Saturday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh has attracted a high-class sextet including a duo from Ballydoyle bidding to provide Aidan O'Brien with a 17th renewal. Ryan Moore is booked for the June 15 Listed Windsor Castle S. and July 16 G3 Anglesey S.-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never), with Seamie Heffernan due to partner the stable's May 2 Listed First Flier S., May 21 G3 Marble Hill S. and July 17 G2 Prix Robert Papin scorer Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never). Victorious Racing's June 14 G2 Coventry S.-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) renews rivalry with Amo Racing Limited's Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who was second behind him in that Royal Ascot contest before garnering Newmarket's G2 July S. July 7. The Aga Khan's Shartash (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and E S Racing's Apache Outlaw (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) complete the field, having been first and third when Blackbeard was second in the course-and-distance G2 Railway S. June 25.
Bradsell's trainer Archie Watson said, “He was obviously very impressive at Ascot and the form has worked out well. He's very, very talented. I do try to keep things understated and let the horses do the talking, but his home work is very good–the best of anything I've trained in terms of what he's done on the gallops. It's very hard to find him a lead horse because he'll just gallop all over Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), a Group 1 winner, and Tabdeed (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), who was second in the Stewards' Cup the other day. They'd struggle to lead him very far at all.”
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