Ballydoyle

Coolmore and Westerberg's hitherto unraced Albert Einstein (Wootton Bassett) had received favourable reports in recent dispatches from Ballydoyle and justified his lofty reputation with a TDN Rising Star performance going just shy of six furlongs in Saturday's Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Naas. The January-foaled bay's potential was reflected in the betting market and he headed postward as a rock-solid 1-2 favourite for this Royal Ascot stepping stone. Shadowing the pace set by 9-4 market rival Evening Blues (Blue Point) after a professional exit, he quickened smartly to challenge...

With just two overmatched rivals in opposition, Aidan O'Brien trainee Giselle's superior form and class told as the daughter of Frankel overcame Lingfield's Epsom-style intricacies, delivering a facile nine-length success in the track's William Hill-sponsored Listed Oaks Trial on Saturday. Last term's G3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes third and 3-10 pick was a shade keen racing third in a first-time hood through the initial stages of this seasonal debut. Negotiating the downhill section and taking closer order in the home straight, she seized control approaching the quarter-mile marker and bounded clear...

There wasn't a great deal left for Aidan O'Brien to achieve at Chester's marquee May Festival, but Thursday saw him register another historic feat as he completed an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening two day's black-type events. Already responsible for the winners of the G3 Chester Vase, Listed Cheshire Oaks and Listed Dee Stakes, all ridden by Ryan Moore, he was able to fulfil the quota with Illinois in the G3 Ormonde Stakes. Sent off the 6-5 favourite having his first start of the season under a five-pound penalty,...

Aidan O'Brien trainee Mount Kilimanjaro (Siyouni) needed every yard of Thursday's Listed Boodles Raindance Dee Stakes and continued the Ballydoyle maestro's dominance of this year's Chester Cup meeting with a seventh win in eight renewals, and a record-breaking 12th overall, in the extended 10-furlong contest. Last year's Criterium d'Automne winner and G1 Criterium International runner-up broke well and settled in fifth passing the judge first time, but slipped to sixth at halfway. Coming under pressure with a quarter-mile remaining, the even-money favourite was under a full Ryan Moore pump thereafter...

Thursday, Chester, post time: 15:05, LADBROKES BIG-VALUE YOU CAN BET ON ORMONDE STAKES-G3, £140,000, 4yo/up, 13f 84yT Field: Illinois (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Al Qareem (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}), Absurde (Fr) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Mondo Man (GB) (Mondialiste {Ire}), Mount Atlas (GB) (Masar {Ire}), Roaring Legend (Fr) (Roaring Lion). TDN Verdict: Aidan O'Brien is gradually taking control of this May Festival as Barry Hills once did and he could have the outright record in this race if Illinois makes last year's form count. Responsible for six winners so far, the master of...

Chester's May Festival is all about Ballydoyle these days and they were at it again on Wednesday's opening fixture with Lambourn bringing up a feature-race double in the G3 Chester Vase. Like the yard's preceding Cheshire Oaks winner Minnie Hauk, the G3 Ballysax Stakes runner-up was well-supported and with Ryan Moore able to gain a prominent pitch behind the leading pair soon after the start the writing was already on the wall. In the end, it was the Charlie Johnston-trained G3 Prix de Conde winner Lazy Griff who had most to say about...

Entering Wednesday's Listed Cheshire Oaks with great expectations, Ballydoyle's €1.85 million 2023 Goffs Orby Book 1 topper Minnie Hauk duly delivered to enter the Oaks picture. Sent off the 13-8 favourite for the extended 11-furlong trial for that Epsom Classic, the daughter of Frankel tended to race a touch lazily behind the pace-setter Queen Of Thieves but was able to answer every call from Ryan Moore to take command inside the final three furlongs. Sticking to her task in the home straight, the relative of Kingman and Oasis Dream had a length to...

Returning to the scene of his G1 Irish Derby triumph, Ballydoyle's Los Angeles got his 4-year-old campaign off to a flyer in Monday's G2 Coolmore Stud City Of Troy Irish EBF Mooresbridge Stakes at The Curragh. Tracking the pace in second under Ryan Moore, the son of Camelot who was sent off the 10-11 favourite took over approaching the furlong pole and stayed on grimly to deny last year's winner White Birch by a neck. "He's a lovely big honest horse. When he gets there he doesn't do much, but...

In what is teed up to be a potentially stellar renewal of Newmarket's G1 Betfred 1,000 Guineas on Sunday, Godolphin's TDN Rising Star Desert Flower and Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Lake Victoria head a cast of ten. As in the 2,000 Guineas, Aidan O'Brien has just one contender in the unbeaten triple top-level-winning daughter of Frankel, having withdrawn his other three entries including Bedtime Story and Exactly, and her meeting with the Charlie Appleby-trained G1 Fillies' Mile-winning daughter of Night Of Thunder is one to relish. Other notables include another Frankel special in Juddmonte's...

Naas's opening six-furlong fillies' maiden on Monday has a rich recent history and there was a lot to suggest that Ballydoyle's Simply Astounding (Wootton Bassett {GB}) can add another chapter. The fourth foal out of the high-achiever Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the 11-8 favourite was out smartly and able to keep close tabs on the leading pair with Ryan Moore enjoying a straightforward trip. In front two out, the homebred drew away along with the well-regarded Cape Sounion (Ire) (No Nay Never) to beat that Donnacha O'Brien-trained rival by 1...

While visually making heavy weather of bringing up a third renewal of Navan's Listed Bar One Racing Vintage Crop Stakes on Saturday, Ballydoyle's stayer supreme Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is back and at this point still in command of this sphere. Those unaccustomed to the way the 7-year-old operates would have found themselves underwhelmed at the way he took a relative age to subdue the drastically overmatched Poetic Sound (Ire) (Poet's Word {Ire}) in this 14-furlong warm-up for the season's Cup races, with even takers of the cramped 1-7 on...

Navan's Saturday card featured a trio of black-type contests, but early focus centred on the €18,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden for juveniles, in which Coolmore and Westerberg's Charles Darwin (Ire) (No Nay Never), a full-brother to dual Group 1 winner Blackbeard (Ire), illuminated proceedings with a spectacular 5 1/2-length triumph. Aidan O'Brien had annexed three consecutive renewals of the near-six furlong contest, including with subsequent G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero Camille Pissarro (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) last year, and his 8-11 pick was away sharply to gain immediate control...