Aidan O'Brien May Stable Tour - Quotes on his Irish Guineas runners, and plans for Epsom
Aidan O'Brien previewed Ballydoyle's principal contenders for the upcoming Irish Guineas Festival at the Curragh. Leading hopes include Gstaad in the Irish 2000 Guineas, with confidence high after a strong Newmarket effort. In the Irish 1000 Guineas, True Love is expected to continue her dominance, while Precise could be targeted at longer distances including the Oaks. O'Brien also outlined plans for Minnie Hauk, Amelia Earhart, Benvenuto Cellini, and others for major upcoming Group 1 races at Epsom and beyond.
- Aidan O'Brien confident in Gstaad for Irish 2000 Guineas after strong UK run
- True Love leads the Irish 1000 Guineas charge; Precise may target the Oaks
- Key Ballydoyle runners set for Epsom Derby, Oaks, and Coronation Cup
Aidan O'Brien welcomed Racing TV to Ballydoyle this week to discuss his runners at the upcoming Irish Guineas Festival.
The first Classics of the season will be run in Ireland this weekend, as the Curragh stages the Irish Guineas Festival. Aidan O'Brien has only won one of the last seven renewals of the Irish 2000 Guineas, but you'd be hard pushed to find anyone willing to take Gstaad on in Saturday's feature.
O'Brien's Breeders' Cup winner ran a cracker on his reappearance in the British 2000 Guineas, finishing second to the superb Bow Echo as the top two pulled clear of the chasing pack. Gstaad is 4/9 to go one better in Ireland's equivalent of that Classic, and O'Brien was understandably delighted with his colt's reappearance.
"He did everything right but there was no cover where he was, and we always knew that could happen. Newmarket can be a lonely place to be facing daylight all the way down."
"Gstaad will go to the Curragh and then I would imagine they (He and Bow Echo) will meet again at Ascot. We would love to meet the winner again and we look forward to it."
In the Irish 1000 Guineas on Sunday, True Love and Precise will square off again. True Love ran out a hugely impressive winner of the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, with Precise finishing down the field on her reappearance, having suffered a setback right at the start of the season.
O'Brien said that Precise has "come out of the race great, we always felt that after that she could make a big jump and we've been very happy with everything since." He also said that after Sunday's feature, there's a chance Precise could be stepped up in trip and run in the Epsom Oaks.
"If it looked like she might stay further (in the Irish 1000 Guineas), we could have a look at the Oaks. What does Ryan (Moore) do at Epsom, does he ride her or Amelia Earhart?"
Aidan waxed lyrical about True Love, stating that "she looks a very high-class filly. Unusually for a filly, she's so big and powerful. She's bigger and stronger than 99% of the colts."
There are no plans to step True Love beyond a mile any time soon. O'Brien revealed that after the Irish 1000 Guineas she'll head to Royal Ascot for the Coronation Stakes and, "there are loads of high-quality fillies' races over a mile after that."
Minnie Hauk will be Aidan O'Brien's representative in Sunday's Tattersalls Gold Cup. Last year's Arc runner-up made a winning comeback in the Mooresbridge Stakes, and O'Brien said "she's a lovely filly, a great cruiser and she's just as happy at a mile and a quarter as at a mile and a half."
Amelia Earhart is favourite to follow in the footsteps of Minnie Hauk by winning the Epsom Oaks. O'Brien said that his Chester Vase winner was "always quirky and kinky in everything she did", and that the public "haven't seen her at full flow, opened up yet, and it will be interesting to see whether she opens up at Epsom."
Cameo is another possible for Epsom after winning the trial at Chester, but O'Brien has said that the Ribblesdale could turn out to be her target. If Precise isn't stepped up in trip, then Amelia Earhart could be Ballydoyle's sole runner in the Epsom Oaks.
Benvenuto Cellini is O'Brien's main arrow in the Epsom Derby. "We always felt he was a very high cruiser with a lot of class through a race, and that's what he showed at Chester. We couldn't be happier with what he did."
Dee Stakes winner Constitution River is also in the mix for Epsom, although O'Brien said that the team were leaning towards the Prix du Jockey Club. Pierre Bonnard will certainly be joining Benvenuto Cellini in the Derby, with O'Brien stating, "we wanted to get two runs into him before Epsom, because he's a big horse and he's still a baby, so I think everything is going according to plan so far."
Jan Brueghel will return to Epsom to try and defend his Coronation Cup crown. O'Brien also said that Illinois is in the mix for the same race, and could be used as a pacemaker on this occasion.
The most interesting quotes from O'Brien's stable tour concerned Lambourn, who'll also run in the Coronation Cup. Last year's Epsom and Irish Derby winner struggled in the autumn, but returned to action with a win in the Huxley Stakes, and O'Brien seemed excited about what his four-year-old could achieve this season.
"He looks pacier this year. I don't think he'd have been able to do that over a mile and a quarter last year. He's going to be very interesting going to Epsom."
"He's improved physically, he looks a much stronger horse than last year. If he gets left alone in front, he won't stop."
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