O'Brien: Alex so special

Aidan O’Brien was quick to hail Alexandrova as a “really special” filly after she became the 11th horse to complete the English-Irish Oaks double at the Curragh.

In doing so the daughter of Sadler’s Wells provided the master of Ballydoyle with his first win in the mile-and-a-half showpiece, and gave six-times champion Kieren Fallon a welcome boost after a couple of weeks which have seen him in the headlines for the wrong reasons.