The accumulated brains of Godolphin, the Michael Stoute team and Distant Music's trainer Barry Hills may have found it difficult to sleep last night after Monashee Mountain's scintillating Tetrarch Stakes victory.
If Giant's Causeway, and even Bernstein, hold better 2,000 Guineas chances than their stable companion, then they would appear to be very good horses indeed. Certainly, Monashee Mountain looked right out of the top drawer yesterday.
Admittedly as a 2 to 9 favourite the unbeaten Danzig colt was perfectly entitled to cruise from last to first on the bridle, and beat Legal Jousting by more than a couple of lengths, but how many times have such favourites not done what they're entitled to do. And the style of it all was ultra-impressive.
Nevertheless, Monashee Mountain will be kept in reserve for the Irish 2,000 Guineas as Aidan O'Brien confirmed Giant's Causeway and the Olivier Peslier-partnered Bernstein as his Newmarket runners next Saturday.
"More than likely this horse will wait for the Curragh but you never know what can happen. He's still in the Newmarket race and a lot can happen in five days so I don't want to say he definitely won't run just yet," said O'Brien.
"At the moment Giant's Causeway and Bernstein are very well and going to Newmarket," added the Ballydoyle trainer but soft ground at the weekend could see Bernstein switched to the French 2,000 Guineas on May 14th.
That hints at the general strength of the O'Brien classic team and so does the suspicion that Monashee Mountain was left distinctly under cooked for yesterday's Group Three pot.
"We did leave a lot of flesh on him and he was a bit soft and fresh here but he has such speed. He just quickens away," said O'Brien whose caution about finally not ruling the horse out of Newmarket in case of injury to the 7 to 2 joint favourite Giant's Causeway was taken up by the bookmakers.
Monashee Mountain is still being quoted for Newmarket at 10 to 1 "with a run" by Cashmans but they also threw in a 2 to 1 "with a run" quote for the Irish Guineas.
One thing that doesn't have to be hinted at is the general well being of the O'Brien camp on the run up to the first big engagement of the season. Urban Ocean turned the Listed Mooresbridge Stakes into a procession and the previously disregarded Hardy made such an impressive winning debut in the mile maiden that, to use the cliche, he really could be anything.
"It's my fault," grinned O'Brien after the colt, who drifted right out to 11 to 2, bombed home by five lengths to initially anyway justify his $2.1 million price tag. "He's just so lazy at home. If you worked him with a pony, he'd work the same as the pony. But you can't beat blood. He's a half brother to Bosra Sham and Michael (Kinane) said he gave him a real good feel."
Urban Ocean made all to beat Quws and will now be aimed at a repeat bid for the Gallinule Stakes which he won last year. "He's got stronger since last year and all his family got better with age," confirmed O'Brien.
In fact the one reverse O'Brien suffered was the eclipse of Alluring in the Athasi Stakes where the filly gave way pretty easily to the Con Collins-trained winner Desert Magic. Yet again the luckless Yara filled the runner-up spot.
Anna Elise paid a rewarding 76 to 1 on the Tote after John Flynn's filly provided claimer Tom Queally with just his second winner in the Foxhound Handicap while Millenium Love was the first of Eddie Lynam's 20-strong juvenile team to oblige this term when taking the opener.
