Aidan O'Brien

Stepping up to a mile and a quarter for the first time, Ballydoyle's Galleria Borghese (Ire) (Caravaggio--On Ice {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) showed the extra stamina requirement held no fears when making all to capture Wednesday's Listed Al Shira'aa Racing Irish EBF Naas Oaks Trial at Naas. Sent straight to the front by Wayne Lordan, the 12-1 shot who had been second at Limerick five days earlier showed resilience to hold Alizarine (GB) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) by half a length, with the strong-finishing Seisai (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) a nose...

Aidan O'Brien has supplemented Cazoo Oaks winner Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on Saturday.  Tuesday will be ridden by Ryan Moore as she bids to become the third horse to win the Oaks and the Irish Derby, following on from Salsabil (GB) (Sadler's Wells) in 1990 and Balanchine (Storm Bird {Can}) four years later.  O'Brien, a record-breaking 14-time winner of the Irish Derby, has also left Anchorage (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and...

Classic-winning filly Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) has been retired to Coolmore Stud with her trainer Aidan O'Brien describing last year's G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas heroine as "a top-class mare". As well as winning the 1000 Guineas under Frankie Dettori, Mother Earth stormed to G1 Prix Rothschild glory at Deauville for Ryan Moore last term but was retired after failing to fire in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge S. at Royal Ascot last week.  O'Brien told TDN Europe, "Mother Earth was a very good filly. She ran a lot as...

It hasn't been done in over 25 years, but Cazoo Oaks heroine Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) could bid to become the first filly since Balanchine (Storm Bird {Can}) in 1994 to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Saturday, her trainer Aidan O'Brien has revealed. Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who many believed was the ace in O'Brien's three-year-old pack, was sidelined shortly after finishing third in the 2000 Guineas and, after drawing a blank in the Derby, the master of Ballydoyle admitted that he may yet turn to the...

Royal Ascot 2022 had everything and from Ryan Moore playing with his rivals like a cat does with a mouse, to Charlie Appleby revealing he is eyeing a tilt at the A$10-million Golden Eagle with Noble Truth (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) after the gelding won the G3 Jersey S., the fifth and final day generated many more talking points. Brian Sheerin has been digesting the action for the week and is back once again to flesh out the major takeaways from Saturday's action.   Appleby Bidding To Snare The Eagle With...

It was a week of milestones. Eighty Royal Ascot winners for Aidan O'Brien and seventy for his main jockey Ryan Moore. But with this particular pair the counter never really sits still, and by the end of five days and 35 races, the trainer had boosted his tally to 81 - just one shy of Sir Michael Stoute's record - while Moore clocked off on 73, three behind current leader Frankie Dettori. A far more telling statistic for the head of the vast Ballydoyle training operation was that the victory...

With the scene set on the final day of Royal Ascot, Saturday's G2 Hardwicke S. produced the inevitable as Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) conjured a 900th group win for Aidan O'Brien. Ryan Moore was the sorcerer once again, as the meeting's leading rider pulled off a front-running tour de force on the 6-1 shot who had already contributed five to that awe-inspiring tally. In many ways, last year's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud hero and Breeders' Cup Turf runner-up is a fitting horse to bring up the milestone, typifying the...

Hard to keep a rider as talented as Frankie Dettori out of the spotlight and, after a difficult start to the royal meeting, the legendary rider answered his critics aboard Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who produced a stunning performance to win the G1 Coronation S. From Dettori bouncing back to Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) confirming himself one of the fastest horses in training, in doing so sparking debate about where he may stand as a stallion, Brian Sheerin discusses some of the main talking points from another hugely entertaining...

All the rage for Friday's G2 King Edward VII S., Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) issued a display of resolute galloping in the Westerberg silks to make it a landmark 80th Royal Ascot winner for Aidan O'Brien. Fifth in the Derby only 13 days ago, the G3 Chester Vase winner was taken to the lead by Ryan Moore soon after the start and was asked several questions on the long journey to the home straight, but kept responding to pressure to see off all bar the Derby 11th Grand Alliance (Ire)...

The heat was on at Royal Ascot on Friday, but Aidan O'Brien could rest easy with Ryan Moore and Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) keeping it simple as they dominated the G3 Albany S. with a performance that was as impressive as it was straightforward. Sent off the 5-2 second favourite with Godolphin's Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) shading it at 2-1, the €360,000 Arqana Deauville August graduate who had already passed the test of Naas's G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint S. with comfort was sent to...

There has been no shortage of talking points at Royal Ascot this week but, perhaps the most controversial incident of them all came in the opening race on Thursday, when Paul Hanagan received a 10-day careless riding ban for veering halfway across the track en route to victory in the G2 Norfolk S. aboard The Ridler (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}). From that controversy to another forgettable afternoon's work for Frankie Dettori, out of luck aboard Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Gold Cup and The Queen's 2-5...

Thursday's G1 Gold Cup maintained its place at the heart of Royal Ascot with a thrilling and dramatic finale as Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ryan Moore outgunned Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), with the latter falling foul to ill fortune for the second consecutive year. Sent off the 13-8 favourite on the back of his wins in Navan's Listed Vintage Crop S. Apr. 23 and Leopardstown's G3 Saval Beg Levmoss S. May 13, Kyprios who represents the consortium of Moyglare...