Aidan O'Brien

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Headed by the first appearance from the seven World Cup night horses from the yard of Aidan O'Brien, there was a buzz of activity on both the dirt track and turf course Tuesday morning at Meydan proper as well as back on the Tapeta track a couple of furlongs down the road. The Ballydoyle septet slowly ambled out of the tunnel near the 1600-metre starting point on the the dirt surface, led by G3 Red Sea Turf H. hero Tower of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire},...

Group 3 winner Cairo (Ire) (Quality Road) has been purchased by Refai Alghuraban, a leading owner in Kuwait. The deal was brokered by Avenue Bloodstock's Mark McStay. Successful in the G3 Killavullan S. in 2022 for the Coolmore partners and trainer Aidan O'Brien, the bay was second in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas to Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) last May. He kick-started his 4-year-old campaign in his 10th lifetime start with a close runner-up effort in the $500,000 Listed Irish Marketing Cup in Doha, Qatar, in February. The son of...

Ryan Moore would have faced a straightforward decision to ride Opera Singer (Justify) in the 1,000 Guineas had Ballydoyle arrived at Newmarket with a full strength squad, according to Aidan O'Brien, who hopes Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) can prove an able deputy to the runaway Prix Marcel Boussac winner on May 5 . O'Brien revealed on Monday that Opera Singer was unlikely to make the 1,000 Guineas after suffering a minor setback which resulted in Ylang Ylang's odds tumbling from 8-1 into as short as 7-2 in places. Speaking...

Aidan O'Brien is busy preparing for what could turn out to be one of his boldest ever campaigns at Ballydoyle with plans in place for City Of Troy (Justify) to tackle the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby followed by an audacious tilt at the Travers S. on the dirt at Saratoga later this summer. Meanwhile, dual Derby and Breeders' Cup hero Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact {Jpn}), arguably the most important older horse to have been kept in training at Ballydoyle for many years, is set to get his campaign underway...

Aidan O'Brien's 2024 Flat Turf campaign got off to a perfect beginning at The Curragh on Monday as the 3-year-old filly Brilliant (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}--Plying, by Hard Spun) flew the flag in the G3 Lodge Park Stud Irish EBF Park Express S. Runner-up in the G3 Newtownanner Stud Irish EBF S. over this mile trip and track and third in the seven-furlong G3 Weld Park S. also here last term, the 7-2 second favourite was steadied towards the rear early by Declan McDonogh and crept into contention once straightened for...

Opera Singer (Justify), winner of the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and winter favourite for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas, may miss the first Classic of the season after meeting with a setback in training. Her trainer Aidan O'Brien confirmed the news in an interview on Racing TV. He said, "Opera Singer is a bit behind. She had a little setback, she had two weeks easy and might not make the English Guineas. She is likely to start in the Irish Guineas and we don't want to force her." Bred by the...

For the first time since 1996, Seamie Heffernan will not be based at Ballydoyle--but Aidan O'Brien's long and trusted ally has revealed that he still hopes to be riding big-race winners in the Coolmore colours in the future.  It has been one of the worst kept secrets in Irish racing for some time that Heffernan, one of the constants at Ballydoyle for almost three decades now, would not be returning to the fold.  And on the eve of the opening day of the Flat season in Ireland, Heffernan lifted the...

Helios Express (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}), winner of the Hong Kong Classic Mile and Hong Kong Classic Cup in his two most recent appearances, leads a field of 14 selected runners for the HK$26 million (£2.6 million/US$3.3 million) BMW Hong Kong Derby to be held at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, Mar. 24. The John Size trainee will look to join the likes of the late Rapper Dragon (Aus) (Street Boss) and Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) as horses to sweep the series. Helios Express (rated 102) has been supplanted at the...

The entries for the first two Classics of the season have been released, with 49 horses entered in each of the Qipco 2,000 Guineas and Qipco 1,000 Guineas. The colts will line up at Newmarket on Saturday, May 4 when it is likely that much of the attention will focus on the unbeaten City Of Troy (Justify), who at this stage is the ante-post favourite for the 2,000 Guineas. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, he has left Ireland for two of his three starts to win the G2 Superlative S. at...

Wayne Lordan described his return to race-riding at Dundalk on Friday following an eight-month spell on the sidelines through injury as "a great feeling" and admitted to not realising how much he missed competitive action until he got the leg up aboard Navy Seal (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Patton Race. Alas, the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt could not provide Lordan with a dream return, as he trailed home last of the three runners, but Lordan's spirits could not have been dented after completing the comeback.  The multiple Group 1 and...

 The winners of the His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Racing Excellence Awards, with Japanese superstar Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Best Horse Award winner, were announced during the Super Saturday card at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday. The award winners are selected on criteria designated by the Dubai Racing Club (DRC), overseen by the Trustee's Committee. The public selects the People's Choice Award. The full list of winners are as follows: Best Horse: Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) Best Jockey: Ryan Moore Best Trainer: Aidan O'Brien...

A total of 72 horses have been entered for the 2024 G1 Derby at Epsom Downs on Saturday, June 1, the richest race in Britain with total prize-money of £1.5 million. Of the 72, 23 are trained in Ireland, including the outstanding juvenile of 2023, City Of Troy (Justify), last seen winning the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket by three and a half lengths in impressive fashion. He is one of 17 entries for Aidan O'Brien, the most successful trainer in the history of the Classic having saddled nine winners since...