Having been crowned champion trainer in Britain for a seventh time on Saturday, Aidan O’Brien is set to chase multiple Group One targets next weekend.
The record-breaking Irishman is currently on 19 top-flight successes for 2024 and could have contenders in a trio of upcoming Group One contests for juveniles divided between Doncaster and Saint-Cloud.
Aftermath and Delacroix are among his options for Britain’s final Group One of the year in Saturday’s William Hill Futurity, a race O’Brien has won 11 times in all. Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell, winner of the Beresford on his last start, is also a Futurity possible.
However, O’Brien’s massive list of two-year old talent can also be spread about a pair of top-class contests in Paris 24 hours later.
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O’Brien has a handful of career victories already in the Criterium International and the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, both worth €250,000. Los Angeles, this season’s Irish Derby hero, won the 10-furlong Criterium de Saint-Cloud a year ago.
Sunday’s action at the Paris track will also include the €350,000 Prix Royal Oak, France’s St Leger, and early entry Ballydoyle options for that currently include Illinois and Grosvenor Square.
Kyprios delivered O’Brien a first victory since 2019 on Saturday’s British Champions Day at Ascot, where he officially picked up a first cross-channel trainers’ championship since 2017.
Alongside reigning National Hunt champion trainer, Willie Mullins, it represents rare Irish dominance in British racing.
O’Brien’s current prize-money haul of £8,283,380 (almost €10 million) is well clear of his nearest rival Andrew Balding on almost £5 million. Although the championship runs to the end of the year, O’Brien’s lead is unassailable.
He is assured of a 28th title in Ireland this season where he has accumulated over €6.3 million in prize money.
The Ballydoyle trainer’s cross-channel campaign was spearhead by the City Of Troy in the Derby, Eclipse and Juddmonte International, while Jan Brueghel led home a 1-2 for the stable in the Leger.
O’Brien has had 11 Group One victories in Britain so far this season, four in France, three in Ireland, while Warm Heart won in the US in January.
“The owners are the people who put the resources in every year, to try and help us make it better. They put a lot of time in and give us advice. We do our best, give information back, and try to follow the roadmap that they draw for us.
“Some years it goes very well, some years it is ordinary, and some years it is medium. This was a good year for us. We won plenty of good races. I am just delighted for everybody when we do have a good year. We don’t take anything for granted and try to look to the future,” he said.
Ground conditions at Doncaster are currently soft and that could be sufficient to allow the promising Detain take his chance in the Futurity for John and Thady Gosden.
The half-brother to St Leger runner-up Arrest has won both his career starts at Kempton, including when impressing by seven lengths last time.
“Doncaster is under consideration for Detain, so long as he’s fit and well. One thing that might prevent him is the going. John and Thady have said they wouldn’t like to run him on heavy ground at this stage of his career,” said the Juddmonte spokesman Barry Mahon.
“Obviously, he’s won on the all-weather twice, so we know he likes a good surface, but being a brother to Arrest, I’m sure a bit of cut in the ground won’t be a problem. I just don’t think we’d want to run him on heavy ground at this stage of his life,” he added.
Wimbledon Hawkeye, winner of the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket on his last start, is an early 4-1 Futurity favourite with some firms. Prior to that success he was placed behind The Lion In Winter in York’s Acomb Stakes.
Monday’s action is at Gowran where Light As Air, a half-brother to the 2023 Leger winner Continuous, goes in a mile maiden. He was third on his Navan debut behind stable companion Isambard Brunel, one of the Ballydoyle options for Saint-Cloud’s Group One races next weekend.
Frankendael goes to the final handicap on the back of a pair of victories over flights and an official 76 flat rating looks exploitable.
