How do we interpret Aidan O’Brien’s unusual willingness to send his Classic winner into the fray so soon after his last run?Is Aidan O’Brien turning into the new Mark Johnston? That’s just one of the questions racing folk want answered in light of the news this morning that Saxon Warrior has been declared to run in Saturday’s Eclipse Stakes, just one week after he ran in the Irish Derby. Related: Gambling Commission says it was misled by Ladbrokes in Black Dave case Haydock 2.00 Space Talk 2.30 Jonah Jones 3.00 Five Helmets (nb) 3.30 Pablo Escobarr 4.00 Red Force One 4.30 Eeh Bah Gum 5.00 Dapper Man Continue reading...
Irish trainer accepts he must prepare future US dirt runners to cope with a high level of aggression from the startThe aggression of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby approached the level of savagery, Aidan O’Brien has said as he reflected on the defeat suffered by his Mendelssohn, who was eased down to finish last. But rather than complain about the interference suffered by his horse in the early stages, the Ballydoyle trainer is now concerned with how he can train a horse to cope with that level of aggression in future and perhaps even show it himself. Related: Billesdon Brook’s 1,000 Guineas win gives Sean Levey his biggest triumph Warwick 1.30 Hidden Glen 2.05 Simply The Betts 2.40 Free Stone Hill 3.15...
The selection has the class and turn of foot to give Aidan O’Brien his ninth 2,000 Guineas winner at NewmarketThe abrupt emergence of Masar as a potential Classic winner gives the 2,000 Guineas today at Newmarket a familiar Godolphin versus Ballydoyle look, but one of the more open renewals of recent years has several more genuine contenders in the field. Expert Eye and Elarqam have serious claims on the pick of their juvenile form, while James Garfield beat Expert Eye in the Greenham and will have his backers with Frankie Dettori taking the reins. There is also market confidence behind Mark Johnston’s Elarqam, which has not been the case for Saxon Warrior, one of Aidan O’Brien’s two main contenders. Related:...
The trainer with a record 26 Group One winners in 2017 sets his sights on the biggest prize of the year“No, never,” Aidan O’Brien says with feeling, to a suggestion that a winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic is a personal ambition. “No race would ever be on my mind, we’d always make every decision and do the right thing for the horse. It’s not about us. It’s always about the horse.”It is a sign of the single-minded dedication to what is best for his horses that has carried O’Brien to a record 26 Group One winners this year. But while the question was never going to prompt a Keeganesque rant – “I tell you what, I will love it,...
The flashy colt was beaten at odds of 8-11 on Sunday but Aidan O’Brien now believes that footwear may have been at faultHere’s another entry for the file marked ‘There’s Always An Explanation When A Good Horse Is Beaten On The Flat’. Aidan O’Brien reports an issue with Caravaggio’s shoes may account for his disappointing effort in Sunday’s Prix Maurice de Gheest. Related: Action needed to stop stable staff urinating on horses’ bedding, says trainer Continue reading...