Moore Curragh Cup Masterclass On Tower Of London

Even the most reverent of Ryan Moore's legions of fans would have put his task on Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) down as a hopeless one at the top of the straight in Saturday's G2 Curragh Cup, but one of the world's finest demonstrated yet again that he is master of the clock as he delivered the 13-8 second favourite virtually on top of the line. Held up in rear throughout the early stages as the fellow Ballydoyle runner Grosvenor Square (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) set off in isolation, the G3 Red Sea Turf Handicap and G2 Dubai Gold Cup still had a yawning gap to make up turning for home with the front-runner killing off all others.

It looked highly unlikely there, but the fractions had been judged to perfection as Ballydoyle's number one mastered his stablemate yards from the finish. At the line, there was an ultimately substantial 1 1/4-length margin between them, a measurement of how much the runner-up was treading water in the closing stages with the 11-8 market-leader Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) seven lengths away in third. “He's a great horse to have, a stayer with speed and he can go anywhere–Hong Kong, Japan or Australia–he could be a Melbourne Cup horse,” Aidan O'Brien said of the winner, who was bouncing back from a disappointing fifth in the G2 Yorkshire Cup in May. “I never thought he was going to get there, as the 3-year-old wasn't going to stop but Ryan gave him a peach.”

“He could come back here for the [Irish] Leger,” the trainer added. “He's getting tougher and can go anywhere, he loves travelling. He lost his confidence a little bit at York and Ryan looked after him. Grosvenor Square ran a great race and he's a trip horse. He wanted to go the distance, is a Leger-type horse and a big cruiser and could be a Melbourne Cup horse, but in the St Leger ridden like that it would take a fair 3-year-old to follow him and take him on. He is a big horse with a big stride and we finally let him go.”

SCENES 🤣

𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 comes from a mile back to land the Group 2 @curraghrace Cup under Ryan Moore.

Go on, how many of you thought Gavin Ryan had pinched it on Grosvenor Square?@Ballydoyle | @coolmorestud pic.twitter.com/bcnE9EDISm

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 20, 2024

Pedigree Notes

Tower Of London is a full-brother to the G1 St Leger and G1 Irish Derby hero Capri (Ire), the G3 Stanerra Stakes winner and G1 Irish Oaks third Passion (Ire) and the G3 Loughbrown Stakes winner Cypress Creek (Ire), as well as to the dam of the G1 Fillies' Mile heroine Commissioning (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Their dam Dialafara (Fr) (Anabaa) is a daughter of the G2 Prix de Malleret and G3 Prix de la Nonette winner Diamilina (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}) from the family of Green Desert's G3 Prix la Rochette-winning sire Diamond Green (Fr) and the G2 Doncaster Cup scorer Desert Skyline (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}). Dialafara's 2-year-old colt by Camelot (GB) named Saratoga (Ire) was third on debut at Killarney this week.

Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
COMER GROUP INTERNATIONAL CURRAGH CUP-G2, €150,000, Curragh, 7-20, 3yo/up, 14fT, 3:01.60, gd.
1–TOWER OF LONDON (IRE), 137, c, 4, by Galileo (Ire)
     1st Dam: Dialafara (Fr), by Anabaa
     2nd Dam: Diamilina (Fr), by Linamix (Fr)
     3rd Dam: Diamonaka, by Akarad (Fr)
TDN Rising Star. O-D Smith,Mrs J Magnier,M Tabor,Westerberg; B-Lynch Bages Ltd & Camas Park Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €90,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Sau & UAE, GSP-Eng, 12-6-1-0, $2,391,951. *Full to Capri (Ire), G1SW-Eng, G1SW-Ire, G1SP-Fr, $2,067,692; Full to Passion (Ire), GSW & G1SP-Ire, G1SP-Eng, $200,604; Full to Cypress Creek (Ire), GSW-Ire, GSP-Eng, $102,373.
2–Grosvenor Square (Ire), 125, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Wadyhatta (GB), by Cape Cross (Ire).
O-M Tabor/D Smith/Mrs.J Magnier/Westerberg; B-Lynch Bages Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €30,000.
3–Vauban (Fr), 137, g, 6, Galiway (GB)–Waldfest (GB), by Hurricane Run (Ire). O-Mrs S Ricci; B-Philippe Decouz & SCEA du Bas Bugey (FR); T-Willie Mullins. €15,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 7, NK. Odds: 1.63, 8.50, 1.38.
Also Ran: Raise You (Ire), Dancing Tango (Ire), Shamida (Ire), Eastern Legend (Ire), Seattle Creek (GB), Gasper De Lemos (Ire), Aircraft Carrier (Ire). Scratched: Crypto Force (GB), Kinesiology (GB).