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OBrien seeking seventh Racing Post Trophy |
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It is no secret that leading
international trainer Aidan OBrien has a soft spot for the one mile Group
1 Racing Post Trophy having landed the race six times in the last 15 years with
some outstanding horses, some of whom have gone on to be top-class performers
as three-year-olds in their classic season.
Last year it was the turn
of the lauded Camelot, winning the feature Doncaster contest as he pleased to
mark himself out as a potential superstar, something his wins in both the Qipco
2000 Guineas, Investec Derby and Irish Derby confirmed before he failed
narrowly to become the first horse since the mighty Nijinsky in 1970 to win the
British Triple Crown when beaten at long
racing odds on by Encke in
the Ladbrokes St Leger back at the Town Moor track in September.
With
other famous Ballydoyle names such as St Nicholas Abbey and High Chaparral
having also triumphed in the Racing Post Trophy it doesnt take a racing
genius to figure out that OBrien targets his best colts at the last major
juvenile Group 1 of the British Flat racing season.
This year the softly
spoken Irishman is responsible for 13 of the 35 entries at this stage of
proceedings and the horse most commentators and punters looking at the
horse
racing betting offers are focusing on is his Battle of Marengo, winner of
three of his four starts including a recent hattrick, capped by a tremendously
impressive three-and-a-half length defeat of Origlio in the Group 2 Juddmonte
Beresford Stakes at the Curragh last month that left most observers in little
doubt that they had seen a rising star in the racing firmament.
The
previous form of the son of Galileo was recently given a highly significant
boost when Jim Bolgers smart colt Trading Leather (who could re-oppose at
Doncaster), beaten comfortably by Battle of Marengo in the listed ICON
Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf Stakes at Leopardstown in September, came out
at Newmarkets big Dewhurst fixture and proved too good for the home
defenders in beating Montiridge by three-quarters-of-a-length to claim the
Group 3 Autumn Stakes after making just about all the running in difficult
conditions.
Of course OBrien may well have other runners in the
race and a decision as to who will actually represent the yard at Doncaster has
yet to be made public, with the yards Kingdom and Eye of the Storm other
possible contenders for the big event scheduled for October 27.
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