Sugar Island surprises O'Brien in winning Curragh start
O'Brien said: 'She was really just ready to start off. Ryan said she was green but still won nicely and he liked her.
'She'd have no problem going into a Group race over a mile and you'd like to give her another run before then.
'I thought she'd be still a maiden after this and then we could run her in another maiden. Sometimes it's easier on them when they can have two runs in maidens.
'She'll stay a mile and a quarter next year.'
O'Brien and Moore added to their tally with Light As Air in the Hong Kong Thoroughbred Breeders Alliance Irish EBF Maiden, the 1-2 favourite having last been seen finishing well down the field in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot.
O'Brien said: 'We thought he was a well-handicapped horse. He was unlucky at Leopardstown and was also placed at Navan, but was a bit disappointing at Ascot last time.
'Today we thought he'd win easier than that, but we think there is more to come with him. Ryan gave him a good ride.
'We might give him a little more time now. He'd a tough race there and Ryan said the second horse kept coming with him all the way, but he didn't lie down.
'He stays well and looks like he could get further.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
Like buying money – The two odds-on ‘steering jobs' tipped to leave bookies in tears at Glorious Goodwood
ANTE-POST punting is a dangerous road littered with torn betslips and shattered dreams. But every now and then a seemingly golden opportunity presents itself. 1 Too good to be true? Maybe. But unless you take the plunge you'll never know. Punters who like to smash into favourites at very short prices will often talk about the notion of 'buying money'. It doesn't always work. Just this week we saw 2-13 Royal Ascot runner-up Thesecretadversary beaten by a 28-1 outsider. But you'd hope there would be fewer chances for things to go so seismically wrong in Group 1s. And that's where John Gosden's Field Of Gold and Aidan O'Brien's Illinois come in. Both are currently odds-on for their respective races at next week's Glorious Goodwood. Field Of Gold, who perhaps should have won the 2,000 Guineas, and definitely did win the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes, is a best-price 1-2 to win the Sussex Stakes next Wednesday. His big market rival - and second-fav - Rosallion was a big drifter on the Betfair Exchange and could be sent elsewhere. Illinois was second to Trawlerman in last month's Ascot Gold Cup. But he is a proven Group-level performer - albeit he has always come up short in Group 1s - and last finished outside the top two in April 2024 - NINE races ago. He is a best-price 8-11 to win the 2m feature next Tuesday. There is a chance O'Brien could run recent brilliant Newmarket scorer Scandinavia instead. But this looks a golden opportunity for Illinois to get his Group 1, with 4-1 second-fav French Master moving up from handicaps. Backing shorties in a double like this wouldn't be my go-to method of punting. But if you put the pair together now you'd still get better than evens, with a £20 punt returning £48.44 with Ladbrokes. Buying money? Like everything, it comes with its risks... Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who:
Reuters
18 hours ago
- Reuters
Mickey Moniak homers as Rockies double up Cardinals
July 23 - Mickey Moniak homered and singled, Ryan McMahon also went deep, and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-4 in Denver on Tuesday night. Bradley Blalock (1-2) pitched into the sixth inning, Brenton Doyle had three hits and Adael Amador doubled twice for Colorado. The Rockies have won three of four out of the All-Star break. Willson Contreras, Jordan Walker, Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson had two hits each for St. Louis, which has lost 12 of its last 17. Colorado jumped on Cardinals starter Erick Fedde early. Moniak hit a solo homer in the first inning, his 15th of the season, and the Rockies added two more in the second. McMahon walked, Doyle singled and Amador hit a two-out double to right field to drive in both runners and make it 3-0. Colorado extended the lead in the third when Moniak and Jordan Beck singled and McMahon hit his 16th home run to make it 6-0. Fedde (3-10) allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings. St. Louis got a couple back in the fourth. Burleson singled, went to third on a double by Contreras and scored on Nolan Arenado's groundout. Contreras came home on Masyn Winn's single off the glove of first baseman Michael Toglia. The Rockies tacked on another run in the fifth on Ezequiel Tovar's double and Doyle's RBI single. The Cardinals threatened in the sixth when they had runners at the corners with no outs but Blalock retired Arenado and reliever Jake Bird came on to get the next two batters to strand the runners. Blalock (1-2) allowed two runs on eight hits, walked one and didn't have a strikeout in 5 1/3 innings. St. Louis got a run in the seventh on Donovan's run-scoring double but didn't cash in for any more runs despite having two on with one out, but did score in the eighth when Walker and Yohel Pozo hit two-out doubles. Moniak walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to give Colorado an insurance run. --Field Level Media
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Clyde v Stenhousemuir
Update: Date: 6' Title: Post Content: Ryan Duncan (Stenhousemuir) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Update: Date: 6' Title: Post Content: Foul by Mouhamed Niang (Clyde). Update: Date: 1' Title: Kick Off Content: First Half begins. Update: Date: 1' Title: Post Content: Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
