O’Brien star up for a Magical double
LAST year’s winner Magical is the star attraction among six horses declared for the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh tomorrow.
Aidan O’Brien’s mare was a brilliant winner of the 10-furlong Group One last season and was last seen adding a fifth top-level success to her record in the Pretty Polly Stakes four weeks ago.
Magical also had the option of taking on old foe Enable in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot this afternoon, but connections elected to keep her at home and she will be red-hot favourite to become the first horse to claim back-to-back renewals of the Tattersalls Gold Cup since So You Think (2011 and 2012). O’Brien also saddles Sir Dragonet and Armory in a race he has won on a record eight occasions, while his son Joseph is represented by Buckhurst, who claimed his third course and distance win in last month’s Alleged Stakes.
Jessica Harrington’s Leo De Fury steps up in class after winning the Group Two Mooresbridge Stakes, with last year’s Irish St Leger heroine Search For A Song lining up with something to prove for Dermot Weld.
The Moyglare Stud Farm-owned filly was a disappointing sixth behind Leo De Fury here last month and was pulled up on her latest outing in the Munster Oaks at Cork. Moyglare’s Fiona Craig said: ‘It’s great to have a filly capable of running in races like this. Magical is an unbelievable mare and will be a tough nut to crack, but we’ve kept “Search” in training to run her, so we’ll give it a go.
‘She probably needed the run in the Mooresbridge and then we went to Cork on a fact-finding mission ahead of this race and learnt nothing as the hind legs went from under her and she slipped up.
‘She had a nice day out and she’s been fine since. She can be her own worst enemy at times, but she’s wearing a hood now and she does seem to quite like it, so hopefully that will help.
‘We’re keen to see how she gets on over this trip. If she tells us she needs to step back up we can do that – we’ll give it our best shot.’
Meanwhile, surprise Investec Derby winner Serpentine will head to France for his next outing in the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris.
The Group One on September 13 takes place at Paris Longchamp on the same day as the Prix Vermeille and Prix Foy, but there will be no Prix Niel this season.
Serpentine made every yard of the running at Epsom – winning by five and a half lengths.
‘The plan is to go for the Grand Prix de Paris on the same day as the Arc trials,’ said O’Brien.
‘The lads (owners Coolmore) wanted to keep him at a mile and a half, with a view that he could go for the Arc or something like that.
‘Santiago, we had marked down with the Leger, which is why we’re going to Goodwood with him in between, (and) I wouldn’t imagine Serpentine will go the Leger.’