O’Brien elated after Minding’s stunning win
A SENSE of both joy and relief could be detected in the smile on the face of Aidan O’Brien after Minding destroyed her rivals to confirm superiority over her peers when leading home a remarkable onetwo-three for the trainer in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.
After suffering the anguish of watching Air Force Blue fail to live up to his odds-on status at the track 24 hours earlier in a humbling defeat by Galileo Gold in the 2000 Guineas, O’Brien had no such worries on this occasion.
Long admired by all those involved with her, including jockey Ryan Moore, the daughter of Galileo did not disappoint as she trounced the opposition, just as she did in the Fillies’ Mile on her final run as a two-year-old back in October.
In order for there to be no hard luck story Moore made the decision to position the 11-10 favourite just off the early pace set by Lumiere, with Jet Setting sitting in close proximity to the pair through the opening exchanges.
As Lumiere weakened rapidly approaching the final quarter of a mile, Moore made use of the potent turn of foot – and stamina – possessed by Minding to advance her claims for Classic glory and forge into what was to become an unassailable advantage.
Despite setting sail plenty early enough, there was to be no catching Minding as she drew impressively clear for a three-and-a-half-length victory from Ballydoyle, with Alice Springs a further half a length away as O’Brien bagged his 250th Group One winner.
O’Brien said: “She’s always been very high class and she’s a pure home-bred. We’ve known the family well for a long time, which is great, it’s a massive help.
“She’s exciting, really. Ryan rode her handy and he was happy to do that, she looked relaxed, she wasn’t tense and he was very confident she was going to stay and everyone at home thought she was very fit.
“Ryan was very confident as he knew she would get the trip. He jumped out and had her in a very safe position all the way. We know she handles more cut in the ground than that, which is great, she’s not ground dependent and I hadn’t realised she won three and a half lengths – she really galloped home. She doesn’t stop, she keeps going.”