Aidan O'Brien

Not even favourite for Saturday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S., it is no wild statement that TDN Rising Star Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) could be the best juvenile Aidan O'Brien has had though his hands after a display of power to scintillate the Curragh faithful. Always in his comfort zone on the front under Ryan Moore as chief rival Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) blew the start, the June 15 Listed Windsor Castle S. and July 16 G3 Anglesey S. winner was shaken up by Ryan Moore to put...

One thousand winners and counting. Joseph O'Brien passed yet another important milestone in his training career on Saturday when Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) became his 1,000th winner in the opening seven-furlong maiden at the Curragh. And what style it was achieved in. Al Riffa, who emerged as a major eye-catcher when staying on for second in a Curragh maiden last month, showed the benefit of that initial outing to confirm himself a potential top-notcher in the making. It was just over six years ago when O'Brien enjoyed a...

Aidan O'Brien will rely solely on Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) in his bid to win a record-extending 17th G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh this afternoon after stablemate Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) was ruled out of the Saturday showpiece due to to allergies. Last successful with Sioux Nation in 2017, O'Brien has won the Phoenix S. with George Washington, Holy Roman Emperor and Mastercraftsman in the past, and Little Big Bear is a 7-4 chance to follow in the hoofprints of those illustrious former Ballydoyle-trained stars....

   One of racing's biggest supporters, Peter Brant's colours can be spotted not only in his home country of America, but in Britain, Ireland and France.     The renowned owner-breeder, who spent over 20 years away from racing before returning with a bang in 2016, has quickly re-established his operation and in 2020 he reached the pinnacle when Sottsass carried his familiar double green silks to victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.    With a full-brother to Sottsass catalogued for the August Yearling Sale at Arqana, Brant makes...

The Coolmore partners' Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), a one-time G1 Cazoo Derby favourite until meeting with a setback in the spring, will reappear in the G3 Royal Whip S., according to trainer Aidan O'Brien. Held at the Curragh on Aug. 13, the 10-furlong event will be the starting point for the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. and G2 Beresford S. hero. If all goes well in the Royal Whip, a start in the Sept. 10 G1 Irish Champion S. is also possible for the 3-year-old colt later in the season....

Coolmore, Westerberg & Brant's G2 Prix Robert Papin second The Antarctic (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Anna Law {Ire}, by Lawman {Fr}), a 750,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 full-brother to Battaash (Ire), rebounded off that Chantilly defeat to secure a first stakes success in Tuesday's G3 Darley Prix de Cabourg at Deauville. The February-foaled grey had earlier backed up two early-season wins with a seventh in Royal Ascot's June 16 G2 Norfolk S. before hitting the board in June's Listed Tipperary S. in his last-but-one start. Missing a beat at the kick,...

The elite-level contests are done, track records have tumbled and Goodwood's five-day bonanza concludes with the G2 Qatar Lillie Langtry S. taking centre stage at the Sussex venue on Saturday. The £300,000 14-furlong distaffers' test has fallen to favourites in six of the last nine editions and this year's market is headed by Sunderland Holding's G2 Lancashire Oaks runner-up Sea La Rosa (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Coolmore and Westerberg's G1 Irish Oaks fourth Emily Dickinson (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). The former's stamina is not in question, according to William...

In Tuesday's TDN, we ran part I of Diana Pikulski's interview with Robert (Bob) Duncan (click here to read). This two-part piece is the first in a series called Equine Ethics, which examines ways in which racing can exist in the most ethical way possible. RD: My next ah-ha moment occurred with horse trainer Pat Parelli. After my visit with Monty, I started exploring the internet for more horse related info. The name that kept popping up was Pat Parelli of Parelli Natural Horsemanship. I was then lucky enough to...

Tuesday's G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup was every bit as engaging from start to finish as it had promised to be, with ultimately Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) winning out ahead of Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in a pulsating finale. Sent forward by Ryan Moore from the break to provide his two big rivals with their target racing in third overall, Ballydoyle's June 16 G1 Gold Cup hero was the first to commit up the straight with his initial task seeing off last year's title-holder Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire})...

Aidan O'Brien is readying a strong squad for Goodwood, which will be spearheaded by Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}). Kyprios is a warm order to build on his G1 Gold Cup triumph at Royal Ascot when he lines out in the G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup while Order Of Australia is on course to run in the G1 Qatar Sussex S. O'Brien said, "We are happy with Kyprios and the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup has always been the plan since Ascot. "The plan is...

Hotfooting it from Sandown where he had partnered the exciting Stoute colt Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Ryan Moore was in the unusual position of steering two TDN Rising Stars at two different tracks in the same day on Thursday as Ballydoyle's Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) planted the seeds of another Derby dream for Rosegreen at Leopardstown. Sent off the 7-4 favourite for the Frank Conroy Irish EBF Maiden over a mile, the full-brother to the Irish Derby and St Leger hero Capri (Ire) was quickly away before being...

Using Leopardstown's G3 Silver Flash S. as a marker as to the regard with which Aidan O'Brien holds his star juvenile fillies has proven wise in the past and it was no different on Thursday as Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) made it a dozen renewals of the seven-furlong test for her peerless handler. Third on debut over six furlongs at The Curragh May 22 before opening her account back there over this seven-furlong trip June 24, the daughter of Athena (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) was keen early restrained by...