Little Big Bear To Miss The Rest Of The Season After Setback

Group 1 winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) will be sidelined until the new year to give the colt “more time” to recover from a rear foot injury, according to trainer Aidan O'Brien. Just prior to his G1 Phoenix S. victory, the Coolmore partners' runner had kicked a wall, driving the clip of his shoe into his hind foot.

“Everything is fine and we just wanted to leave him for this year,” O'Brien told Racing Post on Tuesday. “He's perfect, there's not a bother on him, we just didn't want to be rushing him back. We had to give him plenty of time to get over it. We felt hurrying him for the [G1] Dewhurst [S. in October] wasn't the right thing to do.

“Everything is perfect with him and we felt giving him more time was the right option.”

Little Big Bear graduated at Naas at second asking in May, and then added the Listed Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot. In the July 16 G3 Anglesey S. at the Curragh, he drew off by 4 3/4 lengths, and he won the Phoenix S. by seven lengths on Aug. 6. His setback forced him to miss last Sunday's G1 National S.

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No Nay Never’s Little Big Bear Destroys Phoenix Opposition

Not even favourite for Saturday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S., it is no wild statement that TDN Rising Star Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) could be the best juvenile Aidan O'Brien has had though his hands after a display of power to scintillate the Curragh faithful. Always in his comfort zone on the front under Ryan Moore as chief rival Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) blew the start, the June 15 Listed Windsor Castle S. and July 16 G3 Anglesey S. winner was shaken up by Ryan Moore to put the seal on the race approaching the furlong pole. Surging away, the 13-8 second favourite issued a seven-length beating to Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), with half a length back to Shartash (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and another length to the 11-8 market-leader Bradsell.

“He couldn't have been more impressive–he did everything beautifully today,” Moore said. “These looked good and had the form in the book, so it looked a strong race but he was on a different level. He gave me a super feel the last day, he felt really good and it's hard to know what he's going to do. He's very exciting–he's a big, scopey horse and it's a surprise he was beaten the first day, but that happens and he's stepped forward every time since. There's every chance he'll be a Guineas horse next year–he's very straightforward and is doing that on pure ability.”

 

Very few juveniles are able to put such sizeable margins between them and their contemporaries over this sort of trip at this level, with the stable's George Washington (Ire) (Danehill) the last to do so when scoring by eight lengths in 2005 when there was another Coventry winner in Red Clubs (Ire) (Red Ransom) in opposition. The Juddmonte trio of superjuveniles Frankel (GB), Zafonic and Xaar (GB) were able to distance their rivals over further, but it takes something special to open up daylight at six furlongs especially when the line-up appeared so strong beforehand. Bradsell's sluggish start may have aided the winner's cause to a small degree, but there is nothing that can be subtracted from this vastly superior show of strength from Ballydoyle's new idol.

As much as Little Big Bear's wins at Naas and Royal Ascot marked him as above-average, perhaps the greatest early sign that he is held in the highest regard was the fact that connections were unwilling to risk him on fast ground at Newmarket's July Festival. Taken out of the G2 July S. ultimately won by Persian Force, the imposing bay came here to issue a warning that he could be a colossus in the Anglesey over 63 yards further and backed that up with this impressive production.

Whether Little Big Bear goes up in trip or down remains to be seen, but plans are elastic as O'Brien revealed after greeting his 17th Phoenix hero on a landmark day for the family as Joseph saddled his 1000th winner. “The lads can decide what they want to do. He has plenty of options and he can do anything I suppose,” he said of the G1 Nunthorpe S. and G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. entry. “He's a big, powerful, strong horse. He cruises and quickens, is strong and mature. Before the race we had a bit of a scare with him when he came up here. He kicked a wall and the clip of the shoe went into the sole of his foot. He was a little bit tender when the shoe was put back on. It could have gone either way very easily, so it was a great call by John Halley and Lynn Hillyer to let him run.”

“Ryan said when he let him go it was all over,” added O'Brien, who had earlier made way for Little Big Bear to be the sole representative by withdrawing Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never). “He loves good ground so he can show his speed. It was a very good race, but he has serious class. From day one we thought he was a bit special and different. At Ascot we thought he would get away with five, even though we were happy going six with him. I'm not sure we ever had one to do that in this race. It was a deep field and we were going to find out today. Ryan was very complimentary about him and he's a realist, so there aren't many he would be that complimentary about.”

Little Big Bear's dam, the Listed Prix de Liancourt winner and G3 Prix Cleopatre runner-up Adventure Seeker (Fr) (Bering {GB}) whose first foal was the G3 Hobart Cup runner-up Andrea Mantegna (Giant's Causeway), is kin to the G3 Princess Margaret S.-placed Along Again (Ire) (Elusive City). The third dam is the French champion and 1983 US Horse of the Year All Along (Fr), courtesy of her G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, GI Turf Classic, G1 Rothmans International and GI Washington D. C. International victories. Also connected to the G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Along All (GB) (Mill Reef) and the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains-placed Art Francais (Lyphard's Wish {Fr}), Adventure Seeker has yearling and colt full-brothers to Little Big Bear to come, with the former part of the Camas Park Stud draft in the upcoming Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1.

Saturday, The Curragh, Ireland
KEENELAND PHOENIX-G1, €300,000, The Curragh, 8-6, 2yo, c/f, 6fT, 1:11.27, gd.
1–LITTLE BIG BEAR (IRE), 131, c, 2, by No Nay Never
     1st Dam: Adventure Seeker (Fr), by Bering (GB)
     2nd Dam: American Adventure, by Miswaki
     3rd Dam: All Along (Fr), by Targowice
1ST GROUP 1 WIN'TDN Rising Star'(€320,000 Ylg '21 ARAUG). O-D Smith,Mrs J Magnier,M Tabor,Westerberg; B-Camas Park Stud & Summerhill (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €180,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, $300,650. *1/2 to Andrea Mantegna (Giant's Causeway), GSP-Aus, $352,585. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Persian Force (Ire), 131, c, 2, Mehmas (Ire)–Vida Amorosa (Ire), by Lope de Vega (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (€75,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV; €225,000 Ylg '21 GOFOR). O-Amo Racing Limited; B-Tom Lacy (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. €60,000.
3–Shartash (Ire), 131, c, 2, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Shamreen (Ire), by Dubawi (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-H H Aga Khan; B-His Highness The Aga Khan's Studs S.C. (IRE); T-Johnny Murtagh. €30,000.
Margins: 7, HF, 1. Odds: 1.63, 4.00, 18.00.
Also Ran: Bradsell (GB), Apache Outlaw (Ire). Scratched: Blackbeard (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Phoenix Clash One To Savour

There is the usual feast of racing across Britain, Ireland and France on Saturday, but The Curragh is where it's at as the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. provides the first coming together of the elite among Europe's precocious juveniles. It could boil down to a battle of the TDN Rising Stars Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) and Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never), with Hollie Doyle and Ryan Moore in no mood to allow their mount's considerable reputations to slide. Bradsell is in a bit deeper than he was in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot June 14, but his insatiable appetite for work and racing will take him a long way against Ballydoyle's leading G1 2000 Guineas hope at present.

“I've ridden him in most of his homework since Royal Ascot at Archie Watson's Saxon Gate Stables and have been delighted with his progress,” Doyle said of Bradsell in her attheraces blog. “He's definitely strengthened up and is very professional in the way he goes about his business. It's going to be a tough assignment in what looks a stellar renewal, but Bradsell has a great mind and I wouldn't swap him for anything. The stiff track and the forecasted good ground should be ideal and I'm happy enough with my draw in stall six in such a small field.”

Ryan Moore is happy to be on Little Big Bear over the high-achieving Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never), with his emphatic success in the G3 Anglesey S. over an extended six furlongs here July 16 marking him out as a colt with Classic pretensions. “He really was impressive here last time. He gave me a great feel,” his rider said in his betfair blog. “We will know who the number one juvenile is after this, I would imagine, and hopefully it is one of ours.”

 

The Right Amo?

Outside of the big two in the Phoenix, Amo Racing Limited's Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) retains intrigue having bounced out of the Coventry to take Newmarket's G2 July S. July 7. Richard Hannon rates him alongside the likes of Canford Cliffs (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) and normal progression could see him usurp the market principals. Amo's racing manager Emily Scott said, “It's a small but select and strong field, we go there with a lot of confidence that we've got a very nice horse and if he's come forward from Ascot as much as Richard thinks he has, hopefully he can put it to Bradsell and the O'Brien duo. As Richard said to me, whatever beats him, if anything beats him, it's going to be good.”

 

Classic Clues Aplenty

It's that time of year that the 2-year-olds really excite and away from the Phoenix, Saturday also sees a cluster across Europe with the pedigrees to enter the Classic picture with prominent displays. On The Curragh's card, the latest offering from Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) emerges from Ballydoyle in Delightful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Loder Irish EBF Fillies Race, Newmarket's fixture opens with a maiden that hosts the Juddmonte debutante Jalapa (GB) (Expert Eye {GB}), a half-sister to Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and continues with the feature seven-furlong G3 Jewson Sweet Solera S. In the latter contest, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's homebred Novakai (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) bids to back up an impressive 4 1/4-length winning debut at Doncaster July 16 and the Karl Burke-trained descendant of Ela Athena (GB) (Ezzoud {Ire}) is currently favoured over Gallop Racing's June 18 Listed Chesham S. third Lakota Sioux (Ire) (Sioux Nation) from the Charlie and Mark Johnston stable successful three times since 2014. “I was pleasantly surprised she did it so well at Doncaster and I've been delighted with her since,” Burke said of Novakai. “I wouldn't want the ground too quick, so we'll just have to keep an eye on that.”

 

Frankie Takes To The Shergar Cup

During what feels like a long goodbye tour for Frankie Dettori, he is at his favourite venue of Ascot on Saturday to take part in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup for the first time since 2016. Other leading lights in the riding sphere on show include Christophe Lemaire, Kerrin McEvoy and Emma-Jayne Wilson, while at Haydock the G3 Betfred Rose of Lancaster S. sees Prince Faisal Bin Khaled's nine-length July 16 Listed Steventon S. winner Grocer Jack (Ger) (Oasis Dream {GB}) take on Shadwell's July 9 John Smith's Cup scorer Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) from the Owen Burrows stable.

 

Click here for the fields.

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Six Set For Phoenix Test

Saturday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh has attracted a high-class sextet including a duo from Ballydoyle bidding to provide Aidan O'Brien with a 17th renewal. Ryan Moore is booked for the June 15 Listed Windsor Castle S. and July 16 G3 Anglesey S.-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never), with Seamie Heffernan due to partner the stable's May 2 Listed First Flier S., May 21 G3 Marble Hill S. and July 17 G2 Prix Robert Papin scorer Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never). Victorious Racing's June 14 G2 Coventry S.-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) renews rivalry with Amo Racing Limited's Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who was second behind him in that Royal Ascot contest before garnering Newmarket's G2 July S. July 7. The Aga Khan's Shartash (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and E S Racing's Apache Outlaw (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) complete the field, having been first and third when Blackbeard was second in the course-and-distance G2 Railway S. June 25.

Bradsell's trainer Archie Watson said, “He was obviously very impressive at Ascot and the form has worked out well. He's very, very talented. I do try to keep things understated and let the horses do the talking, but his home work is very good–the best of anything I've trained in terms of what he's done on the gallops. It's very hard to find him a lead horse because he'll just gallop all over Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), a Group 1 winner, and Tabdeed (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), who was second in the Stewards' Cup the other day. They'd struggle to lead him very far at all.”

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