The O’Brien domination continued at Royal Ascot on Friday as Aidan O’Brien and son Joseph have now notched up 11 winners between them with one day of the Festival still to go.
It was O’Brien senior who took the day’s feature race as the filly Precise followed up her Irish 1000 Guineas win with a convincing victory in the Coronation Stakes.
Precise had disappointed in the English 1000 Guineas, running a lacklustre race and finishing down the field behind stable companion True Love but she reversed the placings with a clear-cut success at the Curragh and with the score at one each the pair of them met again here.
Slightly slowly away, Ryan Moore soon had Precise, a strong 8/13 favourite according to leading Aussie betting sites, racing on the outside in fourth with True Love in behind her as the pace settled.
Approaching the straight the two O’Brien runners maintained their position, both poised to mount their challenges on the outside. The Owen Burrows trained Touleen took the same path as that pair but jockey Saffie Osborne found herself hemmed in by Wayne Lordan on True Love as they raced up the straight, the latter holding his ground as Osborne tried to force her way out of trouble.
By the two-furlong pole Moore, who had enjoyed a trouble-free run on the outside, had Precise in front and they never looked like catching her.
Touleen, who had to switch course twice after not finding room, finished best of all into second and they’ll be wondering what might have been if she’d had a clear passage. True Love stayed on in third without ever looking like troubling the winner.
O’Brien was keen to say the race hadn’t gone entirely to plan, “The pace wasn’t fast, so Ryan had to go earlier than he wanted and because of that he got there a little bit earlier than he wanted too. He didn’t have a choice, these things happen, and a classy filly can overcome them. When everything goes wrong, a horse like that can still make it work.”
For jockey Moore it was third time lucky as he’d chosen Precise when she was beaten at Newmarket and then defected to True Love only to see Precise sail past at the Curragh.
Moore hinted that Precise may be able to stay further in future.
“She stays very well. She’s very good. Ten furlongs would be within her compass, but she’s very good at a mile.”
On the other hand it looks like True Love may be dropped down in trip with O’Brien nominating the July Cup as a possible target.