Aidan O'Brien

By the time Great Barrier Reef (No Nay Never) had crossed the line in front in Sunday's G3 Kilkea Castle Marble Hill Stakes, the weighing room collective had to admit it was Ryan Moore's world and they were just living in it. Taking his weekend Curragh tally to six-from-six including four at Group level, the supremo had to work a bit harder this time to justify picking the TDN Rising Star over the stable's other No Nay Never colt Carry The Flag but was ultimately proved right again. The pace-setting runner-up,...

Aidan O'Brien trainee Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation) shaped with a deal of promise at Naas two weeks ago and made a giant leap forward with a visually stunning TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard, performance in Sunday's Revamp Conservation And Restoration Irish EBF Fillies Maiden at the Curragh. "She had a lovely run the first day and we got her out [at Naas] in case she was an Ascot filly," the trainer explained. "She ran so well [on debut] and that is why she is back here. She could be...

Following on from Sergei Diaghilev, Comanche Brave and Gstaad, Causeway (Wootton Bassett) wrapped up a Saturday four-timer for Ryan Moore in The Curragh's G3 Heider Family Stables Gallinule Stakes. Having followed the same path as past Ballydoyle's Irish Guineas hero Paddington by winning the Madrid and Tetrarch, the relative of Magical and Rhododendron had to be diverted off it due to the presence of Gstaad in the day's feature. With the Classic already in the bag for the stable, the 5-6 favourite made it another day to remember on his first...

Gaining handsome compensation for his defeat in the 2,000 Guineas, Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) dominated Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas with a genuine tour de force at The Curragh. Covering the mile in race-record time which eclipsed the previous best of Desert Prince's in 1998, Ballydoyle's 4-11 favourite turned the screw from two out to beat Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) by three lengths. Godolphin's other runner Pacific Avenue (Dubawi) was a further length away in third. "It was very straightforward," Ryan Moore said. "We didn't go that quick early, but...

Ryan Moore has sided with True Love (No Nay Never) of the high-profile Ballydoyle pair at the head of the market for Sunday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas at The Curragh. After a dozen were declared, Newmarket's 1,000 Guineas heroine who is drawn in one was the selection of Coolmore's number one rider with Wayne Lordan on the Fillies' Mile and Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Precise (Starspangledbanner). Seventh three weeks ago, she will exit from stall seven. Godolphin's Abashiri (Frankel), who was fifth at Newmarket, was confirmed by Charlie Appleby...

Ballydoyle's crack three-year-old Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) will face nine rivals in Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at The Curragh. Following the expected withdrawals of the stable's Group 1 winners Puerto Rico and Hawk Mountain, the 2,000 Guineas runner-up will have only Neolithic (Sioux Nation) for company with the Rosegreen duo drawn in eight and 10 respectively. Godolphin's Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder), who was third at Newmarket, will be partnered by that Classic's winning rider Billy Loughnane in the absence of the suspended William Buick and departs from stall six, while...

Carrying TDN Rising Star status into Sunday's G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes at Naas, Ballydoyle's Victorious (Wootton Bassett) lived up to her name by edging Amo Racing's debutante Controlla (Night Of Thunder) to deny another upset on a card full of them up to this point. Sent off the 10-11 favourite following her debut win over course and distance last month, the relative of the yard's luminaries Minding and Tuesday was made to battle after taking over approaching the furlong pole but responded to Ryan Moore's urgings to prevail...

Coolmore's Scandinavia (Justify) has undertaken Ballydoyle's tried-and-trusted route towards next month's G1 Gold Cup and last term's G1 St Leger and G1 Goodwood Cup hero backed up his win in last month's Listed Vintage Crop Stakes on seasonal return with a workmanlike performance in Friday's G3 Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown. "This was the perfect race to bridge the gap [to Royal Ascot] and we'll get more serious as we go along," said Aidan O'Brien. "He's a big, relaxed horse and we couldn't be happier really. Ryan [Moore] was...

As a template for attracting new blood to the game, Shane Felling is a pretty tough act to follow. Barely a year after pushing tentatively at the door, he has just had his first runner in a Classic. A few weeks prior to that, moreover, he found himself on the gallops at Ballydoyle with Aidan O'Brien. By the same token, however, we can definitely learn from the things that have animated his interest—and, above all, from the exemplary way that interest is being drawn out. Before committing to anything, Felling...

If horse racing is your thing and you value the Derby above all other races, then there can be no finer way to spend a Monday morning in May than at the place which has had more influence on the great race than any other. Ballydoyle can be held up alongside any of the great sporting arenas such as Lord's, Murrayfield, Old Trafford, Fenway Park, the MCG. True, it's not where the competition actually takes place, but what happens on its fabled acres has long been of worldwide significance to...

With just a few pieces of the jigsaw still to be slotted into place this week at York, the Epsom picture has emerged a little more clearly over the past week or so through some key Derby and Oaks trials at Chester, Lingfield and Leopardstown. Most have been dominated by Aidan O'Brien, including a clean sweep of the five stakes races on the Roodee. So where better to start than at Ballydoyle on a fresh Monday morning with a trainer in a jovial mood after bagging his second Classic of...

Staged in relentless driving rain, Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches offered a dramatic backdrop to the continued rise of Ballydoyle's brilliant Diamond Necklace who provided St Mark's Basilica with his first Classic. Sent off the 4-5 favourite returning to the ParisLongchamp track over which she had dominated the Prix Marcel Boussac in the autumn, the regally-bred TDN Rising Star tracked the early pace under cover before being sent down to the rail at the straight's cutaway. Surging to the front 300 metres from the finish, she was kept up...