Little Big Bear is developing a habit of testing Aidan O’Brien’s stress levels and could do so again ahead of Saturday’s Pertemps July Cup in Newmarket.
A bruised foot sustained by Europe’s champion two-year-old of 2022 resulted in him missing six days work recently, leaving O’Brien to juggle whether to let the colt take his chance in perhaps Europe’s most prestigious sprint.
The record-breaking Irishman is pursuing yet another landmark as victory for Little Big Bear will give him a sixth July Cup success, eclipsing both Charles Morton and the legendary Vincent O’Brien.
Ryan Moore’s mount has quite a task anyway having to reverse Royal Ascot form with the favourite Shaquille. But the plus side is how he overcame an even later injury scare last summer to record a career-defining victory in the Phoenix Stakes.
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Prior to the race, Little Big Bear kicked out at a wall and part of his horseshoe went into a back foot. If he felt a bit tender it didn’t affect him too adversely as he delivered a spectacular championship-winning performance.
“At the moment, everything is going well with him. It hasn’t been ideal, obviously, but we’re happy enough,” O’Brien said on Friday. “He just missed five or six days last week and we won’t know until he runs how much it has affected him.”
Little Big Bear’s three-year-old career to date hasn’t lived up to the promise of that Phoenix performance and there was a real sense of anticlimax in the Ballydoyle team after coming up over a length short of Shaquille in last month’s Commonwealth Cup.
The latter now tries to complete a double last managed by Muharaar in 2015 while the shock 80-1 QEII Jubilee Stakes winner Khadeem will try to justify his supplementary fee.
Azure Blue and Kinross are others in the mix but, despite circumstances, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the pair of three-year-olds fight it out once again. Despite usually being outnumbered, the classic generation has emerged on top a healthy 19 times since 1980.
Over an hour earlier on the Newmarket card there will almost be as much interest in the second career start of O’Brien’s two-year-old City Of Troy in the Group Two Superlative Stakes.
The Justify colt only appeared to be getting going at the end of his recent maiden success at the Curragh where Moore’s main problem appeared to be pulling him up in time before colliding with a fence.
Both he and O’Brien were noticeably impressed by the performance and City Of Troy is already a 12-1 second favourite for next year’s 2,000 Guineas.
Saturday’s contest could provide a real superpower head-to-head as Godolphin have used the Superlative for some of their top names in recent years, including Native Trial two years ago, and now pitch in their impressive Leicester winner Great Truth.
The juvenile focus will switch to France on Sunday where O’Brien and Moore team up again for His Majesty in the Group Two Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly.
The €130,000 contest is off at 1.33 Irish-time and was won by the O’Brien star Blackbeard a year ago.
His Majesty finished fourth in Royal Ascot’s Norfolk Stakes and subsequently placed third behind Bucanero Fuerte in the Railway Stakes at the Curragh. The No Nay Never colt tackles just four opponents at Chantilly including the supplemented pair, Balsam and Myconian.
The sole weekend action in Ireland takes place at Navan on Saturday where the most interesting contest shapes as a 1¼ mile conditions event.
Dermot Weld puts first-time cheekpieces on Harbour Wind who chased home the smart Pivotal Trigger on his last start in Roscommon. Prior to that he was the stable outsider when making a winning debut at Cork over a mile.
There is some smart 90′s rated opposition in this but fresh from Group success with Shamida at Leopardstown on Thursday, the Weld team look entitled to fancy their chances.
In other news, it has been confirmed the long-awaited introduction of race times from every Irish racecourse will be broadcast on-screen from the start of 2024.
Data from the Coursetrack firm which already operates at Leopardstown, Dundalk and Fairyhouse, as well as 35 British courses, will also be supplied from Ireland’s 23 other tracks.
“Racecourses in Ireland enter a new media rights environment from January and it is imperative that we ensure there is as much information as possible for those who want to bet on the action on our tracks,” said Horse Racing Ireland’s chief executive, Suzanne Eade.
