By Tom Frary
Returning to the scene of his G1 Irish Derby triumph, Ballydoyle's Los Angeles got his 4-year-old campaign off to a flyer in Monday's G2 Coolmore Stud City Of Troy Irish EBF Mooresbridge Stakes at The Curragh. Tracking the pace in second under Ryan Moore, the son of Camelot who was sent off the 10-11 favourite took over approaching the furlong pole and stayed on grimly to deny last year's winner White Birch by a neck.
“He's a lovely big honest horse. When he gets there he doesn't do much, but that's always been him,” Aidan O'Brien said of the 10-11 favourite. “You can see that he's still as big as a bull, he's a big powerful horse. He's like a big child that didn't get manners put on him when he was young and then when he got too big, it was too late!”
Los Angeles was always a step behind City Of Troy and Auguste Rodin in 2024, but his four marquee performances all returned remarkably consistent ratings. Whether he was third in the Arc, fourth in the Irish Champion or winning the Irish Derby, he was Rosegreen's Mr Reliable and he will be asked some big questions again this term. “The plan would be to come back here for the Tattersalls [Gold Cup] and if that went well then he would go to Ascot for the Prince Of Wales's. We don't want to go too long until we have to, we want to keep him sharp for when he goes up to a mile-and-a-half,” the Ballydoyle handler added. “If he goes to the King George he'll want to be sharp, then he'd have a prep for the Arc, maybe back here in the Royal Whip.”
Belting finish!
Irish Derby winner and Arc third Los Angeles gets the better of gallant and returning Group 1 winner White Birch in a thrilling @coolmorestud @IrishEBF_ Mooresbridge Stakes at @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/Q4yeUOZvQ5
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 5, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Los Angeles is out of Dansili's unraced Frequential, who was a 48,000gns purchase by BBA Ireland from the Godolphin draft at the 2017 Tattersalls February Sale. A half-sister to New Approach's G3 Prix Messidor winner Impulsif and the G3 Pride Stakes runner-up Veil Of Shadows by Frankel, her previous two runners were the stable's G3 Prix Penelope third Be Happy and the G3 Ballyroan Stakes third Hector De Maris also by Camelot.
The third dam is the G3 Prix de Flore winner Allez Les Trois, producer of the G1 Prix du Jockey Club-winning sire Anabaa Blue and of Shadwell's important Nureyev broodmare Al Ishq whose descendants include Tamayuz, Eshaada and Santiago. Allez Les Trois's dam Allegretta provided the world with King's Best and the legendary Urban Sea, making Los Angeles yet another Classic winner from her illustrious family. Frequential's unraced 3-year-old is a gelding by No Nay Never named Front And Centre (Ire).
Monday, The Curragh, Ireland
COOLMORE STUD CITY OF TROY IRISH EBF MOORESBRIDGE STAKES-G2, €120,000, Curragh, 5-5, 4yo/up, 10fT, 2:05.27, gd.
1–LOS ANGELES (IRE), 131, c, 4, by Camelot (GB)
1st Dam: Frequential (GB), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Violante, by Kingmambo
3rd Dam: Allez Les Trois, by Riverman
O-Westerberg, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor, D Smith; B-Lynch Bages Ltd & Longfield Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €72,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire & Fr, GSW & G1SP-Eng, 10-6-0-2, $2,136,962. *Full to Hector De Maris (Ire), GSP-Ire, $108,602. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–White Birch (GB), 131, h, 5, Ulysses (Ire)–Diagnostic (GB), by Dutch Art (GB). (75,000gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; 48,000gns RNA Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Mrs C C Regalado-Gonzalez; B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-John Joseph Murphy. €24,000.
3–Trustyourinstinct (Ire), 131, g, 5, Churchill (Ire)–Gussy Goose (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). O-J P McManus; B-Mrs Noreen McManus (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €12,000.
Margins: NK, 2HF, HD. Odds: 0.91, 3.00, 11.00.
Also Ran: Sons And Lovers (GB), Galen (GB), Sunchart (GB).
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