of the finest equine
thoroughbreds brings all types of responsibilities but hearing him greet
the names of 40 different work riders in quick succession is a sight to
behold.
From Brett to Jaykumar to Martin to Colm
to Georgia to Santosh to Maria, there's a need to know everyone and
anyone that walks through the gates of the luxurious south Tipperary
yard.
"Sure I suppose I do nothing else every
day, this is all I do," O'Brien reasons. "It's a seven-day week and it's
every single day. We all work here together the whole time and they're
all very important to us.
"I'd touch base usually with every work
rider between six and eight times on every lot when I'm here by myself.
It's all little things that you feel and you're in constant
communication learning about each horse.
"Everyone is giving little bits and
thinking about things. It's communication then with everybody, nothing
hidden and there's no agenda. It's said as it is, nothing covered, good,
bad or indifferent."
O'Brien cruises alongside each lot in his
top of the range Land Rover Defender and always has his eyes on the
here and now. He doesn't do self-praise, instead lauding others, and is
always striving for improvement.
The 53-year-old refuses to stagnate - as can be seen with the
spacious new outdoor warm-up area which has music piped in - and he has
the attitude of a hungry contender rather than the 25-time Irish
champion Flat trainer which he is.
"No, we're always chasing," the Wexford
native says. "We're just hanging in there, believe me, because I know
what's coming! I know what's there, the minute we get complacent that'll
be it.
"We never think back, we always think
forward. We don't even think about what's gone, yesterday is gone and
that's it. It's about tomorrow always and that's just the way it is."
What's coming behind him is another powerful training yard led by his
Kilkenny-based son Joseph - his other son Donnacha is also a burgeoning
trainer just 20 minutes away in Ballyroe - but there is little fear of
their father being left behind given his attitude.,
"We're always changing, we're always
trying to progress, make things sharper, tighter, quicker. And if that
stops...you can't get complacent, you always believe that you're behind.
So you're always trying to catch up."
It's 30 years since O'Brien took out a
training licence and the man responsible for Flat superstars like
Galileo, Giant's Causeway and High Chaparral - as well as National Hunt
icon Istabraq - has no end in sight.
He certainly appreciates every day as if it is his last, though.
"Every day I get up, I thank God because
you're never guaranteed you're going to make the next one and that
doesn't matter what age you are, it's the same with everyone. I always
say the greatest gift of all for all of us is life so don't take it for
granted and appreciate it."
He has plenty to be grateful for heading
into the new Flat season with particularly positive mention for
Alexandroupolis - a three-year-old Camelot colt which "could be
anything" after his Galway maiden success - and the unraced Alabama, a
brother of sprinter Sioux Nation.
English 2,000 Guineas hope Auguste Rodin
is the apple of his eye at present, though, and the Vertem Futurity
Trophy Stakes winner could take all before him this season.
"We were very impressed with him at
Doncaster because we nearly didn’t run him on the ground. Everything
went wrong and he still won," he says of the Epsom Derby favourite.
"He was always very classy from the first
time Ryan (Moore) rode him. He’s an exceptional mover. He’s the type of
horse that could start in the Guineas and stretch out to a mile and a
quarter or a mile and a half."
Other potential superstars like Little
Big Bear and Irish Champion Stakes winner Luxembourg have him rising
from his bed each morning at 4.45 with enthusiasm.
He sleeps well but anything more than six
or seven hours is a rarity as "the day is very full" and he doesn't
even have time for a power nap these days - "I just have to keep going".
Hobbies outside of racing are
non-existent apart from the odd bit of sport on the television when he's
having his tea in the evening as "you don't get a lot of time to get
hooked into anything".
However, daily exercise is imperative and that's a non-negotiable part of his routine.
"I do three quarters of an hour when I
get up first thing every morning. I do everything, I do Pilates. I've to
keep my back strong. I try to do three quarters of an hour as well some
time before I go to bed every day,” he says.
"I try to do an hour and a half every day
if I can. When you're tired is when you need to exercise most. Your
body has to keep going."
It's a fast-paced life he leads with his
string regularly excelling in some of the world's richest prizes - like
Broome claiming last week's Dubai World Cup in Meydan - but nothing
compares to home.
"I love working here every day, that's
what I love. If we go racing and we have to do those things then that's
the way it is but this is what I love doing every day.
"I'm here 30 years but it only feels like two years to me. my heaven is here with the horses."
He has everything he needs on his
doorstep with the floodlit gallops - it feels like you have landed in
Dundalk Stadium upon entry early in the morning - affording them them
the opportunity to gallop horses at whatever hour is required.
The main gallop features a speedometer to
keep track of things while information is always coming his way through
a Walkie Talkie. Nothing is left to chance, everything is like military
precision.
Even O'Brien's clothing is on point as he
sports a long coat like you'd see soccer manager wearing - manufactured
by Nike no less - with Blackbeard (the latest Coolmore stallion)
written on the front, as well as an accompanying image of the pirate
carrying the same name.
O'Brien, much like Willie Mullins,
doesn't watch replays of races - "I used to but I don't get time now,
the days are not long enough" - and he instead goes with the "gut
instinct" of his first impression.
That judgement is shaped by a life in
racing where he has accumulated unprecedented success with eight Epsom
Derby wins, nine in the Oaks, 10 triumphs in the English 2,000 Guineas
and seven in 1,000 Guineas, among numerous others.
However, that doesn't stop the long-time
Man United follower from seeking the counsel of others in search of any
edge that is going.
"Oh God yeah we would, all the time," he
says of picking other people's brains with former Kilkenny hurling boss
Brian Cody one that is name checked.
"You'd always be trying to learn from
people, absolutely, see if there's something that we could put into our
system. There's little things that can make a big difference."
What about feeling pressure given the responsibility he carries with the power of the mighty Coolmore behind him?
"The only pressure I feel is all the
people that are working for us that they keep having jobs because the
lads (John Magnier and Co) invest an awful lot of money every year," he
says.
"It's to keep them having success so that
they'll keep investing the money because there's such a spin-off of
people with families.
"That's the pressure really and I'm always conscious of that, that everyone has to survive, like us all."
It's that mentality that keeps him
hungrier than ever. O'Brien may be the all-conquering champion, but
there's no silk pajamas syndrome here.
He continues to graft like someone at the bottom of racing's tree and that thirst for success won’t be going away any time soon.
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2023 at 1:58pm
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: TJMitchell
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2023 at 3:00pm
We've got a gelding, that will debut soon here, that finished 3 lengths behind Alexandroupolis and a filly that finished 4 lengths behind Espionage that should also debut here this month some time.
------------- Time is a flat circle
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2023 at 11:54pm
Aidan O'Brien: 'He's definitely one to watch, you won't go too far wrong with him'
David Jennings gets the lowdown from the master trainer of his stellar crop for
the new season
What can you say about Aidan
O'Brien that hasn't been said already? Well, I suppose he has never done
the Triple Crown. Despite Camelot's courageous attempt in 2012, the
master of Ballydoyle is still looking for his very own Nijinsky. Has he
finally found his doppelganger in Auguste Rodin? He just might, you
know.
If Auguste Rodin
happened to hand him an 11th 2,000 Guineas next month, a race he is
shading favouritism for at 7-2, the Derby and St Leger would surely be
on his agenda afterwards.
O'Brien
used the word "strong" when asked to describe his crop of
three-year-olds for the season. Sensational may have been more apt.
The
fact that Victoria Road, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero, is not
even being considered for the starting team at Newmarket and is heading
to France instead tells all you need to know about the strength in depth
in the Classic division.
Little
Big Bear was the champion juvenile in Europe last season and ended the
campaign with a huge rating of 124. O'Brien felt his phenomenal Phoenix
Stakes success was "different". Dynamite might be a better description.
The
furthest Little Big Bear has gone in his career is six furlongs and 63
yards in the Anglesey Stakes, but O'Brien believes he will stay a mile
because he's so relaxed. If he does get home in the Guineas, we could be
in for something very special indeed.
Statuette
is on the sidelines for the first half of the season with a setback,
but Meditate has always been the number one Ballydoyle hope in the 1,000
Guineas. O'Brien has won the first fillies' Classic of the season five
times in the last seven years.
Of
the older brigade who are staying in training at Ballydoyle, Luxembourg
is the most interesting. Last year's Irish Champion Stakes winner had
an interrupted Classic campaign, but an uninterrupted four-year-old
season could see him land a whole host of top prizes. He will return in
the Prix Ganay but the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot seems to
be his main early-season aim.
Kyprios
won't be able to defend his Gold Cup crown there and Emily Dickinson
has been handed the baton for the staying showpiece.
There
are umpteen juveniles by No Nay Never who could be anything, although
it already seems O'Brien knows something about Alabama.
Ballydoyle is drenched in quality everywhere you look and 2023 could be one of those memorable years when everything clicks. David Jennings, deputy Ireland editor
Stable facts
Yard Ballydoyle Where Rosegreen, County Tipperary Started training 1993 Horses in yard 200 Strike-rate in 2022 22% Prize-money in Ireland in 2022 €4,666,878 Assistants/head lads
Andrew Murphy, Seamus Brady, Jenny O’Meara, Jamie Gillespie, John
Manton, Oleksandr Movchan, Oleg Gavrylenko, Yvonne Zuercher, Sarmite
Loca, Martin Deegan, Maryna Demchuk, Edmond Kinane, Trevor O’Neill,
Finbarr McCarthy, Derek Hennessey, Ray Pochkhanavala, Chris Armstrong,
Donal O’Loughlin, Muhammad Yasir, Keith Griffin, Enora Hervio Travelling head lads Pat Keating, TJ Comerford, Kieran Murphy, Eoin Lane Racing secretaries Polly Murphy andRachael Hickey Jockeys Ryan Moore, Seamus Heffernan, Wayne Lordan, Killian Hennessy, Jack Cleary Website coolmore.com/farms/ballydoyle Twitter @Ballydoyle
Five-year-old horse Galileo (sire) - Alta Anna (dam) Owners: Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg Form figures: 14469/4- Racing Post Rating 117 Official Rating 111 He’s
back in full work again and we’ll probably go up in trip with him this
season. He has an entry in the Alleged Stakes and the Mooresbridge and
he might start off in one of those.
7h Australia - Sweepstake M Matsushima, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 7868-51 RPR 122 OR 118 We
were delighted with him at Meydan and he’ll probably be trained for the
Gold Cup. Obviously, we’re not sure about the 2m4f, but we’ll see. He
could go to Goodwood, then to the Irish Leger and then to the Melbourne
Cup. We're thinking about those types of races for him.
Broome (nearside): the Dubai Gold Cup winner will have the Ascot Gold Cup and Melbourne Cup as his likely targets this seasonCredit: Edward Whitaker
4c Galileo - Lady Lara Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 52/1151- RPR 114 OR 109 He’s
a horse who is going to get 1m4f well, and further. We’re going to look
at the Coronation Cup for him and we might give him a run before that.
He could get 1m6f and even further. We'll see.
4f Dubawi - Chicquita Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 435461- RPR 110 OR 108 We
were very impressed with her on her final run of last season in the
Loughbrown Stakes at the Curragh. She grew another leg when she went to
two miles. We think that when she goes beyond it, she could even be
better, so we’re looking forward to her. She’s going to do the two Gold
Cup trials at Navan and Leopardstown, and then go to the Gold Cup at
Ascot. She could be a very good stayer.
5h Galileo - Polished Gem Moyglare, Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 111111- RPR 128 OR 124 I
don't think he's going to make the Gold Cup. He got an inner infection,
inside in the joint. It's an unusual thing for it to come inside the
joint. The joint had to be flushed. Then his bloods were still up after
it was flushed so that meant there was further infection in the joint
and they had to flush it again. It's like one of your own joints,
sometimes it takes a while to settle down and that's where we're at with
them at the moment. It happened a month ago and it's just not settling
down yet. Sometimes those things can settle very quickly and sometimes
they don't.
4c Camelot - Attire Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 11/3117- RPR 124 OR 123 The
plan is to start him off in the Prix Ganay. We’re very happy with him
at the moment. He went to the Curragh with the others the weekend before
last and we were very happy with what he did there. Physically, he has
done very well since last year. We’re thinking along the lines of the
Ganay then the Tattersalls Gold Cup and on to the Prince of Wales's
Stakes at Royal Ascot. Then after that, we'll see where we are with
regard to the autumn. He had a tough race in the Champion Stakes last
year after missing a bit of time following the Guineas. It was a good,
competitive race at Leopardstown, but because he had the time off in the
middle of the season, I think it probably took its toll on him a little
bit. We’re looking forward to him now. There could be plenty more to
come, I hope.
Luxembourg: "There could be plenty more to come," says Aidan O'BrienCredit: Edward Whitaker
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/3509868/point-lonsdale/form/" rel="nofollow - Point Lonsdale
4c Australia - Sweepstake Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 11112/0- RPR 113 OR 106 He
disappointed us at Newmarket in the Guineas. We scanned him after it
and found that he had a fissure in one of his joints, so we needed to
give him time for that to heal. He’s going very well now. He did his
first serious bit of work at the Curragh over the weekend and everyone
was happy. I'd say 1m2f will suit him and he could start back in the
Mooresbridge Stakes.
4f Caravaggio - Immortal Verse Westerberg, Coolmore, Merribelle Stables 412355- RPR 116 OR 113 She's
going to go sprinting and will probably start in one of the local
sprints. She’s nearly ready to go. She’s a fast filly and I’d say 5f or
6f would be comfortable for her. Last year, we were dallying around with
her, seeing where we were going to go, but the minute we started
sprinting with her, it was very obvious she was a sprinter. She’s very
quick. She’ll be trained differently this year. Last year, we were
trying to stretch her out to see how far she would go and she was still
very competitive at those distances because she’s just a good filly.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/3765235/thoughts-of-june/form/" rel="nofollow - Thoughts Of June
4f Galileo - Discreet Marq Moyglare Stud Farm, Magnier, Tabor 25/219- RPR 105 OR 102 She won the Cheshire Oaks last year over 1m4f, so hopefully she'll progress into a Group filly this season.
Three-year-olds
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4440440/adelaide-river/form/" rel="nofollow - Adelaide River c Australia - Could It Be Love Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 1223- RPR 103 OR 105 He worked very well at the Curragh the other day. He’s going to go to a Derby trial and could head to France for one.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4245943/aesops-fables/form/" rel="nofollow - Aesop’s Fables c No Nay Never - How's She Cuttin' Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 11442- RPR 110 OR 110 He's
a sprinter. He has done very well over the winter and has got plenty of
pace. We'll be campaigning him as a sprinter this year.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4245944/age-of-kings/form/" rel="nofollow - Age Of Kings c Kingman - Turret Rocks Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Peter Brant 21743- RPR 101 OR 102 We were getting him ready for one of the Guineas trials but is probably going to get a couple of easy weeks.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4352828/alexandroupolis/form/" rel="nofollow - Alexandroupolis c Camelot - Jazz Cat Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 1-3 RPR 98 He
was very fresh early on in the Ballysax and I think that took its toll
on him at the business end. He had been working so well and everything
had come so naturally to him at home that I'd say he needed the race
more than the others. We think he's a very nice colt and he could come
back to Leopardstown for the Derrinstown in a few weeks.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4313179/alfred-munnings/form/" rel="nofollow - Alfred Munnings c Dubawi - Best In The World Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 16- RPR 93 He
could be an Irish or French Guineas type. He chipped his splint bone in
the Chesham last year and that’s what put him away from the rest of the
season. He has done well since coming back into training.
Alfred Munnings: "could be an Irish or French Guineas type"Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420117/all-time-great/form/" rel="nofollow - All Time Great f Justify - Curvy Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg Unraced She hasn’t run yet. She’s a big, strong-galloping, staying filly.
Star quality
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4273959/auguste-rodin/form/" rel="nofollow - Auguste Rodin c Deep Impact - Rhododendron Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 2111- RPR 120 OR 118 You
would imagine he would have no bother stretching out to a 1m2f or even
1m4f, he’s that type of horse. He is the type that could start in the
Guineas and stretch out in trip after that. He was always very classy,
always. I remember Ryan [Moore] riding him in work as early as last
February, as a two-year-old, and he was even raving about him back then.
We nearly didn't run him at Doncaster because of the ground as he’s an
exceptional mover. He’s very slick, a very long, very low mover.
Everything went wrong in the race and he still won. If we have a horse
who could do the Triple Crown, he would definitely be the one. Both him
and Little Big Bear will be aimed at Newmarket, then the lads will have
to decide whether they will let the two of them run together or split
them up.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4313180/ballsbridge/form/" rel="nofollow - Ballsbridge c Lord Kanaloa - Happily Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 4 We
put blinkers on him at Navan as he had been very idle and lazy at home.
I think he will improve a lot on what he did at Navan and I'd say you
will see a different colt next time.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420120/beginnings/form/" rel="nofollow - Beginnings f Lord Kanaloa - Winter Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 41- RPR 94 She’s
a filly who won a Dundalk maiden nicely late in the year and we're
going to aim her at a Guineas trial. We'll see where she slots in after
running in one of those. She's fit and forward.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420119/be-happy/form/" rel="nofollow - Be Happy f Camelot - Frequential Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 15-3 RPR 92 OR 96 We
were very happy with her at Saint-Cloud on Saturday. It was her first
run of the year and she just got tired. She will come forward plenty for
the run and she will appreciate stepping up to 1m4f as well.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4528291/bertinelli/form/" rel="nofollow - Bertinelli c Justify - Together Forever Sue Magnier 21- RPR 85 He’s
working nicely and we were thinking about running him over the weekend,
but he picked up a stone bruise, so we'll see how he gets over that.
He's been going nicely, though.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420121/boogie-woogie/form/" rel="nofollow - Boogie Woogie f Dubawi - Seventh Heaven Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 823- RPR 82 She's still a maiden but she's a nice filly and could even be a Group filly when she goes over 1m4f.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420143/cairo/form/" rel="nofollow - Cairo c Quality Road - Cuff Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 2121-10 RPR 106 OR 107 He was disappointing at Meydan, but we feel he just didn’t face the kickback on the dirt. We are happy to forgive him the run.
Cairo: didn’t like the dirt kickback at Meydan last time but has been forgiven that runCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4601327/carracci/form/" rel="nofollow - Carracci c Quality Road - Butterflies Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 51-3 RPR 88 OR 89 We
were delighted with his run behind Hans Andersen at Leopardstown and
you'd like to think he will improve for the run and when he gets better
ground as well.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4307335/congo-river/form/" rel="nofollow - Congo River c Mendelssohn - Tessie Flip Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 236213- RPR 97 OR 98 We’re going to take our time with him and go sprinting in the middle of the summer. He's a very fast colt.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4493098/continuous/form/" rel="nofollow - Continuous c Heart's Cry - Fluff Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 11- RPR 104 OR 109 He's
done well over the winter. He handles soft ground well. He was at the
Curragh working the other day and we were happy with him. He'll go for a
Derby trial and we'll take it from there.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4352822/dame-kiri/form/" rel="nofollow - Dame Kiri f Justify - Hence Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 3341-7 RPR 96 OR 95 She should come forward nicely from her return at Leopardstown in the 1,000 Guineas Trial. She just got tired in the ground.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420123/delightful/form/" rel="nofollow - Delightful f Galileo - Lillie Langtry Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 4321-9 RPR 92 OR 92 She
was bit disappointing in the Park Express Stakes at the Curragh last
weekend but we think she'll leave that run behind her. We’ll go back to a
stakes race with her.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4409346/denmark/form/" rel="nofollow - Denmark c Camelot - Board Meeting Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 12-5 RPR 100 OR 97 He
raced very lazily in the Ballyax so we'll put a pair of blinkers on him
the next day. That could be what he needs. You would like to think he
will improve plenty for the run. He could come back to Leopardstown for
the Derrinstown.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4770140/diamondsareforever/form/" rel="nofollow - Diamondsareforever f Justify - Diamondsandrubies Roisin Henry 1- RPR 78 She’s a big filly. She’ll start off in one of those Oaks trials and we’ll see where we go from there.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4002038/drumroll/form/" rel="nofollow - Drumroll c Deep Impact - Maybe Magnier,Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 1 He's
a brother to Saxon Warrior and we were delighted with him at Navan. He
will either go to a winners race now or a Derby trial. He'll have no
problem stepping up in trip, he came home very strongly at Navan.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4493099/espionage/form/" rel="nofollow - Espionage c Galileo - Even Song Michael Tabor 212- RPR 112 OR 112 He
was in full work, but he had a bit of an issue with a shoulder that has
held him up, so he won’t be out in the early part of the season.
Espionage: a shoulder issue has held up his workCredit: Patrick McCann
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4650593/gooloogong/form/" rel="nofollow - Gooloogong c Australia - Muwakaba Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 5-1 He
had a nice run at Dundalk at the back end of last year. He was very
slowly away that day but ran a lovely race. He will stay further and
could slot into one of the Derby trials now. He won very nicely at
Navan.
Dark horse
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4273957/greenland/form/" rel="nofollow - Greenland c Saxon Warrior - Aktoria Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 52414- RPR 105 OR 108 A
son of Saxon Warrior who we definitely didn’t see the best of when he
ran the Royal Lodge. That was a messy race. He’s done very well over the
winter and we will send him to a Derby trial.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4405380/hans-andersen/form/" rel="nofollow - Hans Andersen c Frankel - Shadow Hunter Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 2125-1 RPR 104 OR 105 We're
going to have a look at either the French or Irish Guineas on the way
to the French Derby with him. I was delighted with the way he won at
Leopardstown, as that wasn't his ground. He's a good ground horse and a
very good mover. He quickened up well and the experience he had from
last year stood to him.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420150/hippodrome/form/" rel="nofollow - Hippodrome c Galileo - Lightning Thunder Mrs John Magnier 5616- RPR 91 OR 91 A staying type. He’s going to get 1m6f, or even further.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4352834/hiawatha/form/" rel="nofollow - Hiawatha c Camelot - Attire Westerberg Ireland 22102- RPR 101 OR 100 He’s
having a bit of an easy time at the minute. He was just beaten in the
Eyrefield at Leopardstown towards the end of last year, so he’ll go into
a Derby trial in about a month’s time.
3f Galileo - Jacqueline Quest Triermore Stud, Magnier, Tabor 1 RPR 90 We
were delighted with the way she won at Naas and she could go to Navan
for the Salsabil Stakes next. She's a nice filly and there should be
more to come.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4568935/king-leodegrance/form/" rel="nofollow - King Leodegrance c Camelot - Empowering Westerberg, Coolmore, Annemarie O’Brien 6 He will improve plenty for his first run at Navan and he could be a nice middle-distance horse.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4449885/lambada/form/" rel="nofollow - Lambada f Dubawi - Wading Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 03- RPR 81 A
Dubawi filly who was placed in a Leopardstown maiden at the backend of
last year. She’s a 1m2f-plus filly. We’ll start her in a maiden and see
where we go from there.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420129/library/form/" rel="nofollow - Library f Galileo - Words Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 32125-6 RPR 93 OR 99 She
was disappointing at Saint-Cloud and I'd say we'll put a pair of
cheekpieces on her next time as Christophe [Soumillion] thought she was
swinging the lead a little bit.
Star quality
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4245948/little-big-bear/form/" rel="nofollow - Little Big Bear c No Nay Never - Adventure Seeker Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 21111- RPR 123 OR 124 What
he did in the Phoenix was just different. He would be very comfortable
and happy to go back sprinting any time, but there’s a very good chance
he'll get a mile. He races very relaxed. Both him and Auguste Rodin will
be aimed at Newmarket, then the lads will have to decide whether they
will let the two of them run together or split them up.
Little Big Bear: "There’s a very good chance he'll get a mile and he'll be aimed at Newmarket"Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4471469/londoner/form/" rel="nofollow - Londoner c Saxon Warrior - Gilt Edge Girl Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 41- RPR 88 OR 99 He
might start in a Derby trial somewhere. He went to the Curragh the
weekend before last and he's going to get 1m2f or even further this
year.
Star quality
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4245939/meditate/form/" rel="nofollow - Meditate f No Nay Never - Pembina Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg 111221- RPR 113 OR 114 With
Statuette out, she's the one for the 1,000 Guineas. She’s a very
professional filly. She’s not over big, but she’s strong and versatile.
She only did a gentle piece of work at the Curragh over the weekend as
she had been away to Tipperary to gallop a month before that and came
back a little bit sore, so we had to go gentle with her. That wasn’t a
big enough interruption to impact her preparation and she’s still on
target to go straight to Newmarket. I'm looking forward to her this
season.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4383456/milwaukee/form/" rel="nofollow - Milwaukee c Justify - Moth Derrick Smith 4- RPR 79 He’s a middle-distance horse and could be Group or Listed class.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4330785/never-ending-story/form/" rel="nofollow - Never Ending Story f Dubawi - Athena Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 311343-1 RPR 99 OR 103 We
were delighted with her at Leopardstown on Sunday as she hadn’t really
come yet. When she does come she will gush. She is just not there yet.
You can see it in her coat that she's not there. She can go to one of
the Guineas and then stepping up in trip after that shouldn’t be a
problem to her. The plan is for Meditate to go straight to Newmarket and
she could go for one of the other Guineas. We will go gently on her.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420155/paddington/form/" rel="nofollow - Paddington c Siyouni - Modern Eagle Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg, Brant 51-1 RPR 105 OR 105 He
won the Madrid Handicap in good style at Naas and he’ll go for a
Guineas trial now. He could run in the French Guineas. He should stay
1m2f, so he could end up in the Prix du Jockey Club.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4528294/peking-opera/form/" rel="nofollow - Peking Opera c Galileo - Bugle Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 21- RPR 86 OR 93 He’s a strong traveller, but was babyish last year. He should be one for 1m2f or maybe even 1m4f.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420132/red-carpet/form/" rel="nofollow - Red Carpet f Galileo - Quiet Reflection Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 0- RPR 51 She’s a grand filly. She’ll start in a maiden over 7f or a mile, and we’ll see where we go from there.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4471483/starry-eyed/form/" rel="nofollow - Starry Eyed f Galileo - Nickname Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 343-3 RPR 81 OR 82 We
were very happy with her in the handicap at Leopardstown on Sunday. She
will have no problem getting a mile and a half and Ryan [Moore] was
very happy with her. The ground wouldn't have been ideal for her.
Statuette: back for the second half of the season after a hold-upCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4330787/statuette/form/" rel="nofollow - Statuette f Justify - Immortal Verse Coolmore, Westerberg, Merriebelle Stables 11- RPR 104 OR 101 She's
has had a hold-up and I don't think she's going to make the Guineas.
We're going to go gently with her. She'll be back for the second half of
the season.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420139/tender-kiss/form/" rel="nofollow - Tender Kiss f Galileo - Marsha Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 7 She's a nice filly who will come on plenty from her first run at Leopardstown. She will like nicer ground.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4509291/time-to-boogie/form/" rel="nofollow - Time To Boogie f Quality Road - Magical Dream Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 4- RPR 72 She
had a nice run in a maiden at the Curragh at the backend of last year.
She’ll start in a maiden, probably over a mile or 1m2f, and we’ll see
where we go from there.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4241643/the-antarctic/form/" rel="nofollow - The Antarctic c Dark Angel - Anna Law Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg, Brant 732132- RPR 110 OR 113 He
could be a very good sprinter this year; he gets 6f well and could even
get a little further. He will handle an ease in the ground and,
physically, he has done very well since you saw him last. You'd imagine
the Commonwealth Cup will fit nicely into his schedule.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4438565/tower-of-london/form/" rel="nofollow - Tower Of London c Galileo - Dialafara Mrs John Magnier 15- RPR 88 OR 96 This is a smart colt who worked nicely at the Curragh the other day. We think he could be a nice middle-distance horse.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4330788/unless/form/" rel="nofollow - Unless f Justify - Clemmie Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor, Smith 335-2 RPR 97 OR 86 She
was just touched off the other day at the Curragh, but hopefully she'll
go back and win her maiden the next day before going in search of some
black type.
Victoria Road (left): the Juvenile Turf winner will go for the French Guineas and then the Prix du Jockey ClubCredit: Edward Whitaker
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4273958/victoria-road/form/" rel="nofollow - Victoria Road c Saxon Warrior - Tickled Pink Derrick Smith 241111- RPR 115 OR 115 The
plan at the moment is for him is to go for the French Guineas and then
on to the Prix du Jockey Club. He improved with each run last season and
he’d look the type to do better again this season. He worked well at
the Curragh the other day. We're happy with him.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420140/warm-heart/form/" rel="nofollow - Warm Heart f Galileo - Sea Siren Magnier, Tabor, Smith, Westerberg 4-2 RPR 62 She
ran a lovely race in the maiden at Leopardstown on Sunday. We can step
up her in trip and she will appreciate that and nicer ground too.
https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4420141/water-nymph/form/" rel="nofollow - Water Nymph f Saxon Warrior - Chenchikova Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg 62-9 RPR 83 OR 86 We
were a bit disappointed by her run at the Curragh, but it was her first
run of the season and we think she'll leave that behind her.
Juveniles
We have a lovely crop of two-year-olds and you'll see some of them starting to appear soon. Alabama
(c No Nay Never - Deam The Blues) has been working very nicely. Of the
more forward ones, he’s definitely one to watch. He's a half-brother to
Sioux Nation and you wouldn’t go too far wrong with him.
A few others who it might be worth your while keeping an eye out for would be Battle Cry (c No Nay Never - I'll Have Another), Emperor Of Rome (c No Nay Never - Coral Shell), The Liffey (c No Nay Never - Rain Goddess), Carnegie Hall (c No Nay Never - Compression), https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/4924464/his-majesty/form/" rel="nofollow - His Majesty (c No Nay Never - Czabo) and a Ten Sovereigns filly called Brighter.
Two for the Tracker
You won’t go far wrong with Alabama, a two-year-old who is working particularly nicely. Of the three-year-olds, Auguste Rodin is an exceptional mover and has us really excited.
Expert View
Very
early signs suggest it will be business as usual for Aidan O'Brien this
season, with an even stronger bunch of three-year-olds.
It
is a strong comment on the potential strength of the Ballydoyle
three-year-olds this season that the premature retirement of Prix Morny
and Middle Park Stakes winner Blackbeard might just be a blip on the
screen. O'Brien has the two market leaders for the 2,000 Guineas in last
season's champion European juvenile Little Big Bear, not seen since his
scintillating success in the Phoenix Stakes in August, and impressive
Futurity winner Auguste Rodin.
Both
horses caught the eye in a racecourse gallop at the Curragh last
weekend and both look as though they will be heading to Newmarket
without a prep run. Little Big Bear is unlikely to be seen beyond a
mile, but that will not be the case with Derby favourite Auguste Rodin,
who is only likely to improve when stepping up in trip. There is
terrific potential among the stable's probable middle-distance hopefuls,
with unexposed types such as Alexandroupolis, Continuous, Denmark and
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road.
Among
his fillies, Statuette was unbeaten in two starts last season and
remains exciting, even if she won't be seen until later in the season.
Despite being eclipsed by Tahiyra in the Moyglare, Meditate danced every
dance last season, culminating in her Breeders' Cup success in
November, and there is plenty to look forward to with her.
Among
the older brigade, last season's joint-world champion intermediate colt
Luxembourg remains in training and will be a factor in all the
middle-distance Group 1 races as he attempts to make up for a mostly
lost season. Champion stayer Kyprios is on the easy list but the stable
has a ready replacement in Meydan winner Broome, while Emily Dickinson
could be a revelation at the trip. O'Brien has also identified 113-rated
juvenile The Antarctic as one to go sprinting this season. All bases
look to be covered in yet another exciting looking season for the
Ballydoyle powerhouse. Justin O'Hanlon, reporter
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2023 at 1:34am
Horatio Nelson
George Washington
Age Of Aquarius
Anthony Van Dyck
San Antonio
------------- reductio ad absurdum
Posted By: djebel
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2023 at 2:03am
I hope Little Big Bear is not added to the list, He had to be pulled up in the July Cup after missing at least a weeks work after the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot.