No horse has ever improved at Ballydoyle quite to the extent that Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) has this season, according to Aidan O'Brien, who provided an upbeat bulletin on the colt ahead of the G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood.
Paddington has swept all before him this season. Having begun his campaign in handicaps, he landed the Irish 1,000 Guineas, the St James's Palace S. and more recently the Coral-Eclipse S, proving that he is equally as adept over a mile than he is over 10 furlongs.
The plan is to step Paddington back to a mile for the Sussex S. at Goodwood, for which the hugely progressive colt is a heavy favourite with most firms to continue his winning streak and copper fasten his reputation as one of the most exciting horses in training.
O'Brien said, “What he has done has been incredible. He's gone from strength to strength with every run and it is very unusual. I know Ryan [Moore] is very impressed with him all the time and he looks a very serious horse at the moment. I think he's standing up to a lot of scrutiny by the other horses that have gone before him.”
He added, “It's very unusual what he is doing and the ease with which he is doing it. It's very hard to compare him but I'm not sure we've ever had a horse that has made that improvement in the way he is doing it, mentally, physically and confidence-wise and everything really. He just looks so natural.”
Having seen off Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) over 10 furlongs at Sandown, Paddington could have another John and Thady Gosden-trained filly to tackle on the Sussex Downs in the form of Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who the bookmakers feel has the best chance of knocking Paddington off track.
It will be the first time he will have faced older horses over a mile, but the master of Ballydoyle is eager to see a competitive contest so he can get a true feel for Paddington's potential accomplishments.
“We always treat every horse with total respect, but we're also delighted when the races are as competitive as they can be because that is what we all want to see,” said O'Brien.
“That is what we need to gauge our horses and know where we are going next. The more competitive it is and the better the horses are that are in there, the better it is for us and everyone else, we think.”
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