A winner of the G3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown at three for a Coolmore partnership and Aidan O'Brien, the 4-year-old has placed three times at the highest level, including the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud at two, and the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and GI Breeders' Cup Turf last year. He enters the 2400-metre event on the back of a fifth-place effort under Ryan Moore in the GI Longines Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on Dec. 11. Moore will be the saddle again on Feb. 18, and the duo will leave from stall three.

O'Brien also runs Group 1 winner Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in The Amir Trophy for owners Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and M Matushima. GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) will compete for a different Coolmore partnership in the local G2 Doha Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup over a mile on the same card.

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Leading the Coolmore partners septet after their quarantine period was Group 1 winner Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and G3 Derby Trial S. hero Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who both line up in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and will leave from stalls four and three, respectively. Second in the 2021 Turf to Godolphin and Charlie Appleby's Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) at Del Mar, Broome took the G2 Hardwicke S. from six starts this term and enters the Breeders' Cup having run eighth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last out at the beginning of October.

“Looking at the team, we have two horses in the Turf,” O'Brien said. “Broome ran very well in the race last year. Conditions have not always been in his favour, but I think he will enjoy the ground if it's quick.

“His one flaw is he misses the break. He's a late loader, but he can get on the back foot. We are trying to do things to help him break better. He broke badly at Del Mar under Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] and he rides him again. That day he gave him a chance and said he couldn't believe he got beat.

“Stone Age ran well [when fifth] in the heavy [G1 Champion S.] and is comfortable over a mile and a half, but I think there'll be no more rain this week and the going will be different for him.”

Already a Breeders' Cup winner after taking the GI Mile in 2020, Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) aims to take his second Mile. The 5-year-old entire ran second in the G1 Prix du Moulin to Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in September and he was third to the re-opposing Annapolis (War Front) and Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}) in the GI Coolmore Turf Mile S. over this course and distance on Oct. 8. He exits stall 10 in the 16-horse field.

“We have Order Of Australia in the Mile, going for a repeat of two years ago,” O'Brien said. “I was very happy with his run at Keeneland and he was drawn out a bit. I've taken my time with him all year and have just gently turned the screw on him and his last work was very pleasing. We bred him and still own a leg in him.”

O'Brien also has a pair of fillies entered in the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in listed winner and G1 Irish Oaks runner-up Toy (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G1 Cazoo Oaks victress Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Ryan Moore will be aboard Tuesday and will leave from barrier five, while Wayne Lordan has the call on Toy. The latter pair have drawn gate seven.

O'Brien said, “Tuesday is very well, she has a nice draw. It was bad ground when she ran in France [G1 Prix de l'Opera], but her work has been very good.

“Toy has made very good progress since her last race, she has a good draw and the trip and ground should be fine for her.”

Consistent filly Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never), who is four-for-six, flies the flag for O'Brien in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Besides winning her first four starts in succession, including group victories in the G3 Coolmore Stud Fillies Sprint S., G3 Albany S., and the G2 Debutante S., the dark bay rolled a pair of twos in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. and the G1 Cheveley Park S. both in September.

“Meditate is one I really like stepping up in trip and I think that, coupled with going round a bend, will help her,” he said. “She's a No Nay Never out of a mare by Dalakhani (Ire) and we are still learning about these No Nay Nevers who are fast, precocious horses. Meditate has plenty of stamina on the dam's side, we are still working out about what we do with her next year.

“She's never lost a kilo since her last run, we've given her the chance to back out in her work but there are no negative signs. She's also got a good mind and is a hardy filly whose constitution will also help her with the distance.”

The master of Rosegreen also saddles G3 Prix de Conde hero Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. He's drawn in stall one and will be ridden by Ryan Moore.

“Our 2-year-old colt [Victoria Road] came from a good bit back at Chantilly and we think he could develop into a [G1] French Derby horse,” O'Brien said. “The main thing is that we don't want him to get lost early in his race on Friday, but I feel it's only when he goes further that we will see him in a better light.”

O'Brien also reflected on the strong European Breeders' Cup participation, and added, “It's always good to see Charlie Appleby with his team at the Breeders' Cup. He's a very good trainer, he's doing a great job and has an adept team of horses and people to bring with him.

“We love coming to Keeneland because its weather can be similar to ours and everyone here is horsey minded, like we are in Ireland. You have to be tactically quick around here, but you need to be able to finish off your race as well.

“We will be looking at the ground, but in my opinion I prefer it quick because Flat horses should be all about speed.”

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With the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the rear-view mirror, the summer turf season kicks into high gear starting with a pair of Grade I's at Belmont Park Saturday. The home team takes on a new wave of European challengers in the 1 1/4-mile GI Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational S., the first leg of the Caesars Turf Triple Series.

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), last seen finishing ninth behind longshot GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice), finally gets back to the surface that he's shown plenty of success on previously. Tiz the Bomb scored back-to-back victories on the grass in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. Sept. 6 and Keeneland's GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. Oct. 10. He ended his 2-year-old campaign with just a half-length defeat to Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar Nov. 5, his most recent try on grass.

After an unsuccessful 3-year-old debut in the GIII Holy Bull S., Tiz the Bomb returned to form with two wins on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park, taking both the John Battaglia Memorial S. Mar. 5 and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. Apr. 2. He defeated eventual Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in the latter.

“We gave him a Kentucky Derby chance,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “He ran respectable, but he's certainly not as good on the dirt as he is on the grass.”

McPeek will also saddle Kentucky Derby 11th Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), who will be making his first start on the turf. The GIII Sam F. Davis S. and the GII Tampa Bay Derby winner, previously trained by Brian Lynch, was third in Thistledown's GIII Ohio Derby June 25.

Topping the European contenders is Godolphin homebred Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who, barring his poor effort most recently in the G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom June 4, previously won four straight, including a seven-length win in the Newmarket S. Apr. 29 over the same 1 1/4-mile distance he'll try Saturday.

Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), drawn wide in post 13, also exits a disappointing showing like his aforementioned rival in the Cazoo Derby. Prior to that, he showed good form in taking the G3 Derby Trial S. at Leopardstown May 8 and also when finishing second in the 2021 G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

Also on tap over Belmont's turf course Saturday is the 1 1/4- mile GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S., which features a similar combination of American and European-bred contenders. Chad Brown brings a trio of options starting with 'TDN Rising Star' Haughty (Empire Maker), who ended her juvenile season with only a three-quarter length defeat to Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) enters for Brown off a second- place finish in the 1 1/8-mile GIII Regret S. at Churchill Downs June 4. She was also second behind fellow Oaks rival New Year's Eve (Kitten's Joy) in the GII Edgewood S. May 6.

Rounding out Brown's entries is Consumer Spending (More Than Ready), who enters having won four of her last five starts. While no match for Pizza Bianca in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, she began her 3-year-old season with back-to-back wins. She turned the tables on Pizza Bianca in Aqueduct's Memories of Silver S. Apr. 24, then added the GII Wonder Again S. at Belmont June 9.

Hailing from the barn of Aidan O'Brien, Concert Hall (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is listed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite. The 2021 G3 Weld Park S. winner was stretched out in distance as a 3-year-old. Her form this season includes a third-place finish in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas May 22, a fourth-place finish in the G1 Cazoo Oaks June 3, and a fifth-place finish in the G1 Pretty Polly S. at Curragh June 26.

Five Line Up for Suburban

The Belmont dirt will showcase older horses going 1 1/4 miles in the GII Suburban S. Shug McGaughey brings in 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin), who enters off a career-best performance in the GIII Pimlico Special S. May 20. Dynamic One (Union Rags) is listed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the field of five. After getting seven months off following his seventh-place effort in the GI Travers S. Aug. 28, he returned as a 4-year-old with increasingly positive results. He checked in third off the layoff in the GIII Challenger S. at Tampa Mar. 12, was second in the GIII Ben Ali S. Apr. 23, and most recently won the Blame S. June 4 at Churchill. The field also includes defending Suburban champion Max Player (Honor Code).

The Belmont card also includes the GIII Victory Ride S. for 3-year-old fillies. Marylou Whitney Stables's Pretty Birdie (Bird Song) was second in her last two, completing the exacta behind Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GII Eight Belles S. May 6 and Wicked Halo (Gun Runner) in the Leslie's Lady Overnight S. June 12. The field also includes Happy Soul (Runhappy), second last time in Pimlico's GIII Miss Preakness S. May 20.

Smaller Circuit Graded Stakes Attract Big Names

Horseshoe Indianapolis–formerly Indiana Grand–may've changed its name, but the industry's heavy hitters came with their runners just the same for the GIII Indiana Derby and GIII Indiana Oaks, scheduled to go as the last two races on the card.

In the nightcap contest for the colts, 75-1 longshot GII Rebel S. conqueror Un Ojo (Laoban) returns off a three-month layoff in his first attempt for trainer Robertino Diodoro. Conditioner Kenny McPeek's GISW Rattle N Roll (Connect) is cross-entered here and in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows after ending his five-race losing streak last weekend in the July 2 American Derby at Churchill Downs. Texas Derby winner King Ottoman (Curlin), trained by Steve Asmussen, and the Brad Cox-trained Best Actor (Flatter)–a $330,000 KEESEP purchase for Gary and Mary West–round a talented, if lightly raced, field.

The Indiana Oaks is shaping up to be a battle of the trainers as McPeek and Cox send out a pair each. Juddmonte homebred Patna (Into Mischief) and GI Ashland S. third Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) will fly the flag of the latter. Nine-length maiden winner Silverleaf (Speightster) and the rapidly improving Runaway Wife (Gun Runner) will look to cap a potentially big day for McPeek.

Shifting to Prairie Meadows for the evening, the GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. attracted the evergreen gelding Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy), looking to rebound from a pair of disappointing efforts, including in Lone Star's May 30 GIII Steve Sexton Mile S. That race was won by the horse to his inside, the re-opposing Silver Prospector (Declaration of War). Warrant (Constitution), second last out in the GII Brooklyn H. June 11 and second Mar. 5 in the GI Santa Anita H., aims to secure his first win of the season.

A field of eight fillies will do battle for the GIII Iowa Oaks crown, led by the Todd Pletcher-trained Falconet (Uncle Mo) and local Panther S. victress Butterbean (Klimt). Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}), a surprise winner of the Apr. 2 Bourbonette Oaks, is cross-entered in the Indiana Oaks.

Marathon Runners Chime In From Delaware

A big weekend of racing will also be rolling at Delaware Park as a field of 10 lines up to contest the grassy GIII Robert G. Dick Memorial S., featuring over half of the Keertana S. field, including first and second-place finishers Temple City Terror (Temple City) and Stand Tall (Uncle Mo).

The main track filly and mare marathoners will also have their day in the (most likely not present) Delaware sun in the GII Delaware Handicap, with the streaking Serena's Song S. and Obeah S. heroine Miss Leslie (Paynter) leading the charge.

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It is also, lest we forget, staged on a benign surface. As such, it is also a win for a whole community that needs to present its way of life to the wider world with absolute confidence. To a degree, you could almost say that the rapid maturity of the elite turf schedule devised by NYRA has become one way for the East Coast to complement the fantastic recent work, celebrated here a couple of weeks ago, on the dirt tracks of California.

In fact, you could even argue that it also dovetails with the progressive aspirations that have just inaugurated the HISA era. We know that some people will cling stubbornly to the wreckage, fiercely opposing federal interference with their constitutional right to treat the training of Thoroughbreds as a branch of pharmacology. But it's good to see so many industry stakeholders beginning to see the bigger picture; to recognize the trouble we've been inviting for ourselves, and to do something about it.

Click the play button below to listen to this week's edition of This Side Up.

And that's heartening, because right now we only have to look around to realize what a special product we have to share, if only we get our act together.

Look at last weekend, and look what's coming down the tracks, and shout it from the rooftops: we have a great game here. Provided we care for them as they deserve–and that includes the provision of scrupulously maintained dirt tracks, and a properly respected turf/synthetics division–we could have no more captivating advocate than these noble horses of ours.

So long as we have Saratoga, we still have a chance. Much as can again be said of Santa Anita, here's a sanctuary from the cares of life to win over even the most surly and snarling of sceptics. And the meet looks more exciting than ever after Olympiad (Speightstown) and Life Is Good (Into Mischief) threw down the gauntlet for the GI Whitney S.

The one pity is that they've dropped all talk of Flightline (Tapit) shipping back across for that race, too. Connections would evidently rather stay in his backyard, this time, even at the cost of a more abrupt step up in distance. We won't reprise our irritation that this huge talent should have become such an extreme example of the modern horseman's dread of actually racing a racehorse. But we all know that while life may indeed be good, it seldom contrives its very best possibilities. And experience sadly tells us that the idea of all three of these horses converging on the same race at the Breeders' Cup, in the same form as now, is a fanciful one.

What we do know is that right here, right now, we could put on one of the great races of our time. Nobody can be complacent about that happening in November, especially if their respective fortunes in the meantime happen to make the Dirt Mile more tempting than the Classic. Of course, we can't expect individual horsemen to base their gameplan on sheer altruism, when they need to redeem such heavy stakes already committed to the industry. But it does just seem a shame that when people start comparing horses to greats of the past, very often they don't see them measured even against the best of their contemporaries.

That became a familiar charge against Frankel (GB), albeit without eroding his status as one of the undisputed giants of the breed. The relentless style trademarked by his stock, in what is proving a no less brilliant stud career, has only heightened regret that he spurned both the Arc and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Frankel / Juddmonte

But we have long become bleakly familiar with the schism nowadays dividing the industries either side of the pond. The only real trafficking between them today is about plugging the gaps in American grass racing. Frankel's two daughters in the GI Belmont Oaks show that this can be done by participation or trade: one, homebred by Godolphin, mounts a raid from Newmarket; the other was imported from that same town as a yearling. A third way is elaborated, however, by the presence in the colts' race of Stone Age (Ire), a White Birch-bred son of Galileo (Ire) shared by farm owner Peter Brant with partners from Coolmore. It's a massive tribute to the impresarios behind the Turf Triple that once again, as with last year's winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), this race has been chosen as the next target for Ballydoyle's principal candidate in the Epsom Derby itself.

Yet while the import market for European horses-in-training and yearlings grows ever stronger, it somehow remains impossible even for highly eligible European stallions to achieve commercial traction in Kentucky. Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) was retired as the highest earner in the history of the Juddmonte program, and supplanted only by a member of his own family in Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Yet during his final spring in the Bluegrass–when his first crop had just turned three, one of its members flying into fifth of 19 in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club–he was outrageously reduced to just eight mares.

American horsemen increasingly talk a good game about turf, but in practice most of them are no less culpable than Europeans about dirt blood. I know this is a drum I have long since banged to a pulp, but it's worth reflecting that all four of Stone Age's grandparents were bred in Kentucky: the icons Sadler's Wells and Urban Sea obviously stand behind Galileo, while his dam is by Danzig's son Anabaa out of an Alysheba mare. Stone Age's maternal line actually tapers to none other than La Troienne (Fr), but as eighth dam she is also the first not to have been conceived with Kentucky seed.

For sure, some horses are more versatile than others. Tiz The Bomb (Hit It A Bomb), for instance, was plainly born for chlorophyll. His connections were originally talking about a tilt at the Classics in Britain, only to be seduced to Churchill–understandably enough–when he found himself with those coveted starting points. Look closer, however, and you'll see that this horse, too, cautions against a prescriptive view of surfaces: his first two dams are by avowed dirt influences, in Tiznow and A.P. Indy, yet both ended up on turf.

His trainer also saddles recent recruit Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), famously one of three colts from the final crop of one of the last of the old school, a crossover force in both careers. As befits a son of the Iron Horse, he is being turned round just two weeks after his debut for the barn. That kind of thing makes Kenny McPeek a real outlier, in this day and age. And that's why, when I see the future, actually I don't see it working at all.

Not, that is, until breeders start renewing the kind of cross-pollination that previously opened such dynamic cycles in the evolution of the Thoroughbred, from Nasrullah going one way to all those sons of Northern Dancer going the other. In those days, we bred robust horses by the constant, mutual invigoration of the gene pool, either side of the water. If cynical, in-and-out, fast-buck trading in the freshman window is producing horses that can only run every couple of months, that's actually a welfare issue. So while we have found one welcome oasis, we must navigate with care if our final destination is not to prove a mirage.

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“He showed plenty of pace [in the Derby Trial],” explained O'Brien. “He traveled very strongly and galloped through the line very well. There's a chance that going back to 10 furlongs might suit him better. We thought he would have no problem with the mile and a half [last out], but there might be a chance that it was too far for him. He seems to have come out of the Derby well.”

Ryan Moore, who is slated to ride both O'Brien runners this weekend, was also on board for last season's Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks with Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), respectively. O'Brien also captured the 2016 renewal of the Belmont Derby with Deauville (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), courtesy of Jamie Spencer.

Also considered for last weekend's G1 Coral-Eclipse S. won by Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}), Stone Age gets the opportunity to face fellow sophomores in New York.

“We had the choice of going here [to New York] or going to the Eclipse and we decided to come to [the New York] race, which is a race we thought would suit him well,” O'Brien explained. “Your race suits perfectly to give him another chance against his own age and then we can step up again against older horses after if we want.”

Also facing fellow 3-year-olds, Concert Hall will be attempting to give O'Brien his third victory in the race. In her two most recent races, she finished fourth in the 12-furlong Epsom Oaks June 3 and was elevated from fifth in the 10-furlong G1 Pretty Polly S. June 26 at The Curragh.

“She didn't have much luck inside the last couple of furlongs,” O'Brien said of her latest start. “She got a bad enough bump and squeeze and had to stop and go back to last and come around them again. She was staying on well at the line.”

At two, Concert Hall won The Curragh's G3 Weld Park S. going seven furlongs and returned this April to capture the 10-furlong Listed Salsabil S. at Navan. She subsequently finished third in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas in May at The Curragh.

Further underscoring the influence of the O'Brien name this weekend, Aidan O'Brien's son, Joseph, will be represented in the Belmont Oaks by multiple group winning Agartha (Ire) (Caravaggio), who finished fifth last time in the G1 Irish Guineas May 22. The junior O'Brien, who recently confirmed he will keep a small string of horses in Saratoga this summer, took last season's Saratoga Derby with State of Rest (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), who is possible for either the July 27 G1 Sussex S. at Goodwood or Deauville's G1 Jacques le Marois next month.

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Hitting Them For Six

   It is 41 years since the “Choirboy” Walter Swinburn enjoyed the perfect Epsom spin on the first of Stoute's Blue Riband heroes Shergar (GB) and 11 since Ryan Moore delivered a fifth on Workforce (GB), so in cricket terminology victory for Saeed Suhail's 'TDN Rising Star' Desert Crown would be delivering that sacred six for the cricket-devoted master of Freemason Lodge. Habitually prone to bat away all unwelcome attention, the famed Barbadian will be unable to stem the flow of warmth that will inevitably come his way if his unbeaten colt can come through this examination with that record intact. As the Sir Henry Cecil story showed, racing has its way of raising up its gods when they are at their most vulnerable and while it may seem fanciful, it could be that Desert Crown has been gifted following the sad passing of his partner Coral Pritchard-Gordon. If there is such a thing as a stand-out on potential, this colt represents it and he looks to possess a rare amount of ability. Like Swinburn back in the day, it is a jockey without abundant big-race experience who is charged with the responsibility but there is little to fear where the tactically-astute Yamaha-riding Richard Kingscote is concerned.

The Great Obstacle

Stoute's experience with The Queen's Carlton House (Street Cry {Ire}) in 2011 is a reminder that to get to Tesio's winning post first you have to subdue the force of Coolmore, which has been omnipresent ever since Galileo set a new tone 21 years ago. While the 2011 winner Pour Moi (Ire) was a rare runner for the operation not trained by Aidan O'Brien, it is Rosegreen that has come to be seen as the great harvester of Derby heroes over the past two decades. Remarkably, six of O'Brien's record eight winners have come in the last 10 renewals and while it is possible to waylay the stable's progress it is nigh-on impossible to achieve anything other than a temporary interruption to the machine. The Derby is in the very bricks, mortar and soil of the Co. Tipperary establishment and it always seems to wend its way back there one way or another. Be they in the form of the remorseless front-runner Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the strong late closer Wings of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}), long-shots like that pair or “good things” such as Australia (GB) or Camelot (GB), it matters not. Aidan O'Brien just does Derbys.

A New Era

Ballydoyle began its Derby saga in cahoots with the American kingpins Raymond Guest, Charles Engelhard and John Galbreath, before forging a partnership in steel with Robert Sangster. In recent times, it has been Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith who have profited from sailing on the good ship and now it is the time of Georg von Opel's Westerberg and Peter Brant. Von Opel's increasingly-prevalent silks would have been carried by the long-time ante-post favourite Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) had he made the gig, but now they are sported solely by the dominant Chester Vase winner Changingoftheguard. Is there a story involved in this one, who was bred by Ben Sangster and whose family features the Piggott-bred Superstar Leo (Ire) (College Chapel {GB})? Brant's stock is fast on the rise in Europe and in Stone Age he has a colt who seems to have been sculpted with all the natural and learned guile of the greatest trainer in the history of Thoroughbred racing.

The Long Wait

When Stavros Niarchos began his quest for a Derby winner back in the late 70s, it would have been surprising that it would still not be forthcoming over 40 years later. Despite the ongoing pursuit for the holy grail, the distant 1985 and 2012 runner's-up Law Society and Main Sequence (Aldebaran) remain the closest it has come to fruition. How remarkable it would be if the 23-year-old Donnacha O'Brien were to supply it with Piz Badile, a relative of the emotive 2007 Oaks heroine Light Shift (Kingmambo). His sire Ulysses was only 12th in the 2016 renewal before hitting the heights at four and O'Brien, Jr. has stated that he expects the imposing homebred to be better in 2023, but there was enough in his battling win in Leopardstown's Apr. 2 G3 Ballysax S. to suggest he is not just one for the future.

Will It Go West?

The idea that West Wind Blows (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) would be lining up here seemed unlikely in the immediate aftermath of getting loose before the start of Newbury's Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup British EBF Conditions S. and being withdrawn from that Apr. 17 contest won by the subsequent Listed Lingfield Derby Trial runner-up Walk of Stars (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). That was before Abdulla Al Mansoori's son of the G1 Prix de Diane heroine West Wind (GB)  (Machiavellian) went to Nottingham and dominated a 10-furlong novice in which the G3 Sandown Classic Trial fourth Franz Strauss (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) was soundly  beaten. Big and powerful, the bay has paid a visit here in the interim and rates as the race's most intriguing outsiders for Simon and Ed Crisford.

“The mile and a half is well within his reach and that trip will probably see the best of him, as he has very high cruising gears,” jockey Jack Mitchell said. “He is relatively unexposed and I just hope that he can run his race. I was quite happy with stall 11, as if he does run a bit keen we know that we are not boxed on the inside and that if he does pull I can let him go on and use his stride.”

Click here for the group fields.

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One horse no longer taking part in the Epsom Downs Classic is Cash (Ire) (Shamardal), who finished second in the Listed bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown on Apr. 22.

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After all three UK Derby trials were scooped from Wednesday to Saturday, the pressure was on Stone Age to stretch the sequence in this staging post which has held such gravitas ever since Galileo himself put his stamp on it 21 years ago. Not Aidan O'Brien's first winner of the race, the late great stallion of steel was nevertheless the most important of the 15 overall and his influence will continue on this race a long time after his recent passing. This week has taken the form of a prolonged tribute to the sire's legend, with the clinching of the worldwide stakes record from Danehill in Wednesday's Listed Cheshire Oaks merely signalling the opening of the floodgates. His progeny have cleaned up in all bar one of the Classic trials on offer at Chester, Naas, Lingfield and here and this was stakes winner number 353, with Stone Age following Thoughts of June (GB), Changingoftheguard (GB), Star of India (GB), United Nations (GB) and History (Ire) in another landmark period for a stable which brooks no limitations.

Aside from his second in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, Stone Age had also filled that spot behind Atomic Jones (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in this venue's G2 Champions Juvenile S. on the Irish Champions Day card and in a Galway maiden where the smart Buckaroo (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) had his measure. A winter's maturing, change of tactics, stepping up to middle distances and faster ground have resulted in a colt who is now a force to be reckoned with as the summer's big heats approach. “We always felt he was very good and we weren't really worrying about winning a maiden last year,” O'Brien reflected. “He has plenty of pace–he's a high cruiser, he's tactical and he keeps going. He ran over seven in a group 1 at two, so he's a high-tempo horse. He's a big hardy horse, he's not a wimp now.”

Ballydoyle's pecking order is there to be established now, with York still to come. While last year's Derby Trial winner Bolshoi Ballet went to Epsom alone, that is unlikely to happen in 2022 and O'Brien admitted he is unable to establish a clear hierarchy among the trial winners so far. “It's impossible really,” he continued. “Because all the trials were at different times they were all on different work schedules. Ryan will talk to the lads and hopefully they'll come up with a solution to the whole thing. You'd have to be very happy, any of the ones that had two runs have come forward from their first to their second.”
Stone Age's dam is a full-sister to the G3 Prix de Psyche and G3 Prix de Flore winner and G1 Prix de l'Opera runner-up Board Meeting (Ire) (Anabaa), who produced the Listed Prix Michel Houyvet scorer and G3 Prix de Conde runner-up Big Blue (GB) from a mating with Galileo. The second dam, the four-times group-winning Bright Moon (Alysheba), is also responsible for the G1 Prix de Diane and Prix de l'Opera heroine Bright Sky (Ire) (Wolfhound) and the dam of the G2 Union-Rennen and G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten winner Best of Lips (Ire) by Galileo's The Gurkha (Ire). Bonanza Creek has the 2-year-old filly Sandy Creek (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and a yearling filly by Churchill (Ire).

Sunday, Leopardstown, Ireland
DERBY TRIAL S.-G3, €70,000, Leopardstown, 5-8, 3yo, 10fT, 2:08.25, gd.
1–STONE AGE (IRE), 131, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
     1st Dam: Bonanza Creek (Ire), by Anabaa
     2nd Dam: Bright Moon, by Alysheba
     3rd Dam: Bonshamile (GB), by Ile de Bourbon
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Peter M Brant & Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-White Birch Farm SC (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €42,000. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 7-2-3-1, $152,155. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Glory Daze (Ire), 131, c, 3, Cotai Glory (GB)–Pioneer Alexander (Ire), by Rip Van Winkle (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (£3,000 Ylg '20 GOFSPT). O-Glory Gold Partnership; B-Mount Armstrong Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Oliver. €14,000.
3–French Claim (Fr), 131, c, 3, French Fifteen (Fr)–Zahrada, by Galileo (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€9,000 Ylg '20 ARQAU; £36,000 2yo '21 TATGOR). O-Teme Valley; B-Mathieu Daguzan-Garros & Jean-Claude Gour (FR); T-Paddy Twomey. €7,000.
Margins: 5HF, NK, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.91, 18.00, 2.75.
Also Ran: Atomic Jones (Fr), Duke de Sessa (Ire), Manu Et Corde (Ire), Great Max (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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A New Stone Age?

Ballydoyle's stranglehold on the Derby could be about to get even tighter at Leopardstown, with the G3 Derby Trial playing host to Peter Brant, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud runner-up Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Still a maiden entering 2022, he put paid to that tag with a nine-length success at Navan Mar. 29 and could be a different proposition at three. He is pitched back against Beauty Stable's unbeaten Atomic Jones (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who had his measure by a head in the track's G2 Champions Juvenile S. in September, while Teme Valley Racing's French Claim (Fr) (French Fifteen {Fr}) joins in, having also won by nine lengths over this 10-furlong trip at Cork Apr. 16. Add Newtown Anner Stud Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Duke de Sessa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) to the mix and you have a Blue Riband trial of significant note.

Agartha On Trial

There are some promising types in the Foxrock venue's G3 Cornelscourt S. for Irish 1000 Guineas prospects over a mile, but first they have to get past Scott Heider's rock-solid Agartha (Ire) (Caravaggio). Last year's G2 Debutante S. and G3 Silver Flash S. winner and G1 Moyglare Stud S. runner-up has a penalty, as she had when second to Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the seven-furlong G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial S. here

Apr. 2. Homeless Songs's trainer Dermot Weld is sending out the cream of his Classic crop at present and The Aga Khan's Suwayra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) retains intrigue having been absent since her debut defeat of the smart Cairde Go Deo (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) over this course and distance in July.

Click here for the group fields.

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