Illinois reported in fine spirits for Ormonde assignment

The Herald Scotland

07-05-2025

That was over a mile and seven furlongs and he races at just over a furlong less here, but O'Brien could even see him dropping down to a mile and a half later in the season.
Illinois gives Aidan O'Brien another winner of the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot pic.twitter.com/GqLJpP5lWG
— Adam Morgan (@Adam_Morgs) June 19, 2024
Just touched off by stablemate Jan Brueghel in the St Leger, he is giving weight away to his rivals but has the class edge.
'We are happy with everything Illinois is doing and we think he's come forward from last year, when he never ran a bad race and was second to some very good horses before winning on his last start at Longchamp,' said O'Brien.
'He's progressing all of the time and we are looking forward to him this year. He's hopefully one for the Gold Cup, or possibly the Coronation Cup.'
Karl Burke's Al Qareem does not have much to find on the official figures and arrives off the back of a win at Nottingham.
Al Qareem has built up a fine CV (Tim Goode/PA)
'He's not going to get his ground but this was the obvious place to come after the win at Nottingham in the Further Flight,' said syndicate manager Nick Bradley.
'He's won round Chester before and beat the Arc winner Bluestocking round there, so he certainly acts around the track. I think he has to have a huge chance.'
Hugo Palmer's Roaring Legend was a revelation on the all-weather before not much went right on Finals Day.
'Hopefully he can atone for what went wrong at Newcastle last time and coming back in trip will be no problem for him as he has a high cruising speed. He should like the nice quick ground and we're looking forward to seeing him,' said Palmer.
Roaring Legend is a progressive stayer (Adam Davy/PA)
'This will tell us if we have it right this time and he was 10kg heavier than his previous run at Newcastle, which caught me by surprise. Maybe we hadn't done enough with him before the race and he has done more this time since Good Friday, we've kept him busy.
'The plan was always to come to the Ormonde after hopefully winning at Newcastle but the handicapper didn't give us any respite for that, so we didn't have much of a chance but to stick to the plan. Hopefully we get back on track.'
Josh Moore trains expensive purchase Mondo Man with his father Gary but he will need to be revitalised for going back to the Flat after failing to hit the heights expected over hurdles.
'His work has been strong lately, so he's in good order,' Josh Moore said. 'He ran some really nice races as a three-year-old, he was always bought with the view of going back on to the Flat.
Mondo Man is back on the Flat (Adam Morgan/PA)
'He's training well, looks well, etc, so it will be a good starting point for him.
'The intention of buying him was to run him at Royal Ascot, but we aren't sure (which race), so we are trying a mile and five (furlongs).'
Willie Mullins' dual purpose performer Absurde and Andrew Balding's Mount Atlas complete the field.