O’Brien’s Cazoo Derby Team Being Finalised

The G1 Cazoo Derby field is currently at 19, with as many as six Aidan O'Brien colts set to compete, including the ante-post favourite dual Group 3 winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G2 Beresford S. hero and G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. third High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was the Derby favourite over the winter. French Group 1 winner Van Gogh (American Pharoah), third in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas is possible, although he is also one of 20 left in the G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club. O'Brien also has two-time winners Sir Lamorak (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the Leopardstown winner The Mediterranean (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). However, a final call on which Ballydoyle horses will step forward in the Blue Riband will be made on Wednesday.

“It's not definite yet what we're sending,” said the master of Ballydoyle. “They've all done their last piece of work this morning and that is being analysed at the moment.

“When the figures come back from all those works, they'll be sent to the lads [owners] this evening. They'll be blooded and scoped in the morning and we'll have the results of that at lunchtime tomorrow or a little bit later. After that we'll see what the lads want to do.

“Obviously with Bolshoi Ballet, this has been his target all the way. High Definition the same, but he didn't have a clear passage obviously to York. Kyprios and Sir Lamorak both have other options, The Mediterranean is in at Leopardstown on Thursday and Van Gogh has an option of going to France [for the French Derby on Sunday]. Everything went well this morning and it's so far so good with them.”

“I think it's very competitive.,” O'Brien said of this year's Derby entries. “There's horses that have come from different trials over different trips and I think they all have to be respected.

“For me, there is no doubt the Derby is the most important race of all. The whole thoroughbred breed is measured by the Derby–because it's the most gruelling race and tough on horses.”

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Noon Star Out of Cazoo Oaks as Field Takes Shape

Juddmonte homebred Noon Star (Galileo {Ire}) has had a “temporary setback” and will not run in the G1 Cazoo Oaks on the first day of the Cazoo Derby Festival, Juddmonte Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe announced. Third on debut at Salisbury on Sept. 3, the bay graduated in a Nottingham maiden on Oct. 14 and was put away for the season. She made her 3-year-old bow with a 2 1/2-length win at Wetherby on Apr. 25 and was last seen finishing second in the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. at York on May 12.

“This filly has had a temporary setback so [she] will not run in the Cazoo Oaks on Friday,” he said. “All being well, she could head to the G2 Ribblesdale S. at Royal Ascot.”

Juddmonte homebred Noon Star (Galileo {Ire}) has had a “temporary setback” and will not run in the G1 Cazoo Oaks on the first day of the Cazoo Derby Festival, trainer Sir Michael Stoute announced on Tuesday.

“Noon Star will not now be running in the Cazoo Oaks on Friday, due to a blood disorder,” Stoute said in a statement.

Third on debut at Salisbury on Sept. 3, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained bay graduated in a Nottingham maiden on Oct. 14 and was put away for the season. She made her 3-year-old bow with a 2 1/2-length win at Wetherby on Apr. 25 and was last seen finishing second in the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. at York on May 12.

Added Juddmonte Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe, “This filly has had a temporary setback so [she] will not run in the Cazoo Oaks on Friday,” he said. “All being well, she could head to the G2 Ribblesdale S. at Royal Ascot.”

 

Aidan O'Brien Quintet Sitting On Go
Aidan O'Brien still has five fillies in Friday's feature race, however, including ante-post favourite Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). The daughter of Senta's Dream (GB) (Danehill) won her maiden impressively at The Curragh on Sept. 26 and was a solid fourth in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas on May 2.

“Santa Barbara is very well and this was always pencilled in to be her second run this year,” said O'Brien. “We were delighted with her run in the Guineas and everything has gone well with her since. That was a big ask for her. She passed every test we put in front of her with flying colours and probably to ask for any other result wouldn't have been right.

“We were always going to go into the Oaks not knowing if she stays a mile and a half–I suppose we're going to find that out. She's by Camelot, which is a big help, and we know she's got a lot of class.

“She's only had the two runs, which is not a lot going into the Oaks, but we're excited and looking forward to seeing her run.”

Another Coolmore partners/O'Brien filly is the upwardly mobile Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). The February-foaled bay already has eight starts under her belt and was an impressive winner of the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. at York on May 12.

“We were delighted with her [Snowfall] in York and she's come out of that very well. We think maybe going up in trip on better ground and maybe having a year under her belt to get stronger has all been a help to her,” O'Brien said. “She's always been a very good home worker and always worked like a filly that had loads of class.”

Rounding out the fivesome is G3 Kilcarn Stud Flame Of Tara Irish EBF S. heroine Divinely (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the SP La Joconde (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Willow (Ire) (American Pharoah), who broke her maiden at Leopardstown in October and was third in the G3 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Blue Wind S. at Naas on May 8.

“We always liked Divinely a lot,” O'Brien added. “She's a sister to Found who won a Group 3 last year and has had the one run in Lingfield this year. Ryan said he was delighted with the run. He said they went very slow and that didn't suit her, but he was really happy with her.

“Her homework has been very nice since and all her figures from her works have been coming out very high– that's usually a very good sign.

“La Joconde is another filly we always thought more of than she showed. We think there's plenty to come from her–she's a very solid filly and we think that she has loads of quality.

“Willow is out of Peeping Fawn and has progressed with every run and will progress more. She'll love the trip and if there is any ease in the ground, that won't bother her. Physically she's done very well as well.

“We just think and feel that they're all bred to be Oaks fillies and it might be very wrong to stop them from taking their chance.”

Smooth Sailing For Ocean Road
Qatar Racing's Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}) is in fine fettle prior to a start in the G1 Cazoo Oaks on Friday. The Hugo Palmer-trained filly was second in a Nottingham maiden race, before saluting over the Lingfield all-weather on Dec. 2. Her latest start was a third in the Listed Novibet Oaks Trial Fillies' S. at Lingfield on May 8.

“We're all systems go for Epsom on Friday,” Palmer said of his filly, one of 15 left in at this stage. “Oisin [Murphy] sat on her this morning and did a little bit of stalls work with her. She was too slowly away at Lingfield and ended up sitting last, it was all a bit of a mess on ground that was too soft for her.

“We've always seen her as a good-moving filly that should be better on the top of the ground. We just felt that on debut at Nottingham she got away with the ground, she wanted a bit quicker but she handles it, and the same also when she ran at Lingfield.

“She ended up on the worst bit of the track as well. She's got a great turn of foot and loads of speed and we feel that the ground blunts her speed. We're very hopeful that we will see her to much better effect on top of the ground.”

Palmer added, “She's going to have to show considerable improvement on what she's done to date to win the Oaks, but I believe she has improved a huge amount at home. As we see year in, year out, these fillies can improve 20lb from one run to the next. My two best fillies that I've had prior to this were Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}) and Architecture (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), over this trip, and they improved massively from this time of year.

“It can happen, but we're obviously very conscious about the fact that it has to.”

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Princes Of Wales’s S. For Love

Dual Classic heroine Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who won the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Oaks in 2020, will make her 4-year-old bow in the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot, trainer Aidan O'Brien revealed on Sunday. The blaze-faced chestnut was due to contest the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh, but was withdrawn due to ground concerns. It was a similar story when the G1 Yorkshire Oaks victress did not contest the boggy 2020 G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last October.

“I wanted to run Love this weekend, but I couldn't run her on that ground,” said the maestro of Ballydoyle of the Coolmore partners' runner. “She will probably end up going to the Prince of Wales's and could go there with MGSW & MG1SP Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).”

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Ballydoyle and Galileo One Two In the Irish 1000 As Empress Josephine Collects

Jim Bolger had been at it on Saturday, but 24 hours later it was his former prodigy Aidan O'Brien who was filling the first two places in a Curragh Classic as Empress Josephine (Ire) narrowly denied Joan of Arc (Ire) in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas for another Galileo (Ire) forecast. Runner-up in Gowran Park's Listed Victor McCalmont Memorial S. over an extended nine furlongs last time May 5, the winner who is a full-sister to Minding (Ire) was anchored towards the rear early by Seamie Heffernan and travelled strongly at halfway looming wide. Ryan Moore looked to have the race in the bag as Joan of Arc edged ahead of the long-time leader No Speak Alexander (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}) in the closing stages, but Heffernan was getting a real tune out of Empress Josephine and the 14-1 shot rattled home to deny her stablemate on the nod by a short head. No Speak Alexander ended up a length away in third, with the 15-8 favourite Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) only seventh. “The only surprise for me was that she was beaten the last twice,” Heffernan said after registering a fifth win in this Classic. “I had a willing partner. She has a bit of class and it's a pleasure to be on the team riding good horses.”

Introduced over this trip at Naas Mar. 28, Empress Josephine opened her account with the promise of more to come and it was Aidan O'Brien's publicly-stated opinion that she had gone off too fast when attempting to dominate the seven-furlong G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial S. at Leopardstown Apr. 11. Fading to 10th there as the marginally-less aggressively-ridden Joan of Arc wound up sixth, the homebred was given time to get over that experience and got back on track with a second to the year-older Too Soon To Panic (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) at Gowran Park. With her dam having been fifth in a blanket finish to this in 2010 and her illustrious full-sibling denied by a head by Jet Setting (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) in 2016, there was a score to settle and Empress Josephine adopted the family's trademark acceleration to do just that. Making up three lengths in the space of a furlong to get up on the line, this could only be viewed as an impressive success in a slowly-run Classic.

“She hadn't run as a 2-year-old, but she wasn't ready to go then and that was just the way it was with her in terms of phsyical strength,” Heffernan added. “She won snug with me at Naas in slow ground and last time Wayne [Lordan] said that she was still a little bit weak for the staying mile-and-a-furlong for the moment. He said that back at a mile she could travel a bit stronger. I wanted to follow Joseph's horse [Pretty Gorgeous] here every step of the way, but that filly actually got bumped and she in turn bumped me which knocked her off balance for a few strides. I was a lucky winner, but I should have won well. At the moment, she probably won't get a mile and a half for another couple of months, but she could if she gets more relaxed.”

Aidan O'Brien was winning the race for the 10th time and said, “We thought she was lovely the first day and then at Leopardstown all the leaders went too fast over seven. We then ran her over nine furlongs in Gowran, a lovely run but we thought nine may have just caught her out. She's able to quicken and Seamus gave her a lovely ride. She's very classy. She might go for the [June 18 G1] Coronation Stakes, but we'll see what the lads want to do. She's a sister to Minding and the second filly is a sister to Gleneagles. We were going to step Joan of Arc up to ten furlongs after today and she might go for the French Oaks [G1 Prix de Diane].”

Joseph O'Brien was far from downcast about the effort of Pretty Gorgeous and said, “I'm happy with the run, as it's not ideal to come here on heavy ground after a long lay-off. I would have loved to get a run into her, but she travelled very well throughout the race and was only beaten about three lengths. We look forward to the rest of the season with her and Royal Ascot looks like the logical place to go.”

Empress Josephine's dam Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who went on to take the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Matron S. following her near-miss in this Classic, is even better known as the dam of the aforementioned seven-times group 1-winning 1000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks heroine Minding. Also responsible for the G3 1000 Guineas Trial winner Kissed By Angels (Ire) also by Galileo, she is kin to the Listed Celebration S. winner and G3 Gallinule S. third Count of Limonade (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) and the Listed Dahlia S. winner and GIII Autumn Miss S. runner-up Danilovna (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). From the family of the group-winning sires Great Commotion and Lead On Time, she also has an as-yet unraced 2-year-old full-sister to Empress Josephine named Bubbling (Ire) and a yearling full-sister.

Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
TATTERSALLS IRISH 1,000 GUINEAS-G1, €400,000, Curragh, 5-23, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:47.92, hy.
1–EMPRESS JOSEPHINE (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
     1st Dam: Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Eng at 7-9 1/2f, G1SW-Ire, G1SW-Eng, $1,361,940), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Hoity Toity (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
     3rd Dam: Hiwaayati (GB), by Shadeed
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN, 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Seamie Heffernan. €232,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, $303,158. *Full to Minding (IRE), Hwt. 3yo-Eng at 7-9 1/2f, Hwt. 3yo-Ire at 7-9 1/2f, Hwt. 2yo Filly-Eur, Hwt. Older Mare-Ire at 9 1/2-11f, Hwt. 2yo Filly-Ire, Hwt. Older Mare-Eur at 9 1/2-11f, Hwt. 3yo-Eur at 7-9 1/2f, MG1SW-Eng, MG1SW-Ire, $3,213,340; Full to Kissed By Angels (Ire), GSW-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Joan of Arc (Ire), 128, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–You'resothrilling, by Storm Cat. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €80,000.
3–No Speak Alexander (Ire), 128, f, 3, Shalaa (Ire)–Rapacity Alexander (Ire) (SW-Fr), by Dandy Man (Ire). (€190,000 RNA Ylg '19 GOFOR). O-Charles O'Callaghan, Noel O'Callaghan & Paul O'Callaghan; B-Mount Armstrong Stud (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. €40,000.
Margins: NO, 1, NO. Odds: 14.00, 4.50, 6.50.
Also Ran: Belle Image (Ire), Fantasy Lady (Ire), Friendly (Ire), Pretty Gorgeous (Fr), Sense of Style (Ire), Thinking of You, Fev Rover (Ire), Sweet Gardenia (GB), Sziget (Ire), Miss Amulet (Ire), Zaffy's Pride (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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