Aidan O'Brien Stable Tour 2025 - Quotes from Ireland's Champion Flat Trainer

He was very raw as a two-year-old and was very green in both his starts. He had a little setback after his second run, and we didn’t try to rush him back. We have declared him for a winners’ race at Naas on Sunday and he’s just about ready to start back. If all goes well, we’ll look to run him in a trial after that. He is one that we’ll probably learn more about on the track than at home. He should stay further than a mile.

We thought from an early stage of last year that he was very good, but it just took him a while to show the fuller extent of what we thought he was capable of on the track. He always showed us plenty of natural ability, but he’s quite a big horse and maybe it was just a case that he got stronger as the year went on and was better able to put that ability down on the track as he strengthened. Stepping up to seven furlongs in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere was a help to him too and a mile will be no problem for him this year. He’s working this weekend and that will get us a step closer to knowing where he is likely to start off, but all the Group 1 options are open to him over a mile. He enjoys a sound surface.

We were probably a bit unfair on him to ask him to do what he did last season. It was a huge ask of him to run on soft ground in the Dewhurst just a week after he was so green and only just got up to win a maiden at the Curragh on his debut, but I suppose that reflected the belief that we have in him. All things considered, it was a remarkable run at Newmarket, really. Not only was he so inexperienced and backing up so quickly, he had to make his own running which he obviously hadn’t done before. He’s a Guineas type of horse for sure. He’s a big, scopey horse that has done well over the winter. We had him away for a racecourse gallop the other day and his preparation is going very well. Plans will start to come together in the next couple of weeks, but he’s one that you’d have to be very excited about.

We’re very happy with him. He did well over the winter and his work has been strong. I probably made a couple of bad decisions with him last season. Putting blinkers on him in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere was a mistake as he was just a bit immature rather than anything else. He looked a different colt with the blinkers off and on faster ground in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. He had to overcome plenty that day as he missed the kick from a wide draw and had to be very good to quicken up as he did to win. We see him as a miler that will be best on firmer ground. He has loads of pace and is an obvious one for a Guineas. Plans will start to come together with him in the coming weeks.

He won on his debut at the Curragh over seven furlongs. We rushed him a little bit to get him there and after he won, we were happy to leave him off for the season. He has plenty of pace and a mile should be a good trip for him. We’ll get him started in a winners’ race and will see how he progresses from there.

He couldn’t have done much more than he did in his two runs last season. He was impressive in his maiden and then broke the juvenile track record in the Acomb Stakes at York. The form of the Acomb has worked out well since too. For a Sea The Stars from a middle-distance family to be doing that much in the middle part of his two-year-old year is obviously very exciting and would have you dreaming of what could happen this year. He had an away day at the Curragh earlier in the week and all went smoothly. We’ll get an idea of how much that has brought him along in the coming days and plans will soon start to come together with him, but he’s an obvious candidate for the 2000 Guineas. In terms of how far he’ll stay, looking at his pedigree you’d say he’ll surely stay a mile-and-a-half, but not too many with that profile of pedigree have the pace to do what he did as a two-year-old, so we won’t know until we know. Sure look, with a colt like him all you can say is that he’s very much in the mix for the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. We can’t wait to see him back on the track.

He is another colt that we asked a very big question of last year. It was probably unfair to send him to France for the Criterium International after he had only made a winning debut eight days earlier. He made all the running in his debut too and probably didn’t learn much, so that made it an especially big ask. Thankfully he didn’t have to make the running in France and even though he was still plenty green, he won quite well on the day and learned loads. Both of his runs were on soft ground, and I’d imagine that firmer ground is going to suit him. He’s another one that is in the mix for the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. He worked at the Curragh earlier in the week and we’ll get a clearer idea of specific plans in the weeks ahead.

He’s in good shape and is ready to run. He improved with every run last season and was impressive when he won a maiden at the Curragh. He’ll want at least a mile this year and will probably step up to a mile-and-a-quarter reasonably quickly. We’ll pick a spot for him in a trial or a winners’ race and we’ll play him by ear based on what he does on the track. A firmer surface will suit him.

I would see him as a colt for a mile-and-a-quarter and maybe a bit further this year. He has done particularly well over the winter and looks in great order. We always thought plenty of him, but he was babyish and took time to learn what it was all about on the track. He finished the season with his best run in the Futurity Trophy and was only just touched off by a very good horse there. He looks one to start in a Epsom Derby trial, but I wouldn’t be sure which one just yet.

He’s a lovely staying type of colt that will stay at least a mile-and-a-half this year I’d imagine. He was green last year and should progress well this season. We’ll most likely look to get him into a Derby trial, and we’ll see where he slots in from there.

He was impressive when he won a maiden at Galway. Even though he ran well, we were a little bit disappointed with him in the Royal Lodge. He wasn’t 100% after the race, so we are forgiving of that run and think he can improve a fair bit from it. He’ll be one for a Derby trial.

We felt we didn’t see the best of him last season and maybe he’s just one that will have needed a winter under his belt to crown him. We have declared him for a winners' race at Naas on Sunday and he’s only just ready to start back. He’s one that will step up in trip as the season progresses.

She did very well last season. She’d remind you of her half-sister Content as she can get strong in her races and keeping her as relaxed as we can is a big focus. She is an obvious one for the 1000 Guineas and she might well run in a trial before then. We never would have thought that Content would stay a mile-and-a-half, but she ended up winning the Yorkshire Oaks, so we won’t rule anything out with regard to trip for Bedtime Story.

She had a very good two-year-old campaign that ended up with her winning the Rockfel Stakes. She should stay a mile, but I wouldn’t be sure she’ll get much further than that. She’d be an obvious one for the 1000 Guineas. She’s already a Group 2 winner, so she could be one to go straight to the Guineas, but we’ll firm up plans in the coming weeks.

She’s a high-class filly. She could either go straight to the 1000 Guineas or have a trial before it, that will be firmed up in the coming days. She showed very good progression all through her two-year-old season and really finished it on a high when winning the Kilavullan by a long way. She should do even better this season and she’s a filly we are looking forward to.

She’s a very good filly. What she did at Royal Ascot was very unusual. To meet with so much trouble and have to cover as much ground as she did, yet still find a way to win was just unbelievable. The form has worked out very well too. She met with a setback after Royal Ascot. She was just a bit stiff in herself. We didn’t rush her as she had shown us more than enough and we didn’t feel the need to rush her back to run again at the backend of the season. She has had a full preparation for this season and everything has gone smoothly. I’d imagine a mile will be a good trip for her and we wouldn’t be thinking about going any further with her at this stage. We obviously have the 1000 Guineas in mind for her and will make a decision next week on whether we run in a trial first or go straight there.

She had a brilliant two-year-old campaign. We’ve never had a filly to do what she did. Winning Group 1 races over seven furlongs, six furlongs and then back up to a mile, it was genuinely remarkable. She was unbelievable in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf at Del Mar as plenty went wrong for her on the day. We gave her as long a break as we could over the winter and her preparation has gone well so far. She obviously won a Group 1 over six furlongs which would make you think that she would be unlikely to stay much beyond a mile this season, but she’s by Frankel, so you never know. We’ll firm up plans for her next week, but she obviously looks a very strong candidate for the 1000 Guineas.

She progressed nicely last season and would look a candidate for a Guineas, I just wouldn’t be sure which one yet. We’ll decide which way to point her in the next week or so, but she’s a smart filly.

She has a beautiful pedigree and ran well in the Fillies’ Mile. She shapes like one that should stay a mile-and-a-half, and I’d say she’ll start off in an Oaks trial in the coming weeks.

I thought she ran well in the Fillies’ Mile all things considered. I would see her as an Oaks type of filly. She’ll be one to start off in an Oaks trial and she should really appreciate stepping up to a mile-and-a-half. A firmer surface will suit her too.

She’s a very big, strong filly. Considering her size, whatever she does this year, I’d imagine she’ll be even better as a four-year-old. We see her as an Epsom Oaks type of filly, but she just needs to relax a little better than she did in her races last year to give her the best chance of excelling over middle distances. We’ll start her off in an Oaks trial and progress from there.

She’s a classy filly that ran very well in the Fillies’ Mile. She is a fine, big filly with plenty of scope. She could stay further than a mile this season. She hasn’t won a Group race yet, so getting that box ticked will be an early focus for her and she is likely to start off in a trial.

She’s a lovely filly that could start off at a mile or a mile-and-a-quarter. She might well stay a mile-and-a-half in the fullness of time. We’ll make a decision in the coming days on whether she starts off in a Guineas or goes for a trial.

She’s a fast filly and we wouldn’t be thinking about much further than six furlongs for her this year. She had a setback after she won her Group 2 last year and we didn’t need to rush her back after that. She is likely to end up in those three-year-old sprints against the boys.

He’s a real sprinter. He’ll be trained for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. I’d imagine we’ll look to give him a run or two before it, probably in the established trials for the race in Ireland. I’m very happy with how he’s come through the winter, and he was obviously a very high level colt last year, so the hope will be that he is a big contender in his division again.

Everything seems good with him so far. All being well, the first half of his season will look the same as it did last year with him building up to the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. He genuinely is a remarkable horse. He put together an unbelievable unbeaten season in 2022, but everyone knows now what he went through in the spring of 2023 and how lucky he was just to survive that. For him to come back from all that and then put together another unbeaten season with all those Group 1s last year really was something very special. He is just a very classy horse that happens to stay very well. He is very comfortable in those staying races, and he probably feels like he’s toying with those horses even though they are very talented themselves.

What we have in our minds at the minute is to work backwards from Royal Ascot and the Queen Anne would seem his most obvious target at the minute. We’d like to get a couple of runs into him before then and plans can always be changed based on what we see in those runs, but that’s what we are thinking at the minute. He was a very good two-year-old and while we tried him over middle distances last season, it was when he came back to around a mile that he seemed to really flourish. He’s a good mover that seems best on firmer going. There should be even better to come from him this year.

He’s in full work and seems in good order. He’s working this weekend and that will give us a clearer idea of where we’ll start him off. I would imagine that we’ll start him at a mile-and-a-quarter and potentially work our way up in trip from there. We know he stays a mile-and-three-quarters from his run in the St Leger, but I wouldn’t be surprised if settles in and is happy at a mile-and-a-half. I could see him improving this year.

He’s in great shape. We wouldn’t ever have been adamant that he wanted to go a mile-and-three-quarters, but we took the chance with him in the St Leger, and he duly won, so it’s good to know that the stamina is there if we want it. We’ll look to get his season started at a mile-and-a-half and sure we’ll send him back up in trip if we feel like we need to, but anyone watching him could tell you that he was learning on the job last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if he looks a sharper colt this year. He’s hard to assess fully at home, as he keeps plenty up his sleeve, but I’d say there’s plenty there that we haven’t seen yet. I’ll be as interested as anyone to see where he ends up as I couldn’t put a ceiling on him yet.

We were very happy with how he progressed through last season. I thought he ran particularly well to finish third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as making the running wasn’t ideal for him. The initial aim for him will be the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh and he could go for the Mooresbridge Stakes before that, depending on how his preparation is going. Longer term, we’d love to get him back for another go at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. We think he’s going to be a proper horse this season.

This is a smashing horse and we’re very happy to have been sent him. He settled in very quickly to the routine here. He is a lovely, straightforward, fast horse. He looks a real sprinter and we’re aiming him towards the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. We’ll most likely give him at least one run before then, but the ground will have to be good or better for us to do that I’d say. He’s an impressive physical specimen and I think the racing public will be impressed when they see him on the track.

He’s in great shape and seems plenty forward. There’s a staying race at ParisLongchamp in May called the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier that has been upgraded to a Group 1 this year and that is a race we have in mind for him. He has a big turn of foot for a stayer and loves fast ground. Kyprios is there and obviously at the top of the division, so this fella might end up going wherever Kyprios doesn’t. I could see him going on his travels at some stage as he has shown that he can do that with success already.

He is obviously bred to be fast and precocious and that is what he is. He’s a big, powerful, strong colt and all being well it won’t be too long before he debuts.

We think he’s very nice. We’re very happy with the St Mark’s Basilicas that we have. We can see both Siyouni and Galileo traits coming out through them. Siyouni is putting precocious speed into them, but their head carriage and movement are very like typical Galileos. They have lovely minds, very laid back, very relaxed. They are very sleepy at home, which is something we love to see.

He’s a colt that is showing up well and looks plenty forward. He is bred to be a fast two-year-old and we shouldn’t be waiting long to see him on the track.

While he is bred to be a middle-distance colt in time, he looks early and fast. He’s been very forward in his work, and it won’t be long before he makes his debut.

He is obviously bred to debut later in the season, but he is already showing plenty of ability. His dam has been a seriously good producer, so hopefully she has thrown another classy one in this fella.

He is another really nice colt that would remind you a lot of his sire. He is bred to be a middle-distance colt, but is showing plenty already which is a really positive sign.

He’s a colt that we think is very nice and has been doing all the right things so far. His sire has been speaking for himself, and he is from one of the very best female families in the book.

He’s a lovely colt that we think is very nice. He is a grandson of Peeping Fawn and we’ve been liking his work so far.