Rock Of Cashel gets his head in front for Navan victory
Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old had been highly tried since winning a Galway maiden last season, running in the National Stakes and the Dewhurst last autumn.
This term he has been campaigned in Group and Listed company before trying his hand in a handicap to no avail at Royal Ascot.
Against just three runners in this conditions race, however, he took command early in the straight under Wayne Lordan to down Johnny Murtagh's 1-4 favourite Nautical Force by two lengths at 3-1.
O'Brien's stable representative Chris Armstrong said: 'The way the race worked out, it was a lovely race for him.
'In fairness to him, he has been dropped in the deep end from word go this year. He ran with credit behind Henri Matisse and Delacroix and was beaten five to six lengths behind proper Group One horses.
'Obviously, Johnny's horse brought a high level of form here. Wayne gave him a lovely ride and the race worked out for him beautifully.
'He's a horse we thought of as a stakes horse after Galway last year as a two-year-old, so hopefully this will do his confidence good and we will bring him back up to a stakes race over a mile and a-quarter and see how he goes.'
Murtagh had already been on the mark with newcomer Zuheila (5-2) in the Ardboyne Hotel Maiden.
Ben Coen nursed the Aga Khan Studs-owned three-year-old into the closing stages before getting down to business to beat Ger Lyons' Washington Street by half a length.
Coen said: 'She's a nice, big filly and bred to have a bit of speed. She has been doing things nice at home.
'You can see why she hasn't got to the track until now, she's a big girl but she did that nicely. She had a good look when she hit the front, but hopefully she can stay improving.
'She was (doing all her best work late) – she was green running down the hill and, when I hit the rising ground, she came good.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
11 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Field sights set on Sussex gold
Narrowly denied Classic glory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, John and Thady Gosden's grey has made no mistake in two subsequent starts, demonstrating his dazzling acceleration in both the Irish Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. His sire Kingman landed both of those Group One events before completing his hat-trick in this race 11 years ago and Field Of Gold is odds-on to follow suit in the hands of William Buick, who takes over in the saddle from the suspended Colin Keane. SUPERSTAR! FIELD OF GOLD ROUTS THEM IN THE ST JAMES'S PALACE STAKES! #RoyalAscot — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2025 'The horse is athletic, he's got great balance, and hopefully he'll handle the track well. It's very different to the round mile of Ascot or the Curragh, that's for sure,' said John Gosden. 'He does have that great turn of foot, let's hope we get a clear run and he can produce it on the day. 'His father won the Sussex in somewhat cheeky fashion, it was an extraordinary race. They literally crawled, then sprinted in the last two furlongs, and fortunately we got it just right on the line.' Field Of Gold renews rivalry with St James's Palace runner-up Henri Matisse, who had previously landed the French 2000 Guineas for Aidan O'Brien. The Wootton Bassett colt has three and a half lengths to find with the hot favourite from their Royal Ascot meeting and O'Brien is keeping his fingers crossed he can at least close the gap. 'So far everything has gone well since Ascot and we're looking forward to seeing him run,' he said. 'We think he's gone the right way since Ascot.' The older brigade is headed by Docklands and Rosallion, who were split by just a nose when second in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting. Harry Eustace, the trainer of Docklands, said: 'The track should suit him. He has run there before (in 2023) and to the eye was a little disappointing, but it was his first run off the back of his win in the Britannia and, in hindsight, I don't know whether I had him 100 per cent. 'He handled Epsom well, so I have no problem with the cambers at Goodwood. The quality of the race might be another matter. 'It can't be overstated how important he's been for us for the last three years. We'll cherish his two wins at Royal Ascot forever. 'We're a relatively young business and he is by a long way our flagship horse – he has been key to everything that's happened since.' Meanwhile, Richard Hannon will be looking to replicate some of the great days his father enjoyed in this race with the likes of Canford Cliffs and Toronado as he runs his stable star Rosallion. Like Field Of Gold, the son of Blue Point suffered defeat in the 2000 Guineas before landing Classic honours in Ireland and then scoring at Royal Ascot and his loyal pilot Sean Levey is relishing this mouthwatering clash of generations. He told Ladbrokes: 'There's no doubt Field Of Gold is going to be very difficult to beat, based on what we've seen of him so far. He's an exceptional horse, but I think we have the right attributes to take him on. 'He's a four-year-old this year which means he has to give away weight, but he's improved with every run, in my opinion, from the Lockinge to just being denied at Ascot in the Queen Anne. He's improved, as good horses do, and I know he's in a really good place coming into this. 'To be fair, I think we were very unlucky to be denied in the Queen Anne by what was literally the flare of a nostril and he ran into a specialist in Docklands, who was very good on the day. 'But Goodwood is a different story altogether and Rosallion is a good horse who has shown his versatility across a number of racetracks.'
Leader Live
11 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Hollie Doyle shines as Witness Stand lifts Lennox Stakes
There was early drama as Ralph Beckett's race regular and leading fancy Kinross was withdrawn at the start after receiving a kick, while Ed Walker's Royal Ascot winner Noble Champion was eased down and pulled up early into the piece. However, Doyle avoided any complications as she latched Witness Stand on to the small cluster to go forward from start, always in the slipstream of customary front-runner Quinault and defending champion Audience. It looked momentarily like Audience would recreate last year's heroics, but the 25-1 winner found plenty in reserve inside the final furlong to gallop home two-and-three-quarter-lengths clear of William Haggas' Lake Forest, the only runner to emerge from the chasing pack late on. Insole said: 'As a trainer you wait your whole life for a good horse and to win the Lennox is pretty incredible. 'We bought him for a hundred grand and felt he'd gone under the radar as there were higher offers for him that came our way afterwards. I already had this race in mind for him. 'It was his Chester run (second in a Listed race) that gave us the confidence to come here, and when I saw the rain this morning and the slower ground I knew it would be to his advantage. 'He's in the Hungerford (at Newbury), but would have to carry a penalty now. I also put him in the Foret this morning.' For co-trainer Newland it was a red-letter day in his new venture alongside Insole training on the level alongside his Grand National heroics in the jumps sphere. He is also a part-owner of the winner. Newland said: 'It's a great result and fair play to Jamie and all the team. It was a lovely ride from Hollie in a funny sort of race, but I'm not complaining. 'Jamie leads the Flat team day-to-day, but I am involved in the background and discussing the training and placing of horses. 'I'm also a part-owner of that horse so it's a terrific result. He was bought to be a flag bearer due to his high rating and it was a superb bit of purchasing by Jamie and Matt Holdsworth at the sales and now we've had a payday to get some money back and give us a high-profile winner which is fabulous.' He added: 'It's more than dipping our toe in and we're more of a Flat yard now. There's a number of reasons for that but I'm loving the new challenge of it and it's quite a big thing to try and re-establish yourself as a Flat yard after being a jumps yard for so long. 'I'm thrilled with how it's going and we've some lovely horses coming through. It's great fun and I've been doing the job 20 years so it's nice to have a new challenge.'
Glasgow Times
6 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Field sights set on Sussex gold
Narrowly denied Classic glory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, John and Thady Gosden's grey has made no mistake in two subsequent starts, demonstrating his dazzling acceleration in both the Irish Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. His sire Kingman landed both of those Group One events before completing his hat-trick in this race 11 years ago and Field Of Gold is odds-on to follow suit in the hands of William Buick, who takes over in the saddle from the suspended Colin Keane. SUPERSTAR! FIELD OF GOLD ROUTS THEM IN THE ST JAMES'S PALACE STAKES! #RoyalAscot — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2025 'The horse is athletic, he's got great balance, and hopefully he'll handle the track well. It's very different to the round mile of Ascot or the Curragh, that's for sure,' said John Gosden. 'He does have that great turn of foot, let's hope we get a clear run and he can produce it on the day. 'His father won the Sussex in somewhat cheeky fashion, it was an extraordinary race. They literally crawled, then sprinted in the last two furlongs, and fortunately we got it just right on the line.' Field Of Gold renews rivalry with St James's Palace runner-up Henri Matisse, who had previously landed the French 2000 Guineas for Aidan O'Brien. Henri Matisse takes on Field Of Gold again (Brian Lawless/PA) The Wootton Bassett colt has three and a half lengths to find with the hot favourite from their Royal Ascot meeting and O'Brien is keeping his fingers crossed he can at least close the gap. 'So far everything has gone well since Ascot and we're looking forward to seeing him run,' he said. 'We think he's gone the right way since Ascot.' The older brigade is headed by Docklands and Rosallion, who were split by just a nose when second in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting. Harry Eustace, the trainer of Docklands, said: 'The track should suit him. He has run there before (in 2023) and to the eye was a little disappointing, but it was his first run off the back of his win in the Britannia and, in hindsight, I don't know whether I had him 100 per cent. 'He handled Epsom well, so I have no problem with the cambers at Goodwood. The quality of the race might be another matter. 'It can't be overstated how important he's been for us for the last three years. We'll cherish his two wins at Royal Ascot forever. 'We're a relatively young business and he is by a long way our flagship horse – he has been key to everything that's happened since.' Meanwhile, Richard Hannon will be looking to replicate some of the great days his father enjoyed in this race with the likes of Canford Cliffs and Toronado as he runs his stable star Rosallion. Sean Levey aboard Rosallion after winning at Royal Ascot last year (John Walton/PA) Like Field Of Gold, the son of Blue Point suffered defeat in the 2000 Guineas before landing Classic honours in Ireland and then scoring at Royal Ascot and his loyal pilot Sean Levey is relishing this mouthwatering clash of generations. He told Ladbrokes: 'There's no doubt Field Of Gold is going to be very difficult to beat, based on what we've seen of him so far. He's an exceptional horse, but I think we have the right attributes to take him on. 'He's a four-year-old this year which means he has to give away weight, but he's improved with every run, in my opinion, from the Lockinge to just being denied at Ascot in the Queen Anne. He's improved, as good horses do, and I know he's in a really good place coming into this. 'To be fair, I think we were very unlucky to be denied in the Queen Anne by what was literally the flare of a nostril and he ran into a specialist in Docklands, who was very good on the day. 'But Goodwood is a different story altogether and Rosallion is a good horse who has shown his versatility across a number of racetracks.'
