Wootton Bassett's Constitution River Dominates To Give O'Brien 18th Futurity

Making it win number 18 for Aidan O'Brien in Saturday's G2 Coolmore Stud Wootton Bassett Tom Cooper Irish EBF Futurity Stakes, Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) dominated the Curragh contest from start to finish to stake his Classic claims for 2026. Sent on by Wayne Lordan, the 5-6 favourite who had followed an encouraging debut second at Newmarket with a win at Galway turned it on two out to dismiss Geryon (Lope De Vega) by two lengths.

“He's a lovely colt and was good and professional,” Lordan said of the stable's fifth straight winner of this always-important staging post and ninth in the last ten runnings. “He has a high cruising speed and hits the line good, so a mile will be no problem. He will probably better at it.”

Aidan O'Brien added, “He's a lovely, straightforward horse. He'd a lovely run first time and was still very green when he won the next day. Obviously, you have to look at the National Stakes with him and he's going to be very happy going up in trip whenever that time comes.”

Constitution River is an exciting one as he runs out the ninth winner in the last 10 runnings of the @coolmorestud Wootton Bassett Tom Cooper @IrishEBF_ Futurity Stakes for Aidan O'Brien @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/QseWSA1Wih

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 23, 2025

Pedigree Notes
Constitution River is the first foal out of Chuppy (Le Havre), a full-sister to the high-class Wonderful Tonight who captured the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and Prix de Royallieu in their current Group 1 guise and also the Lillie Langtry and Hardwicke. Also a half to the G3 Prix Cleopatre third Heartache Tonight (Recorder) from the family of Camelot, her yearling filly by Mehmas was a €300,000 purchase by Paddy Twomey for Bond Thoroughbred Ltd at last week's Arqana Deauville August Sale.