Cox Plate 2026 an option for exciting International colt

Champion trainer Aidan O’Brien has identified the Group 1 Cox Plate at Flemington as a potential long-term target for exciting colt Gstaad following his dominant Irish Classic victory.

The son of Starspangledbanner produced a commanding display to claim Saturday’s Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh after bouncing back from defeat in the Group 1 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month.

Partnered by Ryan Moore, Gstaad settled prominently throughout the 1600m contest before accelerating sharply inside the final 400 metres to put the race beyond doubt, eventually scoring by three lengths.

Attention now turns to the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot next month, where a rematch with Bow Echo is on the cards after that rival defeated him at Newmarket.

“Ryan said the best feel he ever gave him was when he won the Coventry, so you’d hope that he’d be very happy to go back to Ascot,” O’Brien said.

“We’d really look forward to Ascot, win, lose or draw. There will be plenty of pace on and we’ll see what happens.”

Beyond Royal Ascot, Melbourne could enter the equation, with O’Brien believing the colt has the profile to eventually thrive over further distances.

“We think he’ll have no problem stepping up (in trip) when the time comes, he looks like a horse that could go further,” O’Brien commented.

“We always thought that he could turn into a Cox Plate horse, but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then.”

O’Brien and Moore famously combined to win the Cox Plate in 2014 with Adelaide and may now be plotting another assault on Australia’s premier weight-for-age contest.