TEN IS ONE OF A KIND
TEN SOVEREIGNS defended his unbeaten record to lift the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket — and confirm Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable is back in the rudest of health.
A virus laid the allconquering Co Tipperary yard low during high summer.
But Ten Sovereigns’ success – and earlier victories for Fairyland in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and Mohawk in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes – proved O’Brien’s string hale and hearty for the autumn challenges that lie ahead.
The son of American sprinter No Nay Never is 7-1 for next year’s 2,000 Guineas, but his trainer fears one mile will stretch the colt’s stamina.
“He’s a very fast horse, he has a lot of speed,” said O’Brien. “He won’t get much further than a mile.”
Fairyland initiated the ‘double double’ – O’Brien took both top-level juvenile tests with US Navy Flag and Clemmie in 2017 – when edging out The Mackem Bullet by a neck in the Cheveley Park Stakes.
The winner is the 12-1 market leader for the 1,000 Guineas next May, and O’Brien said: “She was as badly affected as most by the problems earlier in the season but she’s a lovely filly.”
Mohawk led home stablemates Sydney Opera House and Cape Of Good Hope in the Royal Lodge Stakes, and is now 25-1 for the 2019 Derby.
All three winners were partnered by O’Brien’s son Donnacha, who passed the 100-winner mark this week on his way to a first Irish Flat jockeys’ title.