Sergei Prokofiev just clings on in a thrilling finish to land the Listed Cork Stakes @NavanRacecourse for Aidan and Donnacha O'Brien.
Results bit.ly/2Hmzv6a
He still looks a bit green, but National Guard, a son of War Front, finally gets off the mark for the Ballydoyle team at the 10th time of asking with These Days second#TheFridayClub - free to view all evening tonight at http://racingtv.com/videos and on Sky
Coolmore invest over 8 million dollars in 5 2 year olds at the Gulfstream-Sale last night its highly unlikely any will end up at Ballydoyle more likely to be placed with American Trainers.
The Ballydoyle Quintet I Can Fly Magic Wand Van Beethoven Hunting Horn & Lost Treasure on the track at Meydan this morning
Meet Horus Bird - Huge thanks to George Adams for the fabulous picture
Ballydoyle Draw Runners & Riders Meydan Saturday
1:30pm Al Quoz Sprint - Lost Treasure (Ryan) - Drawn 3
2:05pm UAE Derby - Van Beethoven (Ryan) - Drawn 11
3:20pm Dubai Turf - I Can Fly (Ryan) - Drawn 8
4:00pm Sheema Classic - Hunting Horn (Wayne) 5 - Drawn & Magic Wand (Ryan) -Drawn 3
Times GMT
Aidan Said at Naas Yesterday that Ten Sovereigns goes straight to the Guineas
Ballydoyle entries Saturday 30th March Naas
2.15 Maiden - Captainofthebounty & Empire State
3.25 Cork Listed Stakes - All The King's Men, Fantasy, Gossamer Wings, Sergei Prokofiev, Western Frontier
4.00 Maiden - Fairy Fort, Dunkirk Harbour, Just So, National Guard,
5.10 Handicap - Whitsunday Islands
For a bit of fun
Flag Of Honour, Kew Gardens, Cypress Creek, Magical, Amedeo Modigliani
Gladness Stakes (Group 3)
Le Brivido, Antilles, San Andreas, So Perfect, The Irish Rover, U S S Michigan, Gossamer Wings.
Galileo Year By Year Stats Weekly Update
A.P.O'Brien Season Earnings Updated
A.P.O'Brien Year By Year Stats Updated
The @Ballydoyle team are winners on the opening day of the Irish Flat season as Never No More lands the €50,000 Madrid Handicap under champion jockey @donnacha_obrien
Results http://bit.ly/2Hmzv6a
Aidan O’Brien opened his account for the new Flat season when teaming up with son Donnacha to land the Naas Racecourse Business Club Madrid Handicap with Never No More.
The son of No Nay Never won over the minimum trip at Dundalk last autumn but coped very well on this first attempt at seven furlongs.
The 8/1 chance (from 10/1) made steady headway up the centre of the course in the straight to lead a furlong out, and stretched clear in the closing stages for an impressive victory.
The winning margin was three and three quarter lengths over Black Magic Woman, with Crockford another length and a quarter back in third.
Wasntexpectingthat completed the places in fourth.
Aidan O’Brien said, “We weren’t sure whether to stick at six but Donnacha felt he got it well. We might look at the seven-furlong (Guineas) Trial in Leopardstown. He galloped out well.”
Aidan O’Brien is looking forward to seeing the long-absent Amedeo Modigliani return to action in the Devoy Stakes at Naas on Sunday.
Third behind esteemed stablemate Gustav Klimt on his racecourse debut at the Curragh in July 2017, the Galileo colt opened his account with a dominant display at the following month’s Galway Festival.
Having spent the winter as a possible Derby contender, Amedeo Modigliani missed the entirety of his three-year-old season due to injury — but returns to competitive action for the first time in almost 600 days in this 10-furlong Listed contest.
O’Brien said: “He’s in good form. Obviously he didn’t run last year and he’s just ready to start off.
“The better the ground, the better it would suit him. We’re just trying to get him started and we think he will come on a lot from the run.”
Amedeo Modigliani is one of eight runners for O’Brien on the opening day of the Irish Flat season.
The Ballydoyle maestro is pleased with the general well-being of his powerful string ahead of the new campaign.
He added: “We’re happy with them, but they will come on plenty from their runs.
“They are just ready to start and we’d think, and hope, that they will improve plenty from their runs.”
Amedeo Modigliani does not face a straightforward task, with the 106-rated Stellar Mass setting a lofty standard.
Other contenders in an eight-strong field include Jessica Harrington’s four-time winner Still Standing and the lightly-raced Hazel Bay from Dermot Weld’s yard.
Aidan O’Brien is “very excited” about Ten Sovereigns ahead of the new season — with the Qipco 2000 Guineas very much on his radar.
The No Nay Never colt did not make his debut until the end of August, but just over a month later he was a Group One winner in the Middle Park Stakes with a Group Three win sandwiched in between.
While all his victories were over six furlongs, O’Brien believes there is no reason to suggest he will not stay a mile.
Speaking in a stable tour on www.attheraces.com, O’Brien said: “We have our eye on the 2000 Guineas with him and he hasn’t shown us anything to suggest he won’t stay a mile yet.
“He has the option of having a trial before the Guineas, but going straight there with him is an option too. Looking back on last season with him, he didn’t debut until late-August and he ended up packing his three starts into a five-week period which was a tough ask of him.
“He won his first two races through raw ability, so it was understandable that when he stepped up into a Group One that he looked a little bit green in the Middle Park. That race will really stand to him and he learned a lot from it. He’s a horse that you’d have to be very excited about.”
One who could be joining him at Newmarket is Magna Grecia, winner of the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster having gone down narrowly to Andre Fabre’s Persian King in the Autumn Stakes previously.
“We are looking towards the 2000 Guineas with him. I’m not sure whether he’ll run in the trial for it yet,” said O’Brien.
“He’s a lovely, uncomplicated horse to train. He has done well physically over the winter and he looks good and powerful.
“It probably all happened a bit quick for him last season, as it was the end of September by the time he made his debut. We brought him over to Newmarket a fortnight after his maiden as we thought that if he was going to be a Group One horse, he needed another run for experience.
“He ran very well there and came out of it well enough to encourage us to go on to Doncaster a fortnight later. While he won there, he was still babyish enough and you’d hope he’d improve from that again.
“He’s by Invincible Spirit and while he got a mile well at Doncaster, you couldn’t be too bullish as to how far he’ll stay. He’s a horse you’d be excited about.”
Heading up O’Brien’s Classic fillies is Fairyland, winner of four last season, including the Lowther and Cheveley Park Stakes.
“Fairyland is in good form. We are happy with how she did over the winter and the work she has been doing of late. We haven’t decided if she’ll have a trial before it, but the plan is to run her in the 1000 Guineas,” said O’Brien.
“She has never run over further than six furlongs, but we’ve always thought she would get further, so we’ll give her a go at a mile in Guineas and see what happens. She has always been a very straightforward and uncomplicated filly.”
New Poster ready for the season - A.P.O'Brien English Classic Winners - Needed updating with new sponsors
WOW Annie Power and her Galileo Foal they both look a picture
📸: @coolmorestud
Ballydoyle Entries Opening Day of the Season Sunday at Naas
2.00 - Maiden - Ferretti, Empire State
2.35 - Handicap - Empire, State Ferretti
3.05 - Handicap - Empire State. Ferretti, San Andreas, Never No More
3.40 - Devoy Stakes Listed - Amedeo Modigliani
4.10 - Park Express Stakes Group 3 - Delphinia
5.20 - Maiden - National Guard, Globe Theatre, Ferretti, Fairy Fort, Empire State, Dunkirk Harbour.
Confirmed Ballydoyle Dubai World Cup Night Team 30th March
Lost Treasure - Al Quoz Sprint
Van Beethoven - UAE Derby
I Can Fly - Dubai Turf
Hunting Horn & Magic Wand - Sheema Classic
Delano Roosevelt is now with Danish trainer Fleming Velin The gentleman who also purchased Fields of Athenry a few years back.
Meet Ramesses the Great (Pioneerof the Nile x Mythical Bride)
Named after the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Ramesses the Great is a half brother to Vino Rosso winner of the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes in 2018 Huge thanks to Tanya Gunther for the photo. Can't wait to see this fella hit the track for Ballydoyle in 2019.
A.P.O'Brien Season Earnings Updated
Potential Ballydoyle World Cup Night Squad
Western Australia, Sydney Opera House, Van Beethoven, Albuquerque - UAE Derby
Magical Magic Wand - Sheema Classic
I Can Fly - Dubai Turf
Flag of Honour - Dubai Gold Cup
Lost Treasure - Al Quonz Sprint
30 Ballydoyle Guineas Entries
2000 Guineas - (16)
Broome, Western Australia, Sydney Opera House, Ten Sovereigns, The Irish Rover, Van Beethoven, Magna Grecia, U S S Michigan, San Andreas, Albuquerque, Anthony Van Dyvk, Japan, Mohawk, Norway, Circus Maximus & Mount Everest
1000 Guineas (14)
Coral Beach, Fairyland, Fire Fly, Fleeting, Frosty, Hermosa, Remember You, Just Wonderful, Magic Fountain, Peach Tree, Pink Dogwood, Secret Thoughts, So Perfect, Zagitova
I Can Fly returns to action for the first time since her effort in the Breeders' Cup Mile with a straight forward victory in the Get A Run For Your Money With BetVictor Fillies Race under Ryan Moore
First runner of the year, first winner for Aidan O'Brien as War Front colt U S S Michigan gets off the mark at @DundalkStadium
Results http://bit.ly/2w8fYfO