Business as usual
Aidan O’Brien wins at three venues
AIDAN O’BRIEN had a double on the Dundalk card on Friday evening, with 9/1 shot Frosty landing the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies’ Maiden under Seamie Heffernan, and 6/5 favourite Lost Treasure winning the Eilish McAllister Race by a nose ahead of Geological, with his son, Donnacha, on board.
It was again business as usual for O’Brien on Sunday as he saddled a four-timer at Naas, teaming up with Ryan Moore to win the first three races.
Market leader Magna Grecia (2/1) won the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden, while 5/4 favourite Hermosa was two and a half lengths too good for Foxtrot Liv in the Group 3 Weld Parks Stakes.
The pair made it three from three with another Group 3 success, when Cypress Creek (6/1) finished strongly to land the Loughbrown Stakes.
His fourth winner came courtesy of Japan, with the Seamie Heffernan-ridden 11/2 shot landing the Group 2 Beresford Stakes.
In fact, O’Brien saddled the first two home in the race, with Japan getting the better of the Ryan Moore-ridden 11/8 favourite Mount Everest by a short head, with another O’Brien inmate, Sovereign, back in fourth.
O’Brien also sent some raiders to Newmarket for the Cambridgeshire meeting which began on Thursday. His jockey, Ryan Moore, did have a double that day, but not for O’Brien – he did get third on Constantinople in a two-year-old maiden while Cardini made the early running but faded into fifth in the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes.
O’Brien and Moore did get among the winners at Newmar- ket on Friday in the two-year-old Rockfel Stakes Fillies’ Group 2 with their only runner of the day, Just Wonderful (7/2).
O’Brien enjoyed a Saturday to remember at the meeting, teaming up with his son, Donnacha, to land a big race treble with Mohawk, Fairyland and Ten Sovereigns.
Mohawk got the ball rolling for the Ballydoyle handler, leading home a one-two-three for the stable in the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes.
The 8/1 chance was one and a quarter lengths too good for runner-up Sydney Opera House in the Group 2 contest, with Cape of Good Hope back in third.
O’Brien was celebrating Group 1 success after the following race, with Fairyland narrowly denying The Mackem Bullet in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes.
The 6/1 shot finished a neck ahead of the Brian Ellison-trained second, with O’Brien’s So Perfect back in third.
The Wexford native was quickly back in the winners’ enclosure when Ten Sovereigns justified his prohibitive odds of 8/13, maintaining his unbeaten record to land the Group 1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes ahead of Simon Crisford’s Jash.
Meanwhile, O’Brien’s Mendelssohn finished third behind outsider Discreet Lover in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Saturday night.
Aidan’s nephew, Tom O’Brien, rode a winner at Market Rasen on Saturday, when the Ian Williams-trained 2/1 chance Jack Regan was two and a quarter lengths too good for 10/11 favourite Cracker Factory.
Trainer Liz Doyle continued her recent rich vein of form which saw her winning with three of her last four runners when scoring with Just me my self and i (11/2) in a three-mile chase under Adam Short on Thursday at Sligo.
This was a battling performance as the horse seemed destined for second at best when headed by the Jonathan Moore-ridden favourite, Major Destination (5/4), when turning for home, having made most of the running up to then.
He got his head back in front close to home and won by half a length. Jockey Short felt his mount had got lonely out in front and he picked up again when passed by Major Destination.
‘Usually when you see one of Liz’s in first time blinkers, they work. I hope there is plenty more improvement in him.’
The Crossabeg trainer had won with My Lark on the all-weather at Dundalk and Glamorous Nellie over hurdles at Clonmel in successive days the previous week, and it certainly should be worth keeping an eye on her runners in the coming weeks.
Friday saw the return to action after injury of young Taghmon rider, Seán O’Keeffe, who has been laid off for about five weeks. He was on board Ashjan for Doyle, which had given him his first winner as a professional at Tramore in mid-August, but they could only manage fourth this time.