Sun comes out for O'Brien at Curragh despite virus worry
Sun Goddess and Ryan Moore win the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes for Aidan O'Brien. Pic: HEALY RACING.
Day two of the Irish Champions Festival began with Aidan O’Brien revealing that Ballydoyle has been troubled by a low-grade infection for the last couple of months.
It ended with O’Brien celebrating a short-priced Group 1 double courtesy of Sun Goddess in the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Scandinavia in the Comer Group International Irish St. Leger to take his top-level tally for the weekend to three. Crisis, what crisis?
The O’Brien virus admission came after jockey Ronan Whelan revealed that Christmas Day coughed ahead of Saturday’s Doncaster St Leger, a race in which the Derby hero and stablemate Pierre Bonnard disappointed.
Later that day, Constitution River, in O’Brien’s words “hit a wall” late on when third in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.
Despite O’Brien’s misgivings, Sun Goddess was sent off the 4-7 favourite to notch a second top-level success in the first of Sunday’s four Group 1 contests.
The ailments affecting some of her stablemates clearly weren’t bothering Sun Goddess and the Sioux Nation filly bolted up under Ryan Moore.
“She looks a freak, doesn’t she,” O’Brien asked rhetorically. “Everything she has done has been freakish. She went up to seven furlongs today, we weren’t sure she'd stay but there was only one place we we’re going to find out and this is a seriously important race.”
On future targets, the trainer added: “The Cheveley Park is there in two weeks, she’s coming out of her races like she’s not having races. She has an awful lot of natural class and she's a very big filly, and she should be a way better filly next year but she’s just a natural really.”
Asked how big a concern the stable situation is, O’Brien said: “Everybody knows that doing this job you’re a nervous wreck everyday anyway because there’s so many variables you can’t control.”
Expanding on the issue, he added: “There is a low-grade infection running through our horses for the last two months or maybe a little more but it would pop up in their bloods and the odd one might have a funny scope but then it would disappear without being treated.
“It’s through the whole place. We blood them and scope them but if all that’s right, and everyone is happy, we let them run. But sometimes you don’t know until they travel and sometimes like the horse yesterday [Christmas Day]. Ronan said he coughed going to the start but we didn’t know that and Ronan said he ran out of gas going to the furlong marker.
“It’s like yourself when you get up in the morning and you give a few coughs. It’s unusual to happen but Ronan was very happy the horse was in good form and on he went and that’s just the way it is.
“It’s there and the horses are working though it and it will disappear but that’s just the way it is. I only said it because Ronan brought it to the fore yesterday and the horse ran the way he did and it’s just to make everyone aware.”
Ascot Gold Cup hero Scandinavia was sent off the 4-11 favourite for the St. Leger to extend his overall winning sequence to eight and the Justify colt duly led home a Ballydoyle 1-2-3 ahead of Queenstown and Jan Brueghel in the final Classic of the Irish season.
“He’s a great horse,” O’Brien said. “He just has an unbelievable amount of stamina. He’s a big, high cruiser and we were delighted to have Queenstown there today to keep going along.
“He [Scandinavia] just goes along there and he really only kicks in after a mile and six, which is very unusual.
“The ground is probably as soft as he wants it, he’s a very good mover as well. Ryan gave him a great ride.”
When asked if the Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp will be next on the agenda, O’Brien suggested Scandinavia might be done for the season.
“We could put him away for Ascot next year. He has had a busy year and I trained him hard for the Gold Cup. You could go to France and the ground could be very bad for him. I don’t want to abuse him either because he’s a made Gold Cup horse. He floats on the fast ground."
