Aidan O'Brien

Homebreds hold the upper hand in the fillies' Classic, but the Arqana Deauville Select Yearling Sale, delayed from August and renamed in the first year of the pandemic, is well represented with graduates at ParisLongchamp on Sunday. Notably, Blue Diamond Stud bought the dams of both Mangoustine (Fr) and Sicilian Defense (GB) on the same day at the Arqana December Sale of 2019.   ROSACEA (IRE), Soldier Hollow (GB)--Relizane (GB) (Zamindar) Owner/Breeder: Haras De La Perelle Trainer: Stephane Wattel Pedigree insight: She is the third foal out of Relizane (GB)...

Aidan O'Brien trainee Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}--Best In The World {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) was all the rage for Friday's seven-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Leopardstown and justified market support, and then some, with a dominant debut performance, earning a TDN Rising Star rosette by 4 1/2 lengths on his birthday. The stable had won the contest in recent years with G1 Dewhurst S.-winning sire War Command (War Front) and G2 Vintage S.-winning sire War Decree (War Front) and also prepared Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to finish...

ROSEGREEN, Ireland--He may have drawn a blank in the opening Classics of the season at Newmarket but Aidan O'Brien is taking dead aim at ParisLongchamp on Sunday and nominated Toy (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to be on course for the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches while The Acropolis (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) will be the sole Ballydoyle representative in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains on the same afternoon. Toy, a sister to seven black-type horses, including 2,000 Guineas winner Gleneagles (Ire), got off the mark at the third attempt over seven...

For Aidan O'Brien it had been a week of mostly ups, with one major down. On Friday morning, the winter favourite for the Derby, Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), was found to be lame behind after exercise, having been shortened in the betting for Epsom following his third-placed finish in the 2000 Guineas. By Sunday he had been ruled out of the Derby completely, just as another potential star emerged from the Ballydoyle battalions in the hugely impressive Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). A maiden until the end of March on...

ROSEGREEN, Ireland--Ryan Moore will find it difficult to ride anything other than Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Cazoo Derby, according to Aidan O'Brien, who may be without the ace--Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB})--in his Epsom pack, but expects to run up to six colts as he bids for a record-extending ninth win in the race on June 4. Stone Age didn't just open the door to a tilt at the Derby in winning the G3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday, he kicked it open and announced himself as...

The week's narrative had involved Aidan O'Brien, Ryan Moore and the ground-breaking Galileo (Ire) and that ran into Sunday's G3 Cornelscourt S. at Leopardstown as the aptly-named History (Ire) swooped in the last of the trials for the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas. At 2.8million gns the second-highest-priced lot at the 2020 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, the daughter of the multiple graded-stakes winner Prize Exhibit (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) was last seen breaking her maiden at this trip at Gowran Park in September. Soon manoeuvred to mid-division from her wide...

Team Ballydoyle had registered five prior wins in Lingfield's Listed SBK Derby Trial, including with subsequent G1 Epsom Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in 2019, and Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore teamed up once again with United Nations (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}--Christmas Kid, by Lemon Drop Kid) to continue their banner week with a hard-fought victory in this year's edition. For sire Galileo, it was a fourth new stakes winner of the week and extended the Coolmore icon's world-record tally to 351. United Nations graduated over seven furlongs...

Aidan O'Brien's stable is going great guns at this fledgling stage of the season and there was another TDN Rising Star off the production line at Naas on Saturday as the 2-year-old Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never--Adventure Seeker {Fr}) booked his Royal Ascot ticket. Narrowly denied on debut by the Ger Lyons-trained Tough Talk (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) over six furlongs at The Curragh Apr. 10, the descendant of the legendary All Along (Fr) was backed down to 4-9 to deliver dropping to five for this Irish Stallion Farms...

After Aidan O'Brien had taken Chester by storm to an even greater extent than usual, the Rosegreen purple patch continued apace at Cork on Friday evening when the closing race saw a TDN Rising Star performance by the newcomer Martinstown (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Named after J P McManus's famous Co. Limerick establishment, the May-foaled bay carries the colours of his daughter Sue Ann Foley who owns him in partnership with Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor and with his title there was an air of expectation surrounding his debut under Wayne...

Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), the short-priced favourite for the Cazoo Derby, is not certain to line up at Epsom after meeting with a setback, Aidan O'Brien has revealed. Third in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket last Saturday, Luxembourg had been a general 2-1 chance for Derby glory before O'Brien revealed the news to the Racing Post on Friday. He said, "Luxembourg was a little bit off after his canter this morning. He was a little lame on his off-hind." O'Brien added, "We are not sure of the reason why at...

Chester's May meeting, day two, status quo. Fresh off a day for the ages, Galileo extended his record tally of stakes winners to 350 when Aidan O'Brien trainee Star of India (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}--Shermeen {Ire}, by Desert Style {Ire}) displayed all the battling traits of his sire by finding plenty in the latter stages of Thursday's Listed Homeserve Dee S. to claim a first black-type rosette in ultimately impressive style. Star of India became a 'TDN Rising Star' with a taking score over seven furlongs in his debut at Leopardstown...

Westerberg and Coolmore's Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) may have face markings in the form of a question mark, but there was no doubting his class in Wednesday's G3 Boodles Chester Vase as the 10-3 chance bounded to an impressive 6 1/2-length triumph and extended sire Galileo's world-record tally of stakes winners to 349 in the day's extended 12-furlong feature. He had previously graduated by six lengths in an April Fools' Day maiden at Dundalk in his fourth start on seasonal return. Ryan Moore, who had made all aboard Ballydoyle's Thoughts...