By Tom Frary
Ryan Moore is in a rare dimension at present and his domination of The Curragh's Saturday card showcased his renowned fine judgment as well as his excellent tactical awareness. Open to a plethora of choice from the Ballydoyle ranks on the fixture, Coolmore's longstanding number one picked right every time with the selection of Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) for the G2 Galileo Irish EBF Futurity S. his finest act of sagacity. Faced with two of the yard's 'TDN Rising Stars', he opted for the imposing half-brother to Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) over Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and his innate feel rewarded him handsomely as yet another 2000 Guineas prospect emerged from this vital seven-furlong juvenile staging post.
Even the punters disagreed with Moore beforehand, with the colt who had been absent since his winning debut over an extended five furlongs at Navan Apr. 23 trading bigger than Hans Andersen at 3-1 and for much of this contest it looked as if they were right. As the G3 Tyros S. winner Proud And Regal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Hans Andersen made it a true test from three out, the Coolmore trio pulled clear of the rest and a race of two halves developed which the son of Frankel looked to have in safe keeping a furlong later. Building up as his stablemate began to pay for his fight with the 5-4 favourite, Aesop's Fables powered past in the final half a furlong for an authoritative 2 1/4-length success, with a neck back to the rallying Proud And Regal in third.
Aidan O'Brien has now won this 15 times, with eight coming in the last 10 runnings and he is just one shy of the record of Dr Vincent O'Brien. Where the winner sits alongside past winners Giant's Causeway, Hawk Wing, Cape Blanco (Ire), Gleneagles (Ire), Churchill (Ire) and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) remains to be seen, but his trainer has another quandary on his hands as he shuffles his remarkable hand with his current 2-year-old crew.
“He's a big, strong powerful horse and is built like a sprinter,” he said. “He had a little setback after winning at Navan and was a long time off. He travelled well and I was a bit worried going up to seven. We'll see how he comes out of this before deciding where we go next, but you would have to be thinking Group 1 now. I would say he will progress a lot from this to his next run.”
Aesop's Fables's dam is the Listed Land O'Burns Fillies' S.-winning sprinter How's She Cuttin', who as mentioned above provided Ballydoyle with the G3 Phoenix Sprint S. and Listed Windsor Castle S.-winning sire Washington DC, who was also placed in the G1 Phoenix S., G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp. Also responsible for the G3 Chester Vase S. runner-up Sandhurst (Ire) (Gaileo {Ire}), she descends from the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G1 Coronation S. heroine Magic Flute (GB) (Tudor Melody {GB}) connected to the G1 Dewhurst S. and G1 St James's Palace S.-winning sire Grand Lodge.
Saturday, The Curragh, Ireland
GALILEO IRISH EBF FUTURITY S.-G2, €120,000, Curragh, 8-20, 2yo, 7fT, 1:23.45, gd.
1–AESOP'S FABLES (IRE), 131, c, 2, by No Nay Never
1st Dam: How's She Cuttin' (Ire) (SP-Eng, $111,446), by Shinko Forest (Ire)
2nd Dam: Magic Annemarie (Ire), by Dancing Dissident
3rd Dam: Magic Garter (GB), by Precocious (GB)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. O-M Tabor/D Smith/Mrs J Magnier/Westerberg; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €72,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $82,479. *1/2 to Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), GSW & G1SP-Ire, SW & G1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $727,371 . Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hans Andersen (GB), 131, c, 2, Frankel (GB)–Shadow Hunter (Ire), by Arcano (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (450,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). 'TDN Rising Star' O-Westerberg, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor, D Smith; B-Sun Bloodstock SARL (GB); T-Aidan O'Brien. €24,000.
3–Proud And Regal (Ire), 131, c, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Simply Perfect (GB), by Danehill. O-D Smith, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor, Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Donnacha O'Brien. €12,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, NK, 3. Odds: 3.00, 2.50, 1.25.
Also Ran: Lakota Seven (Ire), Apache Outlaw (Ire), Young Ireland (Ire), Semblance Of Order (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Oh my! 😮
Aesop's Fables really knuckles down to the challenge of catching stablemate Hans Andersen in the Galileo Irish EBF Futurity Stakes at @curraghrace and looks a serious prospect for Ballydoyle pic.twitter.com/enqnMlfQeX— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 20, 2022
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