Tag: Aidan O’Brien

Heart’s Cry’s Continuous Impresses In The Great Voltigeur

Coolmore and Westerberg's Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}–Fluff {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) had failed to get his nose in front in three starts since saluting in last term's G3 Prix Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud and bounced back under a Ryan Moore masterclass to claim a career high in Wednesday's G2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur S. at York. Detached in rear and patiently ridden as the hitherto undefeated Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) set searching fractions up front, the 4-1 chance inched ever closer in the straight to launch his challenge passing the quarter-mile marker and powered clear thereafter to easily account for Godolphin's Castle Way (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}) by an impressive 3 3/4 lengths. Gregory stayed on well once headed to finish one length adrift in third.

Continuous opened his sophomore campaign with a third in May's G2 Dante S. at this venue, but was no match for Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) when eighth in the June 4 G1 Prix du Jockey Club next time and went postward for this G1 St Leger staging post coming back off a second behind King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the June 23 G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot.

“He's a lovely horse who is progressing, he has enough class for a mile-and-a-half and could stay further,” revealed Aidan O'Brien. “He's an exciting horse and he handles an ease in the ground well as he has a bit of a round action. That was fast ground today, Ryan [Moore] said it was quicker than it was at Royal Ascot, and he didn't seem to have any problem with it. He came here in the Dante and needed the run very badly and ran a massive race. A little bit of class usually outs, especially if the pace is even. I asked Ryan about the St Leger trip and he said he doesn't need a mile-and-six, but he said you wouldn't rule it out.”

Charlie Appleby expects Castle Way to bypass the St Leger and will look to North America for the runner-up's next outing. “The fractions looked very quick and William [Buick] said he was close enough, but fair play to the winner, he was the fastest horse in the race,” the trainer reflected. “The main thing to take out of it is that William did say the mile-and-six in the Leger will probably stretch him. I think I'll most definitely put him on the radar for [the Jockey Club Derby at] Belmont, where the quick ground will suit him, and that will most likely be our next stop. He's got a great attitude and he tries, but he was beaten by a better horse today.”

John Gosden felt Gregory ran the ideal St Leger trial and said, “We felt we couldn't go from Royal Ascot [straight] to the Leger so we had to come here, even with a three-pound penalty. They went a strong pace and there were two others forcing it, but what I loved about it was that a furlong out he got going again. To me he's run the perfect trial for the Leger. I couldn't be more pleased and you can see by the size of him he's all about next year. One more run in the Leger and then Cup races next year.”

Pedigree Notes

Continuous is the third of six foals and one of two scorers out of a winning full-sister to G1 Moyglare Stud S. heroine Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}, herself the dam of G1 2000 Guineas-winning sire Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). The March-foaled bay's dam is also a full-sister to dual Group 1-placed G3 Silver Flash S. victrix Promise To Be True (Ire). His stakes-winning second dam Sumora (Ire) (Danehill) is kin to G1 Oaks and G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) heroine Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) from the family of multiple Group 1-winning sire Dr Devious (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}). Continuous is half to the unraced 2-year-old filly Angelica Tree (Ire) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and a yearling colt and a weanling filly by Wootton Bassett (GB).

Wednesday, York, Britain
SKY BET GREAT VOLTIGEUR S.-G2, £250,000, York, 8-23, 3yo, c/g, 11f 188yT, 2:27.45, g/f.
1–CONTINUOUS (JPN), 128, c, 3, by Heart's Cry (Jpn)
1st Dam: Fluff (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Sumora (Ire), by Danehill
3rd Dam: Rain Flower (Ire), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
O-D Smith, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor & Westerberg; B-Wynatt, Chelston Ireland & Orpendale Bloodstock (JPN); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £141,775. Lifetime Record: GSW-Fr, 6-3-1-1, $317,416. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Castle Way (GB), 128, c, 3, Almanzor (Fr)–Beach Frolic (GB), by Nayef. (425,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Highclere Stud & Floors Farming (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. £53,750.
3–Gregory (GB), 131, c, 3, Golden Horn (GB)–Gretchen (GB), by Galileo (Ire). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Normandie Stud Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden. £26,900.
Margins: 3 3/4, 1, 11. Odds: 4.00, 6.50, 0.73.
Also Ran: Artistic Star (Ire), Canberra Legend (Ire).

 

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York: Can Paddington Run Continue in the Juddmonte International?

   When a horse like Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) comes along, the challenge is to find a new narrative as big-race win follows big-race win. There is no up-and-down to colour the story, no bouncing back from adversity, no heroic turnaround from setback. It is a clear case of superiority winning out each time, as it feels to watch Man City's relentless march through football's major tournaments on the other side of the Pennines. Sometimes, the truth is the horse does the talking and it is clear that we are dealing with a colt with a metronomic rhythm to his racing which at present shows no sign of being upset.

As far as Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International is concerned, it is up a trio with varying credentials in Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) to halt the momentum of Ballydoyle's at once unassuming and impressive colt. He needs this win to match the five-in-a-row Group 1 tally of one of the current regime's initial superstars Giant's Causeway, who was beaten in the Irish 2000 Guineas in which Paddington began his sequence. Shape shifting between supreme miler and 10-furlong horse just like the “Iron Horse” before him, he remains in pursuit of the seven consecutive elite-level triumphs of more Rosegreen royalty in Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire).

After mastering the stern uphill climax of the Eclipse and the unorthodox gradients of Goodwood, fast and deep turf, the latest test comes on the Knavesmire's level playing field which catches out only the complacent. What can possibly go wrong? Aidan O'Brien can't pinpoint a weakness. “He's an amazing horse really and all he's done is progress with each race,” he reiterated on Tuesday. “There's nothin much else I can say about him, every time we've asked him a question he keeps coming up with it. The ground is fine and we know he stays the trip. He went to the Coral-Eclipse for his first run over a mile and a quarter, so this is a little bit further on a flatter track.”

This is Frankie's last chance to edge Lester Piggott for the outright record of six wins and it would be a freakish turn of fortune if Jim Crowley's suspension meant that it came on Wednesday on Shadwell's Mostahdaf. One of the least heralded of the big guns that lined up for Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S., the Clarehaven slow-burner left nobody in any doubt that he was the only member of that particular cast made for a fast-ground mile-and-a-quarter test as he dished out a humbling beating to Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) et al.

The evidence of Riyadh and Royal Ascot suggest Mostahdaf is finally the finished article, but the question is whether that extra strength brought about by maturity is the equivalent of the seven pounds weight-for-age he advances to Paddington. John Gosden is looking forward to finding out now that the cards have fallen right with the wet spell behind us. “There's no change in Plan A, it was always to give him the time,” he said. “He benefited from time between Saudi Arabia and running in Dubai through to June and, again, we've taken a similar spacing with him.”

On Mostahdaf's surge up the Rankings, Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold admits to having underestimated the 5-year-old as he headed to the Royal meeting. “If I'm honest, I was a bit surprised to see him win [the Prince of Wales's] quite like that, but I probably shouldn't have been after the way he won in Saudi earlier this year. He was very impressive there and really quickened,” he said. “I thought he ran well in the Sheema Classic at Meydan too, where Equinox just killed him off the bend and he didn't get home but I was still surprised to see just how well he was travelling against a proper group one field at Royal Ascot and just how well he quickened.”

Ballydoyle vs The Gosdens is the modern-day customary tale in these kind of events and it is significant that the Newmarket father-and-son axis bolster their challenge with Imad Al Sagar's beloved Nashwa here. Last year's G1 Prix de Diane heroine failed to see out this trip on testing ground on her return mission in Goodwood's G1 Nassau S., but had previously looked to be peaking in the G1 Falmouth S. over a mile and this faster surface is a prerequisite over this distance these days.

Hollie Doyle is keen to put the 4-year-old's latest effort behind her and she could be the fly in the ointment with her invaluable fillies' allowance. “They had an easy time on the front end and Nashwa moved up like the best filly in the race, but she'd possibly been further back than ideal on that ground which probably blunted the turn of foot she showed in the Falmouth,” she said. “She takes her races very well and I'm hearing good reports from home through Teddy Grimthorpe.”

Already a winner over this course and distance in the G2 Dante S., King Power Racing's The Foxes (Ire) has to do much better than a subsequent fifth in the Derby and second in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational. “The others may be proven at a higher level, but I do feel The Foxes is an improving horse and we haven't seen the best of him yet,” racing manager Alastair Donald explained. “It looks like he'll get his preferred conditions of fast ground and we know he likes the course and distance. It might end up being a trappy race and, you never know, it's worth being there.”

 

Gregory The Key Player In The Great Voltigeur…

With Mostahdaf facing such a stern challenge on Wednesday, Frankie might give the York faithful the flying dismount they crave after the preceding G2 Great Voltigeur S. where Wathnan Racing's unbeaten  Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) looks a solid proposition. Despite carrying a three-pound penalty for his G2 Queen's Vase exploits over two furlongs further than this mile-and-a-half contest, he looks a genuine stayer with speed. Ballydoyle's representative Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) had the pace to be third to The Foxes in the Dante and to get closest to one of his generation's bigwigs King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in a slowly-run G2 King Edward VII S., so if Gregory can usurp him and Godolphin's G3 Bahrain Trophy winner Castle Way (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}) with the odds slightly against him the St Leger will loom even larger on his horizon.

 

Big Moment For Keatley In The Acomb…

Adrian Keatley has been slowly making a name for himself from his British base and in another Wathnan Racing acquisition in Ballymount Boy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) he has the right material to make waves in the always-important G3 Tattersalls Acomb S. Looking in need of this extra furlong when a length second to the subsequent G1 Prix Morny hero Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) in the G2 Richmond S. over six at Goodwood earlier this month, he sets the standard and it is just a case of whether he can contain the flow of unexposed types.

“We thought a lot of our horse going to Goodwood, so we weren't by any means surprised by his run and we appreciate that the winner now looks very good as well–it's all stacking up,” his trainer said. “He went from a four-runner novice race at Hamilton into a group two and it was a massive step, a massive ask, and he answered all the questions bar one. We think he could be a top-class seven furlong horse or miler for the future.”

With two Guineas winners in Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) winning this in the last five years, it pays to watch the untested colts closely and Cogitate (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) is one of the more intriguing. Trainer Charlie Hills said of the Newbury novice scorer, “His work has been good and we think he could be a nice horse for the future. He travelled very well [at Newbury], he's got a good attitude and a good temperament–I was really taken by his first run. He's a big, scopey horse and he should be a nice horse for next year as well.”

Also in the mix is Ballydoyle's Naas maiden winner Edwardian (No Nay Never), the Eve Johnson Houghton-trained Ascot maiden scorer Indian Run (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and the course-and-distance winner Loose Cannon (Ire) (Territories {Ire}) from the William Haggas stable.

 

Classic Rematch In Yorkshire Oaks…

Thursday's G1 Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks will see the G1 Irish Oaks one-two Savethelastdance  (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}) square up again after a field of 10 was confirmed on Tuesday. Shadwell's G1 Nassau S. heroine Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is the key member of the older brigade, while in the supporting card's six-furlong G2 Lowther S. the G2 Queen Mary S. runner-up and Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Relief Rally (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) encounters eight rivals including Ballydoyle's impressive Curragh maiden winner Cherry Blossom (Ire) (No Nay Never).

 

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Dubawi’s Henry Longfellow In Charge In The Futurity

Making light work of Saturday's G2 Coolmore Stud Wootton Bassett Irish EBF Futurity S. at The Curragh, Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}–Minding {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) continued the golden spell of the yard's 2-year-olds in 2023. Backed into 2-9 favouritism, the son of the brilliant 1000 Guineas and Oaks heroine who had opened his account in style over this course and seven-furlong distance last month tracked the ultimately-disappointing Spanish Flame (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}) until taking command 2 1/2 out under Ryan Moore. Chased to the line by Islandsinthestream (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), he had two lengths to spare over that Joseph O'Brien trainee at the line, with three lengths back to fellow Rosegreen runner Portland (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in third.

“It was a very good race today and there was a good solid pace,” Aidan O'Brien said after welcoming a 16th Futurity winner which ties him on the record with the late Dr Vincent O'Brien. “He looks a very smart colt and the plan was to come here today and then the [G1] Dewhurst. He would have learned plenty, he had to travel at a solid pace and quicken and Ryan taught him a lot. They won't go much quicker than that in any Dewhurst. He's not short of pace, but Dubawis do stay and his mother was very unusual as she won group ones from a mile all the way to a mile and a half. City Of Troy is coming here for the National and they are going different ways–they haven't been put together yet at home, so I'm not sure what's between them. I'm not sure they will be unless the lads say so.”

Pedigree Notes
Henry Longfellow is the second foal out of the aforementioned Minding, whose seven victories at the top level included a Moyglare Stud S. and Pretty Polly S. at this venue and a G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. Her dam Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) produced four pattern-race winners by Galileo including last year's Oaks and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Tuesday (Ire) and the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Empress Josephine (Ire). Lillie Langtry, who was successful in the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Matron S., hails from the family of the sires Great Commotion and Lead On Time. Minding's yearling is a full-sister to Henry Longfellow, while she also has a filly foal by Wootton Bassett (GB).

Saturday, The Curragh, Ireland
COOLMORE STUD WOOTTON BASSETT IRISH EUROPEAN BREEDERS FUND FUTURITY S.-G2, €120,000, Curragh, 8-19, 2yo, 7fT, 1:26.44, g/y.
1–HENRY LONGFELLOW (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: Minding (Ire) (MG1SW-Eng, MG1SW-Ire, $3,213,340), by Galileo (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Lillie Langtry (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Hoity Toity (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €72,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $91,410. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Islandsinthestream (Ire), 131, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–A Mist Opportunity (Aus), by Foxwedge (Aus).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€135,000 Ylg '22 ARQDOY). O-Islandsinthestream Partnership; B-Haras d'Etreham & Katelanis Bloodstock (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €24,000.
3–Portland (Ire), 131, c, 2, Dubawi (Ire)–Zagitova (Ire), by Galileo (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €12,000.
Margins: 2, 3, 5. Odds: 0.22, 6.00, 18.00.
Also Ran: Spanish Flame (Ire), Courageous Strike (GB).

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O’Brien Charts Course for River Tiber, Kyprios

Aidan O'Brien confirmed TDN Rising Star River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) remains on track for Sunday's G1 Prix Morny at Deauville despite missing a piece of work two weeks ago. Campaigned by Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg and Brant, the juvenile was last seen winning the June 20 G1 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot.

“The plan is to run River Tiber [this weekend],” O'Brien told Sky Sports Racing. “He had a setback a couple of weeks ago so there will be a cloud over him when we do run him as we're a bit worried about his fitness, but the plan at the moment is to run.

A runaway winner in his career bow at Navan Apr. 22, the colt followed up with another victory at Naas May 21.

O'Brien continued, “He had a hold-up and missed his second-last piece of work so he had that week off, but he did a piece of work this week so that gave him a chance to go.

“He seems to be in good form since, but the ground that we lost you couldn't make back up with him.”

O'Brien also indicated MG1SW Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), last year's Gold Cup winner, may mark his return in the Sept. 10 G1 Irish St Leger. The chestnut was last seen destroying his rivals in the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp Oct. 1.

“Kyprios was at the Curragh for a canter last weekend after racing and that went well. He seems to have come out of that well,” said O'Brien. “We're looking at maybe starting at the [Irish] Leger, but that's a tough enough race to come back in so we'd be hoping he could run a good race, come out of it OK and then have a look at something on Arc weekend, something like that, because you couldn't expect him to perform at his best after such a traumatic year. If it all went well we could look at next year with him.”

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