Group 1 winner Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who won the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. at The Curragh on Sunday for Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez, is under consideration for the G1 Dewhurst S. on Oct. 10, trainer Joseph O'Brien revealed on Monday. The bay graduated at first asking for breeder Anne Marie O'Brien at The Curragh on Aug. 9, before being purchased privately.
“We were very happy with him,” said O'Brien of the 'TDN Rising Star'. “It was a bit of a messy race, but he showed a great turn of foot to go away and win well. We did supplement him, so we were hopeful he'd run a nice race, but I suppose I was surprised by the manner of his victory.”
“If he was to run again this year, the Dewhurst would probably be the race for him, but we'll see how he comes out of the race on Sunday and a lot will depend on the ground as well. The Breeders' Cup [in November] is there as an option as well, but that wouldn't be on my radar at the moment. He's an exciting colt.”
O'Brien also sent out 'Rising Star' Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) to run second in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. to Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), trained by his brother Donnacha. A start on Champions Day in the G1 Fillies' Mile or the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc Day or a Breeders' Cup appearance in November are all on the table at the moment for the John Oxley silkbearer. Her biggest win to date was the G2 Debutante S. on Aug. 22, beating the aforementioned Shale.
“Pretty Gorgeous ran a great race,” said O'Brien. “I think the two of them [Pretty Gorgeous and Shale] are very good fillies and whichever one of them gets the rub of the green on the day might come out on top.
“We'll see how our filly comes out of it, but we have the option of the Fillies' Mile or the Prix Marcel Boussac and there's also the Breeders' Cup. We'll see how we go, but I'd say she probably just wants one more run this year, with Newmarket and France being the likeliest options.”
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