O’Brien won’t lose sleep over Moore Guineas decision
Ballydoyle maestro happy to cross swords with sons Donnacha and Joseph in training ranks
AIDAN O’BRIEN won’t be wasting energy “trying to cross bridges before we come to them” with regards to Ryan Moore’s availability to ride in both the English and Irish Guineas.
Moore looks set to be caught in limbo when racing resumes next month with coronavirus restrictions meaning that O’Brien’s stable jockey would currently be forced to spend 14 days in quarantine if he were to come in or out of Ireland.
With the English Guineas (June 6/7) and Irish Guineas (June 12/13) in close proximity, Moore’s participation in each set of Classics is in serious doubt but O’Brien insists he will accept whatever cards he is dealt.
“If you come into Ireland you have to go into two weeks of quarantine before you do anything so if you were to ride in the Irish Guineas then you couldn’t ride in the English Guineas.
“Then if you ride in the English Guineas you couldn’t ride in the Irish Guineas so it’s not straightforward. Things are slowly changing every day so you don’t really know where it’s at, we’ll get close to the time and see where it is,” O’Brien (left) said.
“It’s not clear yet” but Coventry Stakes victor Arizona and Group Three winner Wichita look set for Newmarket’s 2,000 Guineas next week while Futurity scorer “Armory would be one of the main ones” for the Curragh equivalent a week later.
With Seamie Heffernan and Pádraig Beggy – both recent winners of the English Derby for the Irish champion Flat trainer – waiting in the wings, O’Brien still has plenty of substitutes despite his youngest son Donnacha quitting the saddle last year to join the training ranks.
Having Donnacha (21), as well as his eldest son Joseph (27), in opposition when the Irish Flat season starts on June 8 is another intriguing sub-plot for O’Brien but he never views his offspring as potential thorns in his side as they regularly share ideas.
“When we race against the lads we hope that their horses run very well and we’re very happy to ever be beaten by them, we all do our best for each other and the horses so it’s very straight, we wish each other well and hope that the horses run well for us all really,” the 50-year-old said.
“They would of course (look for advice) and I would (take) theirs as well, that’s just the way it is. We talk regularly about a lot of stuff and they help each other every way they can.”
O’Brien is delighted that racing is just around the corner, insisting that it’s “very safe” for it to resume.
“You would be a lot more at risk going to the supermarket than you would be going racing. Everything is done to a very high standard so there is no risk to anybody in any way.”