Auguste Rodin, shown winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, heads a powerful Coolmore team heading into the second half of the year, joined Sunday by Los Angeles, winner of the Irish Derby. Photo by Megan Coggin, courtesy of Ascot Racecourse
July 1 (UPI) — The Coolmore “lads” clearly are not leprechauns, but the ownership team clearly has found its pot of gold — at the Curragh and especially in the Irish Derby.
Coolmore dominated weekend doings at the Irish track, including trainer Aidan O’Brien‘s record-extending 16th victory in the Derby.
In the process, Coolmore has set itself up with a formidable team that can be expected to be competitive in most of the big races throughout the balance of the year.
In France, Sunday’s Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud had a very international flavor.
Ireland
Los Angeles dug deep through the final furlong of Sunday’s Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, saw off old rival Ambiente Friendly and then dealt with late runner Sunway to claim a 3/4-length victory. Ambiente Friendly held third.
Los Angeles, a Camelot colt, was third in the Betfred Derby at Epsom last time out, behind Coolmore confrere City of Troy and Ambiente Friendly.
As he did at Epsom, Los Angeles sweated behind the gate, and then required a blindfold before loading. This time around, the shenanigans didn’t cost.
After tracking two pacesetting stablemates, Ryan Moore sent his colt after the lead along the inside rail with a couple furlongs to go and he responded, sturdily if not brilliantly, providing trainer Aidan O’Brien his 16th win in the Irish Classic.
“We were delighted with him at Epsom and we thought he would come forward,” Racing Post quoted O’Brien as saying. “We think he’ll get better. He’s a big, hardy horse. He looks like he’s a baby, but he was a Group 1 winner at 2, as well, and he keeps progressing.”
O’Brien rejected expectations Los Angeles will be a “Leger-type” horse destined for 1 1/2 miles and beyond, adding, “Ryan said he has way more class than that.”
The Ballydoyle training compound now is fortified with potential candidates for just about any big race anywhere during the remainder of the year with Auguste Rodin, City of Troy, Luxembourg and Los Angeles all at top form.
O’Brien also landed Sunday’s Group 2 GAIN Railway Stakes for 2-year-olds, but not with his favored colt, Tunbridge Wells.
Rather, it was Henri Matisse, a Wootton Bassett colt with Wayne Lordan aboard, coming from last to win by 1/2 length from The Strikin Viking. Arizona Blaze, Tunbridge Wells and Principality completed the order of finish.
Henri Matisse, out of the Pivotal mare Immortal Verse, improved to 2-for-2 and naturally hit the odds boards for the 2025 Guineas.
With a furlong to run in Saturday’s Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh, you’d have said Emily Upjohn was home free.
But that wouldn’t have accounted for Bluestocking, who rallied stoutly over the rain-soaked course, caught her rival nearing the finish and won by won by 1/2 length for her first top-level victory.
The Juddmonte homebred daughter of Camelot made it 2-for-2 this season following a warm-up in the Group 2 Middleton Fillies Stakes at York on May 16.
Truly Enchanting and California Dreamer hooked up early in Saturday’s Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and appeared to take turns on the lead before Truly Enchanting edged out to win by 1/2 length for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien.
The effort will go a long way toward erasing the memory of the No Nay Never filly’s 13th-place finish in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.
France
Dubai Honor squeezed through between rivals some 400 meters out in Sunday’s Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, seized the lead and held it to the finish, winning by 1 3/4 lengths from Feed the Flame.
Point Lonsdale was third and the favorite, Iresine, finished fourth with a too-late move through the late going. Tom Marquand applied the winning ride for trainer William Haggas.
Dubai Honor, a 6-year-old gelding by Pride of Dubai, has two earlier Group 1 wins in Australia and a third-place finish in Hong Kong. Sunday’s win was his first European Group 1 victory.