Equinties - Ballydoyle stars

Gm Equinauts

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUND UP

O’BRIEN’S STARS

Before we start talking about the rising stars, we doth our cap to the brilliant career of the mighty stayer KYPRIOS who has been retired this morning following after an old injury has reared it’s ugly head again.

The 8x Group 1 winner KYPRIOS has been dominant in the staying division for some time and will now pursue a new career - eating and shagging. What a champion.

Happy retirement, KYPRIOS.

The market tried to tell all his ante-post backers to close out some positions but we imagine most refused to believe it.

Well, the market has been talking again this weekend.

In this mornings RP it’s printed an interview with Aidan O’Brien who says Ryan Moore might find it difficult ‘not’ to choose DELACROIX over THE LION IN WINTER in the Derby which is only less than two weeks time. The market has squeezed DELACROIX into joint fave with THE LION IN WINTER.

The RP suggests there has been no firm decision yet (and the jockeys booking are not yet confirmed officially), but we’ve been told on good authority that Ryan Moore will indeed be steering DELACROIX on the day. Huge given a DUBAWI has never won the Derby before!

THE LION IN WINTER backers should hedge their bets now.

It’s quite amusing that Coolmore’s main hopes sit with a DUBAWI and Goldophin’s lay with proper the real deep Coolmore blood in RULING COURT who is by JUSTIFY out of a HIGH CHAPAREL mare who is a half to Gr1 placed JOHANN STRAUS. Incredible.

It’s amusing to us pedigree nerds anyway!

Right, back to the horses where there is certainly is no confusion over where they go next and who rides them.

Bet365 tried to get her beat, but nothing could stop LAKE VICTORIA on Sunday as she won the Irish 1000 Guineas very impressively.

It’s quite incredible how good Aidan O’Brien is at improving horses from their first runs of the season. It seems obvious to say something like this, but it’s still worth highlighting because of horses like LAKE VICTORIA.

Based on her run at Newmarket, there’s no way she could have won at the Curragh. She looked laboured at HQ, which is far from what she was on Sunday. Ryan Moore found himself boxed in, so he had to come off the bridle early, and if she was still in the same form as on her debut, state, she’d have been smoked.

Instead, Moore and LAKE VICTORIA found a gap, went through the gears and pulverised the field.

Now, we have to caveat this. We’ll put our neck out here and suggest that when people look back on the 2025 renewal of the Irish 1000 Guineas, they may not have too many fond memories.

Why do we say this? Well, CALIFORNIA DREAMER couldn’t win a Group 3 at the Curragh earlier this month, yet she was good enough to finish second in the Irish Guineas. The same can be said of CERCENE, who was beaten in three separate Group 3 contests before her third-place finish on Sunday.

The form of the race doesn’t look too strong, but LAKE VICTORIA still won by two-and-a-quarter lengths, and for that she deserves all the plaudits.

Where next? Well, she’s even money to win the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, so it looks like this is her next run. DESERT FLOWER is off to the Oaks, so her main rival could well be ZARIGANA, the French 1000 Guineas winner.

If she turns up, with maybe even talking horse SHES PERFECT, this will be LAKE VIC’s toughest test to date.

The Irish 1000 Guineas was the icing on the Ballydoyle cake this weekend as LOS ANGELES showed true grit to win the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, and ALBERT EINSTEIN won the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes.

ALBERT EINSTEIN is a proper looker, and he is a nice juvenile who has the ability to win the Group 2 Coventry Stakes. At Ascot, he will have to pass a lot of horses on that straight course. It’s the nature of the beast with these big-field juvenile races, and what he showed on Sunday was a nice indication that he can do this.

He raced off the pace, weaved in between rivals, and went away on the far side away from the rail. To put in a performance like that with things going against him is impressive. Correct Coventry favourite.

As for LOS ANGELES, well, what is there to say? He’s just an awesome horse who never knows when he’s beaten.

In the Tattersalls Gold Cup, ANMAAT came there swinging like Tom Schwarz against Tyson Fury, and yet LOS ANGELES wouldn’t lie down. The placings of the race look correct as well. LOS ANGELES beating the British Champion Stakes winner, the British Fillies & Mare Stakes winner, the 2024 Tatts Gold Cup winner, the Prix Ganay third, and the 2024 Juddmonte International third all makes sense. That suggests the race is a proper piece of form.

He’s now a Group 1 winner at two, three, and four, so one can imagine he’ll be big for Coolmore going forward. By CAMELOT out of a DANSILI mare, he can cross nicely with a few GALILEO mares in time making offspring 4×3 to SADLERS WELLS.

Anyway, his big target is the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but he’ll stop off at the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes next month.

Aidan O’Brien said: "The plan was to come here, then go to the Prince of Wales's and have a look at the King George before a little rest and an Arc trial before the Arc.

"He ran in the Arc last year and it didn't suit him at all, he got left in front by himself and he was just waiting, so it was a bit of a mess for him. He's a big, idle, relaxed horse, but he'll follow any pace and he'll fight. No horse likes a fight better than him."

More: https://www.racingpost.com/news/reports/los-angeles-grinds-out-victory-in-high-class-running-of-tattersalls-gold-cup-aTRgR5a9mDvs/

ABSOLUTE GOLD

Imagine saying Kieran Shoemark wasn’t the issue at Newmarket!

Now, we’re being slightly mean here, but the ride he gave FIELD OF GOLD in the 2000 Guineas at HQ cost him the race, and Saturday’s Irish 2000 Guineas showed this.

When produced by Colin Keane in a manner which allowed him to lengthen and explode into life, FIELD OF GOLD demolished the field making it look like he was picking up a lowly maiden.

But it wasn’t a lowly maiden. COSMIC YEAR is a smart one, HOTAZHELL looked good on his first start of the year, and RASHABAR ran a big one for a poor route through the race.

Some might suggest anyone could have won on FIELD OF GOLD on Saturday, but the counter to that is should we have been saying that about the English equivalent. Probably.

Colin Keane kept it astonishingly simple by positioning him on the outside, and as soon as he decided to do that, it was game over. He was too good for his rivals, and now with this success on his profile, connections can start thinking of more Group 1 races to campaign towards.

On the horse, John Gosden said: "That ability to be laid back at home, half asleep and then when you press the button, they can turn it on. It's a great thing. Some Kingman's can be flighty, this is a very laid-back horse. It might be down to the man who reared him at Roundhill Stud here in Ireland. 

"He's right up there with his father. I think he's as good as his father.”

It’s the St James’s Palace Stakes next, and he’s 5/4 for that. Potentially taking on HENRI MATISSE and SHADOW OF LIGHT will be a great watch at Ascot, and it’s certainly a race to look forward to.

WEEKEND EYE-CATCHERS

RASHABAR– SATURDAY 15.40 CURRAGH

An eye-catcher in a Classic is a bold move, but RASHABAR certainly ran a big race to finish fourth on Saturday. He was stuck in a hole on the rail, and Sean Levey had a tough time finding a route through. Once the gap did open up, he stayed on, but the horses who had clearer paths down the outside were better positioned to go well. Brian Meehan has always been quite open about his ability, and he’s 40/1 for the St James’s Palace Stakes next month. Back at Ascot, a track he likes, that could be a big price.

KALPANA – SUNDAY 15.05 CURRAGH

We’ve been singing the praises of the Tattersalls Gold Cup already, and KALPANA ran a nice race on her return to the track.

She is a horse that connections might plot towards the Arc, and while she may find one or two too good in a race of that magnitude, she is still a filly with plenty of ability. If she takes on the girls again this season – Pretty Polly, Yorkshire Oaks, etc – she will be tough to beat.

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RISK ON

We were one away from a full house last week, and it’s bloody happened again…

The rain is here and although it’s our favourite betting conditions, we’re going to wait until it’s really got into the ground. Slop bets pending this week!

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