Tag: Aidan O’Brien

Never Ending Story’s Brother Debuts at Killarney

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Monday's Insights feature a full-brother to high-class racehorse Never Ending Story (Ire), going two furlongs farther than that sibling did on debut last term.

17.20 Killarney, Mdn, €15,000, 2yo, 8f 20yT
NAVY SEAL (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) is introduced by Aidan O'Brien over the longest trip for a maiden in Britain and Ireland so far in 2023, going two furlongs further than his high-class full-sister Never Ending Story (Ire) did as she debuted last term. That first foal out of the GI Belmont Oaks heroine Athena (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) turned into a dual group 3 winner and G1 Prix de Diane runner-up, so this February-foaled bay has a hard act to follow. Descended from Urban Sea (Miswaki) and also connected to the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), his mettle will be tested against fellow Derrick Smith colour-bearer Bremen (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the Donnacha O'Brien-trained son of the triple Australian group 1 heroine Sea Siren (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and full-brother to last month's G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Warm Heart (Ire) who created such a strong impression when narrowly failing on debut at Tipperary earlier this month.

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Justify’s TDN Rising Star City Of Troy Emphatic In The Superlative

They may have missed out on the English Triple Crown this year, but Team Ballydoyle have another contender for that mythical pursuit in 2024 after TDN Rising Star City Of Troy (Justify–Together Forever {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) destroyed the opposition in Newmarket's G2 Superlative S. on Saturday. Allowed to stride to the fore by Ryan Moore with only Spanish Phoenix (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}) ahead, the heavily-supported 4-6 favourite took command three out and went through the gears from there to issue a punishing 6 1/2-length defeat to Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}), with another 3 1/4 lengths back to Oddyssey (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) in third.

“He's a very unusual and special horse,” Aidan O'Brien said of the winner, who had impressed with his attitude as well as his stride during his Curragh maiden win at the start of the month. “He has loads of speed and is happy to do whatever–he can go from the front or take a lead and can go with anything at home. He has that unbelievable rhythm and seems to just keep pushing it out and there doesn't seem to be any limit to his trip. He's a lovely-natured horse with that unusual demeanour and temperament. He has the stride and ability, speed and stamina all rolled into one.”

 

“Ryan said what happened at The Curragh had never happened to him before–he galloped out after the line down to the wall as if it wasn't there and I knew he'd go early today as there isn't too long a run to the pull-up here!,” O'Brien added. “Then going by the line he started to go again and was heading off and I thought 'oh no!' I wasn't going to run him when the rain came, as he's a real good-ground horse but the lads said to run and find out how he goes on it with the future in mind.”

“Dean [Gallagher] has done an unbelievable job with him at home and he looks an incredibly special horse. He's exactly what John [Magnier] wanted from Justify, a true Classic horse. The [G2] Futurity, [G1] National and [G1] Dewhurst are all open to him. We backed him up a little bit quick here because the race came up for him and Little Big Bear was coming. The experience of coming over will stand him in good stead and we always like to try and travel them at two. He's got loads of speed and will go any distance, so there are many roads open to him.”

Pedigree Notes
Together Forever, who captured the G1 Fillies' Mile on the other course in town, was not a big mover during her Classic campaign and managed a fourth in the G1 Irish Oaks having trailed in seventh at Epsom. Her first three visits to War Front resulted in three black-type performers in Military Style, Absolute Ruler and King Of Athens with the former the most accomplished due to his success in the G3 Tyros S. Her fourth foal and first by Justify is the stable's high-class handicapper Bertinelli, the London Gold Cup winner who proved what talent he possesses when third under a stopping weight in Royal Ascot's ultra-competitive King George V S.

The second dam Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}) was out of a full-sister to the illustrious Al Bahathri and also produced Lord Shanakill (Speightstown) and Together Forever's full-sister Forever Together (Ire). The former was the winner of the G1 Prix Jean Prat, G2 Lennox S. and G2 Mill Reef S. and was also placed in the G1 Dewhurst S., G1 Prix Morny, G1 St James's Palace S. and G1 Lockinge S., while Forever Together was one of Ballydoyle's Oaks heroines. Together Forever also has a yearling filly by Uncle Mo and a filly foal by Dubawi (Ire).

Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
BET365 SUPERLATIVE S.-G2, £100,000, Newmarket, 7-15, 2yo, 7fT, 1:26.03, g/s.
1–CITY OF TROY, 129, c, 2, by Justify
     1st Dam: Together Forever (Ire) (G1SW-Eng, SW-Ire, $318,729), by Galileo (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Green Room, by Theatrical (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Chain Fern, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. TDN Rising Star. O-Mrs John Magnier, Mr M Tabor & Mr D Smith; B-Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt (KY); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £56,710. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $87,346. *1/2 to Military Style (War Front), GSW-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Haatem (Ire), 129, c, 2, Phoenix Of Spain (Ire)–Hard Walnut (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€28,000 RNA Wlg '21 GOFNO1; 27,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah; B-Hyde Park Stud (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. £21,500.
3–Oddyssey (GB), 129, c, 2, Ulysses (Ire)–Last Echo (Ire), by Whipper.
1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (10,500gns Ylg '22 TADEY). O-Pinnacle Thoroughbreds 3; B-Culworth Grounds Farm (GB); T-Patrick Owens. £10,760.
Margins: 6HF, 3 1/4, NO. Odds: 0.67, 8.50, 33.00.
Also Ran: Great Truth (GB), Son (GB), Spanish Phoenix (Ire), Metallo (Ire), Cuban Thunder (Ire), Quatre Bras (Ire). Scratched: Iberian (Ire).

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Newmarket: “I’ve No Doubt She’s Got Enough Toe.” Falmouth Speed Test For Nashwa

Whether or not connections of Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) allow the G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine to run in Friday's G1 Tattersalls Falmouth S. at Newmarket, the elephant in the room is the supplemented Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who could just be ready for a reinvention at the July Festival. Not seen at this trip since the 6 1/2-length Haydock novice success that earned her TDN Rising Star status, the apple of Imad Al Sagar's eye has been as far as 12 furlongs when a creditable third in the Oaks before apparently settling into a niche at or around a mile and a quarter with wins in the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Nassau S.

While it is on the face of surprising that she is winless since the latter contest, there has been a creeping feeling that the intermediate trip is too far for her now that she has filled her substantial frame. That was no more obvious than last time, when she had Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) beaten until tying up in the last handful of the extra 42 yards added to the 10 furlongs of Newcastle's G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. Attempts to curb her enthusiasm have proven fruitless even for the ultra-skilled hands of Hollie Doyle and it would be no surprise to see her allowed to rock and roll from the front on a track that strongly favours that approach.

“She has grown and developed a lot over the winter [and] is a really big, burly mare now,” her rider and number one fan explained. “I think she has taken a time to come to hand and has taken a few runs to get straightened out, really. It seems the obvious route to go down after her last two runs and I've no doubt she's got enough toe. Time will tell, because this is a different ballgame.”

 

Via Sistina Part Of Falmouth Quandary

With so many fillies going down in trip, this is a far from straightforward renewal of the Falmouth, but then this is a race which can throw curveballs such as Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) at 16-1 last year upsetting Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Like Nashwa, Via Sistina is another sharpening up at a mile having beaten the aforementioned Al Husn by six lengths in devastating fashion when the rain came to Newmarket on the weekend of the Guineas Festival. That rampage over the nine furlongs of the G2 Dahlia S. outshines her subsequent triumph in the Pretty Polly and the fact is that the less give in the surface the less advantage she has.

“There are very few horses in training that can be favourite for Group 1 races over various trips and I think she has that versatility in that she stays and has got plenty of boot,” trainer George Boughey said. “She showed a proper turn of foot in the Dahlia and I think over a mile she would be equally as effective. It is a bit of a question mark coming back to the mile as she hasn't ever been there, but for her career going forward we want to try and keep some speed in her.”

 

 

Is This One For The Closers?

With the memory of last year still fresh, it is hard to see anything other than Prosperous Voyage going forward again and with the increasingly free-going Nashwa here alongside another who has set the pace before in the G2 Duke of Cambridge S. runner-up Random Harvest (Ire) (War Front), this could be a case of the leaders setting it up for the finishers. Via Sistina fits that bill, but if the ground is too lively then the likes of the G1 Coronation S. runner-up Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Juddmonte's Sandringham H. winner Coppice (GB) (Kingman {GB}) come into the equation. There is no telling what the plan is in Ryan Moore's mind for Ballydoyle's Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), another reverting to a mile after a hit-and-miss season which includes a second to Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) in the G1 Prix de Diane which puts her in the mix.

 

 

Grand Prix

The Gosdens have a strong chance of a Group 1 double on Friday, with Lady Bamford's Oaks heroine Soul Sister (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) the fly in the colts' ointment in ParisLongchamp's Grand Prix de Paris. Partnered by Kieran Shoemark for the first time, the homebred faces Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard's TDN Rising Star Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}) who was fourth in a hot G1 Prix du Jockey Club; the G3 Prix Hocquart winner First Minister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was beaten by Feed The Flame in the spring but who hails from the stable of the 13-times successful Andre Fabre; and Ballydoyle's Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) who brings the G1 Irish Derby form into sharper focus.

“It's a competitive field and we're getting three pounds off the colts,” Shoemark said. “This is a tough task and it is the first time a filly has ran in the race for 10 years, so it is something that doesn't happen very often but John and Thady Gosden have her in good order and hopefully we go there with a good chance.”

 

Star Of Mystery Takes Aim At The Duchess of Cambridge

Charlie Appleby's opening fixture of the July Festival was a mixed bag on Thursday, so a big effort from TDN Rising Star Star Of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) would be welcome in Friday's G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. So impressive over this course and distance in the Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' S., this comes quick enough but with a disappointing turnout of only four her claims are obvious. “Star Of Mystery came out of her recent win in good order and this looks a natural progression for her,” he said. “A couple of her rivals bring Royal Ascot form into the race, which always warrants respect, but she looks the one to beat based on her Empress Stakes display.”

Those Royal Ascot runners will not include Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's G3 Albany S. third Soprano (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), who was ruled out on Thursday due to a medication administration error, but the filly who followed her home in fourth there steps out on Friday. Amo Racing's TDN Rising Star Persian Dreamer (Calyx {GB}) is the form threat to Godolphin's favourite and trainer Dominic Ffrench Davis is hopeful.

“Persian Dreamer ran a blinder and she was the last horse off the bridle,” he said. “I think if she had been drawn on the other side she would definitely have been in the first three, but she ran very well and has come out of the race well. Any rain would be appreciated because she does like to get her toe in a little bit. She's a lovely filly and I think she is going to stay further. She will get seven and a mile next year and I think she will get seven later this year. I think she is going to be a very classy filly if we can keep her in one piece.”

 

Little Big Bear Still In The July Cup

Aidan O'Brien is leaving a decision on the participation of Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) in Saturday's G1 July Cup at Newmarket until later in the week after declaring last year's G1 Phoenix S.-winning champion juvenile. One of only nine engaged in the six-furlong feature, the TDN Rising Star had been a doubt for the contest after suffering a bruised foot but his inclusion means that Rossa Ryan has been booked for his G1 Commonwealth Cup conqueror Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}). The G2 1895 Duke of York S. winner Azure Blue (Ire) (El Kabeir) and Marc Chan's G1 British Champions Sprint S. hero Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) are other notables in the smallest field for the July Cup since 1997, when Compton Place (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) caused a 50-1 shock.

 

 

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Khaadem Will Be Supplemented for July Cup, Little Big Bear 50-50

Charlie Hills confirms that G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. shocker Khaadem (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) will be supplemented to Saturday's G1 Pertemps Network July Cup. Whether Royal Ascot partner Jamie Spencer will be available will depend on whether the rider can successfully appeal a careless riding ban from his winning effort aboard Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the G1 Pretty Polly S. The massive 80-1 upset came on the heels of a rough trip in the listed British E.B.F. 40th Anniversary Cathedral S. where the Fitri Hay-owned gelding finished third.

“He looked fantastic before the race at Ascot and he'd been in really good form at home, so it wasn't a shock to see him run a big race, though I was a little surprised he won it! It was certainly a nice surprise and it's a great credit to the horse,” said Hills. “I've always maintained he's a Group class sprinter and his career shows that. He's won some really good races like the Stewards' Cup, King George and Palace House and obviously last time in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee at Ascot. He's a very good horse and we're looking forward to Saturday.”

Aidan O'Brien has recently warned Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) is only a “50-50” shot to take a chance at the Cup on July 15 after missing almost six days of cantering due to a foot bruise last week and that a decision will be made in the following couple days. The Ballydoyle master has not ruled out seeking a record-breaking sixth win in the contest with a daughter of No Nay Never, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf victress Meditate (Ire), who could be given one last chance to shine before retiring to stud.

“Little Big Bear is not definite to run as he had a foot bruise last week and he missed six days without doing any cantering. We might do something in the morning with him to see how he is and whether we decide to run him or not,” said O'Brien.

“We have to decide whether we are going to retire Meditate or not. It is very possible that she could retire. She is obviously in the July Cup and if Little Big Bear wasn't going to run we would give her a chance going back over six before she goes, as she is a filly that has a lot of speed and was always very comfortable going forward over six furlongs.”

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