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Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Jan Brueghel and Calandagan set for round two clash in Ascot's King George
Round Two between Jan Brueghel and Calandagan is set for Ascot's King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday. British racing's midsummer highlight – and at £1.5 million (over €1.7 million) the most valuable race ever run at Ascot – will stage the latest clash between the pair that fought out a memorable finish to last month's Coronation Cup. On that occasion, last year's St Leger hero Jan Brueghel delivered a doughty performance to win by half-a-length for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore. Since then, his French rival has impressed with a Group One victory of his own in the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud, when he emphatically ended a streak of four runner-up placings. READ MORE It helped quash some doubters of Calandagan's resolution after he was outstayed by the Irish winner on easy going at Epsom. Conditions look like being quicker this weekend over the course and distance Calandagan impressed when landing last year's King Edward VII Stakes. Just eight entries were left in the King George at Monday's acceptance stage, half of them from O'Brien. They include the dual-Derby hero Lambourn and Whirl, winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes, although the trainer has indicated both will skip Ascot to wait for other assignments. Jessica Harrington left in Green Impact, sixth to Lambourn in last month's Irish Derby, while Kalpana, runner-up to Whirl on her last start at the Curragh, is on course to try her repeat her Group One success at Ascot last autumn. Barry Mahon, racing manager for Kalpana's Juddmonte ownership said: 'She is all systems go for the King George. This has been her intended target since her last run in Ireland, and she is in good shape. 'I think her two runs this year have been very solid. We know she is proven over a mile and a half on soft ground, so for her to produce those performances over 10 furlongs on quicker ground is very promising. 'We would be hopeful of a strong showing on Saturday back over 12 furlongs, for all it looks a competitive race. Calandagan is a top-class horse, and we all saw what Jan Brueghel did at Epsom.' Bookmakers struggled to split Jan Brueghel and Calandagan after Monday's entry, with some making the pair 15-8 joint-favourites. In other news, advance ticket sales for next week's Galway festival are up, with significant cross-channel interest for the weekend action. Galway's chief executive Michael Moloney believes the summer showpiece is benefiting from an overall trend of greater numbers of racegoers coming from Britain for big racing festivals here. 'We've seen UK attendances increase at other Irish festivals and I think we get that bounce, too, coming into the weekend. They take the opportunity to come over and it's great to get it,' he said on Monday. February's Dublin Racing Festival, in particular, has seen a surge of cross-channel racegoers with up to 38 per cent of overall attendance made up of visitors last year. Moloney said that hospitality for one of the most famous racing dates of the year in Ireland has all but sold out. Last year's festival attendance at Ballybrit reached 116,374 over the seven days. That was a significant drop from 122,362 in 2023, but on a par with 2022. The two years prior to that were held behind closed doors due to the Covid pandemic. Almost 150,000 attended a decade ago.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Minnie Hauk's Irish Oaks success extends Aidan O'Brien's stunning Group One winning streak
Minnie Hauk's Juddmonte Irish Oaks success at the Curragh on Saturday means that Aidan O'Brien has saddled the winners of 33 per cent of Group One races run in Ireland, Britain and France so far this season. The remarkable tally of 11 top-flight contests before even halfway through the campaign puts the Irish trainer in contention to break his own world record haul of 28 Group/Grade One races in a single season set in 2017. One bookmaker makes O'Brien a 9-2 shot to do just that in what is fast turning into, even by his own stellar standards, a rare display of elite domination. Minnie Hauk was his seventh Classic victory in 2025. The 2-11 favourite became the 16th filly to complete the Epsom-Curragh Oaks double and is a 10-1 favourite for October's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. READ MORE Afterwards, the Coolmore brains trust led by supremo John Magnier debated the correct route to Longchamp for her, either through the Yorkshire Oaks next month or a test over the Arc course and distance in the Prix Vermeille in September. Both contests figure in the 46 top-class races still up for grabs in Europe's three major racing jurisdictions this season. With global options also expanding in the autumn, including at the Breeders' Cup, a new record tally could be on O'Brien's radar. What's certain is that his current mark is equal at the same point as during his momentous 2017 campaign and that the resources he has available to him are unparalleled. Over the weekend O'Brien revealed that his most exciting two-year-old Albert Einstein probably won't race again this season. There are also doubts about the future of the Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Lake Victoria who may be retired. Despite that, if anything, his hold on this season's top races appears to be only tightening. He has indicated the Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel will renew Epsom rivalry with the top French horse Calandagan in this Saturday's King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. That will allow him keep in reserve the dual-Derby hero Lambourn for a potential tilt at more Classic glory in September's St Leger at Doncaster rather than take on holder horses in British racing's midsummer highlight. 'At the moment I'd say Jan Brueghel is most likely to go to the King George, with Continuous. Lambourn is still on the boiling pot for it, but I don't think he'll be forced into it by any means, and he is a three-year-old,' O'Brien said. 'Jan Brueghel seems to be in very good form and everyone seems to be very happy with him. I'd imagine the lads might let him go there. 'That would mean Lambourn would have a couple of easy weeks and he might go to the Great Voltigeur, even though he's a Group One winner, and kind of set him up for the Leger. They haven't really decided yet, but reading between the lines that's what could happen,' he added. Almost immediately after the King George is the start of the Goodwood festival, where O'Brien horses are favourites for two of the three Group One contests up for grabs there. Illinois is odds-on for the Goodwood Cup, while the Pretty Polly heroine Whirl tops lists for the Nassau Stakes. In between, Henri Matisse is set to again take on his St James's Palace Stakes conqueror Field Of Gold. There are a handful of Group One prizes up for grabs in Deauville. One horse out of the King George equation is the King Edward VII Stakes winner Amiloc. He hasn't recovered from his Royal Ascot exertions in time to satisfy his trainer Ralph Beckett. 'It's a training decision and Ralph felt he could just do with a little bit more time having had a hard race at Royal Ascot,' said a spokesman for Amiloc's ownership. 'The real racing for this horse will be in the autumn time and Ralph thinks it's a little too quick after his last race. It's nothing more than that and nothing untoward.' Monday evening's domestic action in Ballinrobe is more ordinary fare, but the transformed handicapper Deuteronomy gets a shot at completing four wins in a row. Nicola Burns's mount keeps winning by half a length but has been upped 9lbs for winning at Limerick and has to overcome a wide draw.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
CALUM McCLURKIN: Fantastic four that can make Goodwood Glorious for punters
Scanning the early ante-post prices for Glorious Goodwood in nine days' time and it looks like a lot of favourites will be difficult to oppose. The first banker of the week appears to be ILLINOIS (5/6, bet365) in the Goodwood Cup. With no Trawlerman in the field, this seems to be there for the taking for Aidan O'Brien's four-year-old. Illinois travelled into the Ascot Gold Cup in stylish manner buy was outstayed in the end by a more experienced rival in Trawlerman. The drop in trip back to the bare two miles appears to be a huge positive for Illinois. He holds Sweet William on Ascot running and the sole danger looks to be the equally progressive French Master, who took out the Copper Horse Handicap in good style. But this is a much deeper race and takes on a tough rival in Illinois. Favourites have a good record in the Goodwood Cup, with six of the last seven going in. Illinois looks poised to enhance that record and while 5/6 is no gimme there's a case to be made that he ought to be shorter. Illinois can be joined in the multis with the peerless FIELD OF GOLD (4/7, William Hill) a day later in the Sussex Stakes. John and Thady Gosden's three-year-old was unlucky in the Guineas but won the Irish equivalent and the St James's Palace Stakes in good style. Connections sensibly swerved the Eclipse to freshen him up for this and it will be very difficult for Rosallion to give Field Of Gold weight. On official ratings, Field Of Gold is 1lb superior to Rosallion but the three-year-old receives eight pounds from their elders. A tough task has just got even tougher. Field Of Gold showed plenty of speed in the St James's Palace Stakes and it's understandable why the Gosdens are keeping him at a mile for now. Henri Matisse has three and a half lengths to find on Royal Ascot form, while Queen Anne one-two Docklands and Rosallion are probably bigger dangers. However, they have their work cut out in giving Field Of Gold weight. Again, odds of 4-7 are prohibitive but it's not hard to envisage him going off even shorter than that. It's the feature race on day three where a warm favourite can be opposed. Whirl is a tough filly but she's had two hard races from the front against Minnie Hauk in the Oaks and Kalpana in the Pretty Polly Stakes. 2-1 seems short enough. See The Fire is interesting but it wasn't really the plan to go to Royal Ascot and was beaten in this last year by a fellow three-year-old. She's improved subsequently but all her best performances have been at York. We have yet to see the best of BEDTIME STORY (8-1, bet365) but she's always given the impression that the Nassau Stakes is for her. A 10-furlong test with the emphasis on speed looks right up her alley. O'Brien's three-year-old filly has been unlucky in her two Classic runs over in France this season. She made late gains in the French Guineas when she probably needed the run. The wide draw was her undoing in Chantilly when running a mighty race in second in the French Oaks. There was strong money for her that day and Bedtime Story has shown indications that she's back to her very best. The impression she left at the Chesham Stakes at last year's Royal Ascot is still burned into the mind of many. Not a lot has gone right since but perhaps she can make up for lost time and cause a mini surprise at Goodwood in what could be the race of the meeting. The sprinters take centre stage on the Friday and it is little surprise that ASFOORA (5-2, William Hill) heads the market. The sprinter from Australia ran with credit when fifth to American Affair in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, a race she won last year. She went to the royal meeting this year without a prep run and that probably told for Asfoora. She ought to be sharper for the King George at Goodwood where she lost out by a head to Big Mojo. They reoppose again but Asfoora also had a penalty to contend with last year. She was conceding 5lb to Big Mojo last year but they'll compete off levels here. In an open division on the home front, Henry Dwyer's Aussie raider is fancied here to improve on her Ascot effort and take the spoils at Goodwood. PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK… She was made to work very hard to complete the Epsom and Irish Oaks double… but MINNIE HAUK was able to run down Wemightakedlongway to win at the Curragh. Ryan Moore was always in control and her superior staying power sealed victory at odds of 2-11 by around a length. There was a fleeting moment of concern around the bend but Minnie Hauk got organised down the home straight and despite taking some time to reach the runner-up she pulled away nicely. Stamina is definitely her forte and it'll be interesting to see whether the keep Minnie Hauk over a mile and a half or eye up a St Leger with the fillies' allowance. The former looks the more obvious way to go, with races such as the Yorkshire Oaks and the Arc on the agenda.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Minnie Hauk wins Irish Oaks for classic double
Minnie Hauk finished strongly to get the better of Wemightakedlongway in the closing stages and take victory in the Irish Oaks at the success completed a classic double for the Aidan O'Brien-trained horse, the Frankel filly having also triumphed in the Oaks at Epsom in early Hauk started as a firm 2-11 favourite against six rivals for the mile-and-a-half Group One contest on Ryan Moore had the eventual winner settled in third for much of the race with fellow O'Brien-trained runner Island Hopping deployed in a pacemaking role and Joseph O'Brien's Wemightakedlongway (7-2) splitting the pair in Hauk had ground to make up with two furlongs to go but ultimately pulled away to win by a length and a quarter, with Island Hopping (20-1) win was an eighth in the Irish Oaks for O'Brien."She's a good filly and she's going to go on to better things as well," winning jockey Moore told RTE after the race."We're learning about her and she'll be better than this."
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Minnie Hauk at prohibitive odds to become 16th filly to complete Epsom-Curragh Oaks double
The Cork hurling team are cramped odds for this weekend's All-Ireland hurling final, but Minnie Hauk is an even hotter sporting favourite in Saturday's Juddmonte Irish Oaks. Aidan O'Brien's filly looks a standout for the Curragh's €500,000 feature as she bids to become the 16th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Oaks double. Snowfall in 2021 was one of O'Brien's seven previous winners of the race and she duly completed the double at prohibitive odds of 2-7. Ante-post betting suggests Minnie Hauk could start considerably shorter than that again against six opponents, half of which are her stable companions. It's a long way from last year's 14-runner contest – the biggest field in over a dozen years – won by the British raider You Got To Me. This time it's an all-local contest that includes a maiden and a runner rated a relatively mediocre 85. READ MORE On the face of it, only Wemighttakedlongway, trained by O'Brien's son Joseph , looks up to giving Minnie Hauk a race, and she was only fourth at Epsom last month. Wemighttakedlongway was subsequently fourth again to the Epsom runner-up Whirl in the Pretty Polly so the form looks solid. The daughter of Australia is back at a mile and a half and Joseph O'Brien is hopeful some ease in the ground will help her close the gap. Nevertheless, how enticing a prospect a Classic is that looks more coronation than competition remains to be seen. But should Minnie Hauk pull off the double she will join some stellar company. Enable in 2017 subsequently became one of the best middle-distance performers in Europe this century. Snow Fairy (2010) and Ouija Board (2004) progressed to become globally acclaimed performers as well. True Love ridden by Ryan Moore on their way to winning the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Photograph: John Walton/PA Wire In a notably open middle-distance scene this year, Minnie Hauk already tops some betting lists for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. All of it suggests the chances of something putting it up to her come 3.40pm on Saturday look more unlikely than Tipp turning over the Rebels, but against that, excellence should be on show. A similar friction between quality and competition looks to surround the earlier Gain Railway Stakes, one of a trio of Group Two contests backing up the Classic. Moved back from its established Derby-day date, it has just four runners lining up. Small fields aren't unusual for a race with a stellar roll of honour, but how Ballydoyle's filly True Love looks like being the outstanding candidate is. The last filly to win the Railway was Camargo in 1998. True Love landed the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot and is Ryan Moore's pick over Puerto Rico as O'Brien chases a 15th win in the race. If switching the Group Two Railway for the Group Three Anglesey over Derby weekend had a certain Pattern book logic to it, this turnout will still convince sceptics it really had more to do with making the 'Blue Riband' programme more suitable for World Pool betting. However, such a turnout, particularly considering the likely financial pay-off from the World Pool, will probably bolster official belief that the switch is worth it. Unlike Derby-day, there is plenty of Pattern-race support to this Classic card, although another standout could dominate the Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup. Dylan Browne McMonagle riding Al Riffa (right) to win the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at the Curragh in 2022. Photograph:The dual Group One winner Al Riffa has spent his career mixing it with some of Europe's best middle-distance performers and memorably gave City Of Troy a scare in last year's Eclipse. Joseph O'Brien stretches him into the staying division now and with encouragement in his pedigree for stamina, and no top-flight penalties to concede, this looks an ideal opportunity. Some high-class sprinters contest the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes including Arizona Blaze, who found only one too good in Royal Ascot's Commonwealth Cup. He's playing senior hurling now, though, against his elders, albeit it may prove to be another three-year-old, Powerful Nation, that proves too strong. Andy Slattery has made no secret of his regard for the colt who has Group One ambitions later this season. Just a single cross-channel raider takes on local sprinters in the Scurrys Handicap but Canon's House is on a roll having won his last three starts. The Easterby runner is ridden by Billy Garrity, who won the Scurrys on Strike Red a couple of years ago, and the training team scored with Perfect Pasture in 2016. In other news, the US Grade One highlight on Saturday night is the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, where the Preakness winner Journalism returns to action. Runner-up to Sovereignty in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont, Journalism takes on seven rivals in the $1 million Haskell Stakes over nine furlongs, off at 10.45pm Irish time and live on Sky. Californian trainer Bob Baffert is seeking a 10th Haskell victory with Goal Oriented lining up against Journalism.
