Long but fruitful weekend for O’Brien jnr

Having won the Grand Prix de Paris on Imperial Monarch in Longchamp on Saturday (Bastille Day) Joseph O’Brien returned to domestic action with a bang at Fairyhouse yesterday, completing a fine treble on Parliament Square, Warwick Avenue and Chicago while giving up the ride on After in the featured Belgrave Stakes when deemed to be “feeling unwell”.

Beaten at long odds-on in Naas four days earlier, Parliament Square justified 4/9 favouritism in the opening Irish Stallion Farms 2-Y-0 Maiden. Helped by first-time cheekpieces, the Acclamation colt stretched clear inside the final furlong to beat Monakova by four-and-a-half lengths, prompting his rider to suggest: “He’ll have no problem stepping up to listed or Group company.”

Blaming his travel to the U.K. and France over the weekend, O’Brien was unable to do 8-12 on After in the listed Belgrave Stakes, won by Slade Power.