Sparkling St George is O’Brien’s Gold star
Trainer sets Arc target after Ascot success
AMOMENTOUS day evenn in the context of Aidann O’Brien’s remarkablee career demanded an n appropriate performance e and Order Of St George provided it with a sparkling victory in the e Ascot Gold Cup.
By the time the 10-11 favourite finished d three lengths clear of Mizzou, O’Brien had ad already joined an elite group who havee trained 50 winners at the biggest meeting of the Flat season with Irish Oaks-bound Even Song winning the Ribblesdale Stakes.
Of the current crop of trainers only Sir Michael Stoute (73 wins) stands ahead of O’Brien and the bookmakers will be reluctant to quote odds that both that tally and the 75 trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil will now be overhauled.
Order Of St George, named after the highest military decoration that can be bestowed by the Russian Federation, may well be back to boost O’Brien’s tally next season with his odds of winning back-toback Gold Cups now 5-2 with William Hill.
They are not unreasonable odds considering the decisive nature of yesterday’s win under Ryan Moore was equal to the pick of the record four Gold Cup wins achieved by O’Brien’s Yeats.
He is, according to O’Brien, a colt ‘with a big Rolls-Royce engine’.
More immediately, last year’s Irish St Leger winner has some ambitious targets with O’Brien considering another shot at the Irish Leger at the Curragh in September and then Europe’s ultimate all-age mile-and-a-half contest, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.
Any doubts that Order Of St George has the pace to at least be extremely competitive in a race that this year will be run at Chantilly evaporated yesterday. The colt showed a rare turn of speed over 10 lengths in the home straight to claw back a deficit of over 10 lengths after he had been shuffled to the back of the 17-runner line-up.
He also showed he had the stamina for this two-and-a-half-mile test. But O’Brien had been confident he would last out, even when Moore was forced to make his challenge wide in pursuit of pacesetter and ultimate fourth Mille Et Mille.
The performance in beating Luca Cumani-trained 10-1 Mizzou, who enjoyed a dream run up the inside rail, with 40-1 chance Sheikhzayedroad a further twoand-a-quarter lengths back in third, was even more admirable given Order Of St George had not had an ideal preparation.
An injury suffered at the end of 2015 had meant his Gold Cup participation was confirmed only after he won the Saval Beg Stakes at Leopardstown on June 3.
O’Brien, 46, who has now won the Gold Cup seven times, said: ‘Ryan was very cool on him. He has a lot of class. He was the highest-rated horse in Ireland last year. You are talking a different type of league.
‘I remember when (O’Brien’s son) Joseph rode him last year, he said he was the best stayer he has ever ridden.’
Joseph is now training after losing his battle against the scales. He has had his first Royal meeting winners this week and O’Brien Snr is eyeing his son as a growing obstacle to his further success here.
He added: ‘I know what is going to happen and am prepared to surrender!’
There is, however, no sign of the white flag being unfurled just yet.