O’Brien hoping ‘Gardens’ will bloom while Capri has Arc date
AIDAN O’BRIEN has issued a positive bulletin ahead of next Saturday’s St Leger with the Ballydoyle maestro outlining that he “always thought Doncaster would suit” Kew Gardens ahead of the English Classic.
The son of Galileo is a general 11/8 favourite to become O’Brien’s sixth English St Leger winner and the 48-year-old expects him to thrive after being “delighted” with his third-place finish in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last month.
Already a winner of the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot and the Group One Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp this season, O’Brien has no stamina fears having proved his class over the 1m6f trip earlier this term.
Last year’s St Leger hero Capri is on course for a tilt at next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but must suitably impress on his trip to France for Sunday week’s Group Two Prix Foy before plans are confirmed.
Capri has only run once this season – winning the Group Three Alleged Stakes at Naas in April before suffering a shoulder injury – and O’Brien has adopted a patient approach with the 2017 Irish Derby winner, which has been “back in full work for about eight weeks”.
O’Brien is also optimistic that unbeaten juvenile Ten Sovereigns will have the stamina to tackle the English 2,000 Guineas next season having impressed when comfortably taking a Curragh Group Three over 6f last weekend.
The No Nay Never colt – a general 8/1 second favourite behind John Gosden’s Too Darn Hot for the colts’ Classic – will bid to make it three from three in Newmarket’s Middle Park Stake on September 29.
“You think there is a good chance (getting the mile) but you can never say definitely. He is a good mover and clear winded and he has good mind. All the things say he has a good chance of doing it,” O’Brien said.
Meanwhile, English trainer Tom George has high hopes that Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Summerville Boy will progress further over the smaller obstacles with Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle in December an early-season target.
And while the decision on whether Gordon Elliott’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle winner Samcro will go chasing or stay hurdling has yet to be made, Black Op – runner-up to him at the Cheltenham Festival – is preparing for his fencing bow with George declaring him “an exciting horse and we can go anyway we want with him”.
Elsewhere, Jamie Osborne sends an eight-strong raiding party to Laytown today – all for the same owners (Melbourne 10 Racing) – as the Meath venue plays host to its popular once-ayear fixture on the beach.