O’Brien on double
Group 1 wins in England and France
AIDAN O’BRIEN sent a strong team of raiders to the Newmarket July meeting and had to wait until the closing day on Saturday to lift the big one of the week, the £500,000 six-furlong Darley July Cup with US Navy Flag (8/1), ridden by Ryan Moore.
They then flew cross channel to Paris and combined to win the €600,000 Group 1 Grand Prix Paris with Kew Gardens (6/4f).
This brought Aidan’s Group 1 tally for the season so far to eight, a bit behind last year’s world record-breaking seasonal tally at this stage. It was his fourth success in the July Cup and a first for Moore.
The US Navy Flag success came with a typical O’Brien change of strategy; the horse had been campaigned over a mile at the Irish and French 2,000 Guineas and at Royal Ascot, without success, but the dramatic drop back in trip worked the oracle and Moore had him at the front end all the way.
Ballydoyle also picked up third at Newmarket with Fleet Review (50/1) under Wayne Lordan.
The quick dash to Paris certainly paid off for Kew Gardens who added to his Royal Ascot success with a fine win over French horse Neufbosc (7/2) and Mark John- ston’s favourite, Dee Ex Bee (9/4), under William Buick.
On the home scene, O’Brien had a low-profile double at Roscommon on Monday with Christmas (4/11) in a two-yearold maiden and a three-year-old handicap with Conclusion (4/1), both ridden by son Donnacha.
O’Brien had a treble between two meetings on Thursday, with Indianapolis (7/2) at Dundalk and then two at Leopardstown, with the mighty impressive Goddess (1/2) under Seamie Heffernan looking a 1,000 Guineas prospect even at this early stage, and Lucius Tiberius (7/2) taking the €59,000 first prize in the Nasrullah handicap.
It was a Wexford benefit night at the Dublin venue as Jim Bolger also scored a double and he and O’ Brien were in contention for others as well.
He won a handicap with Signing Off at 25/1 under ten pound claimer, Daire Davis, with his regular jockey, Kevin Manning, filling in on Joseph O’Brien’s Tremendous Leap (7/2) and taking second.
Manning was on board Cimeara (7/4) to lift the Group 3 Stanerra Stakes from Heffernan and O’Brien’s Sizzling (6/4f). Bolger also had a couple of seconds with Theobald (5/1), beaten by Johnny Murtagh’s Lethal Power (4/1), and Dawn Hoofer.
O’Brien kept up his relentless run of winners with another 29/1 double at Navan on Saturday, with Michael Hussey doing the steering on both in five furlong sprints, Fantasy (5/1) from 4/9 favourite, Rita Levy, and Fire Opal (4/1) by a neck.
He rounded off the week with an impressive win by Anthony Van Dyck (10/11) in a mile maiden at Killarney - his eighth domestic winner of the week to add to the two Group 1s, very much business as usual for the Ballydoyle maestro.
Jim Bolger rounded off his week with a winner in the last at Killarney on Sunday with Dawn Hoofer (2/1) under Kevin Manning, just three days after being second at Leopardstown. Bolger is keeping this one busy as she has had three wins, two seconds and a third in just over a month.