O'Brien: Lake Victoria future not certain
Following an interrupted preparation she could finish only sixth on her return to action in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, and while she bounced back to her best with a brilliant display in the Irish equivalent, she was subsequently ruled out of Royal Ascot and has not yet returned to work.
LAKE VICTORIA wins the Irish 1000 Guineas! 🏆
What a day for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore! @curraghrace @Tattersalls_ie | @coolmorestud pic.twitter.com/OFv4quBXPC
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 25, 2025
O'Brien – who is weighing up whether to run Jan Brueghel and/or dual Derby winner Lambourn in the King George at Ascot next weekend – said of Lake Victoria in an interview with ITV Racing: 'She is not back in exercise yet. She's doing very well physically, but she's not back in work yet.
'John (Halley, vet) will make the decision on whether she comes back into work for this year or is left alone until next year or is retired altogether. They'll be decisions that will be made as weeks go by.'
The Ballydoyle handler also confirmed his Coral-Eclipse first and fourth Delacroix and Camille Pissarro are both being trained for next month's Juddmonte International at York, despite bookmaker support prompting speculation the former could drop back to a mile for a clash with Field Of Gold in Goodwood's Sussex Stakes.
Gstaad and Ryan Moore after winning at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)
With the highly touted Albert Einstein 'probably not' going to run going to run again this season, O'Brien's juvenile team for the second half of the season is set to be led by Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad, who has several Group One options coming up.
O'Brien added: 'Gstaad is very well, he's come out of the Coventry very well. We're thinking he could be a Heinz (Phoenix Stakes) horse, he could take in Deauville (Prix Morny) and he could take in the National Stakes and he could end up being a Dewhurst horse at the end.'
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Find out more here. 3.45 Whispering Angel Handicap HEADMASTER is intriguing as he makes his debut in the handicap sphere. There is much to like about the William Haggas trainee's pedigree - Headmaster is a son of Dubawi and the Somerville Lodge stable's three-time Prix de la Forêt heroine, One Master. Headmaster didn't make the track as a juvenile and he was gelded by the time he took on seven opponents for a novice stakes at Lingfield Park in May, finishing a three-quarter-length second to Elarak. The runner-up berth once more beckoned at Windsor at the end of June as Headmaster went down by a neck to Antipodes. But there was no mistake at the third time of asking as my choice justified odds of 2-5 in style at Haydock Park 15 days ago, humbling Palio Di Siena by four and a quarter lengths. Headmaster looks capable of a good deal better and, from an opening mark of 88, he should give Japanese rising star Mirai Iwata a good spin. 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