{"id":211221,"date":"2025-10-19T15:19:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T15:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/211221\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T15:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T15:19:09","slug":"futurity-outcome-may-be-crucial-to-aidan-obriens-pursuit-of-new-group-one-record-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/211221\/","title":{"rendered":"Futurity outcome may be crucial to Aidan O\u2019Brien\u2019s pursuit of new Group One record \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aidan O\u2019Brien\u2019s<\/a> hopes of breaking his own world record for Group\/Grade One victories look to hinge on next weekend\u2019s top-flight prizes.<\/p>\n

After drawing a blank in the top contests at Saturday\u2019s British Champions Day the Irish trainer remains on 22 Group One successes for the 2025 season. That\u2019s six shy of his record tally of 28 in 2017.<\/p>\n

Saxon Warrior\u2019s Futurity win at Doncaster in 2017 saw O\u2019Brien break Bobby Frankel\u2019s old benchmark of 25. He has landed Britain\u2019s final Group One prize of the year 11 times in all and has the current ante-post favourite Benvenuto Cellini for next Saturday\u2019s cross-channel highlight. <\/p>\n

Auguste Rodin was his last Futurity winner three years ago but success this time looks a prerequisite to O\u2019Brien\u2019s chances of threatening the record.<\/p>\n

Victory there could generate momentum towards Paris 24 hours later and a triple Group One programme at Saint-Cloud. A pair of \u20ac250,000 Group One races for two-year-olds are accompanied by the \u20ac350,000 Royal Oak.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien has only once before landed France\u2019s version of the St Leger, which was won by the Ballydoyle stalwart Yeats in 2008.<\/p>\n

However, Ireland\u2019s champion trainer holds a record six wins in the Criterium International over a mile, including a year ago with Twain. He has also won the 10-furlong Criterium de Saint-Cloud on five occasions. <\/p>\n

With another massively strong juvenile team to pick from, potentially including the recent impressive Zetland Stakes winner Pierre Bonnard, O\u2019Brien shapes once again as being the one to beat in those races.<\/p>\n

A year ago Twain landed the Saint-Cloud contest just eight days after making a winning debut at Leopardstown and the power of the Ballydoyle battalions was underlined at the Foxrock course on Saturday.<\/p>\n

On an all two-year-old programme, O\u2019Brien came tantalisingly close to going through the card, winning six of the seven races. <\/p>\n

It included a Group Three double through Christmas Day in the Eyrefield Stakes and Dorset in the Killavullan Stakes. Both were ridden by apprentice Jack Cleary, who celebrated a four-timer in all on his 22nd birthday. <\/p>\n

The only one to disrupt the Ballydoyle benefit was another Aidan \u2013 in this case Melia \u2013 who saddled the maiden winner Unauthorized. <\/p>\n

\"MissionMission Central ridden by Christophe Soumillon wins the Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes at Ascot. Photograph: Steven Paston\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Before that, Saturday\u2019s Ascot winner Mission Central earned himself a slot in O\u2019Brien\u2019s Breeders\u2019 Cup squad at Del Mar where the trainer is likely to become the most successful trainer of all at US racing\u2019s showpiece meeting.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien has 20 Breeders\u2019 Cup winners in all, level with the late D Wayne Lukas. The Arc runner-up Minnie Hauk looks like she could lead the Ballydoyle team into the Del Mar action in the $5 million Turf.<\/p>\n

In 2022 O\u2019Brien enjoyed his most successful single Breeders\u2019 Cup with three winners \u2013 Mediate, Victoria Road and Tuesday. A repeat of that tally may yet make for an interesting climax to the international racing calendar at Hong Kong\u2019s Carnival in December. <\/p>\n

Half of his Breeders\u2019 Cup wins have come in two-year-old races and after his victory at Ascot, O\u2019Brien commented: \u201cMission Central is a horse with a lot of ability. He was coming here on the way to the Breeders\u2019 Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChristophe [Soumillon] said he is very fast. He eased him back and they travelled very easy through the race. We think that race will suit him [at the Breeders\u2019 Cup]. He is a gelding, so he is a horse everyone can have fun with.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would suit very well is a repeat of the sort of transatlantic bonanza enjoyed by Gordon Elliott<\/a> at Far Hills in New Jersey on Saturday night. The Co Meath trainer saddled a five-timer topped by Zanahiyr\u2019s American Grand National victory.<\/p>\n

Jack Kennedy\u2019s mount edged out Keith Donoghue on Ballysax Hank in a close finish to the $250,000 highlight. Kennedy did remarkably well to win having been almost unseated at the second jump.<\/p>\n

Elliott also won with Chortal, We\u2019re Back Again and Emily Love, all ridden by Kennedy, while Danny Gilligan scored on Coutach.<\/p>\n

Separately, Joseph O\u2019Brien<\/a> will be represented in a Listed contest at Deaville on Monday when the Roscommon winner Viking Invasion lines up in a mile and a half contest. Maxime Guyon rides the Irish hope in a race that also includes the Ascot winner Aegean Prince. <\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s domestic action is in Gowran where Dylan Browne McMonagle and Colin Keane are both in action as they continue their tussle for the jockeys\u2019 title. <\/p>\n

A stall one draw, and first-time blinkers, can help Mr Tony win the opener, although Keane can strike back in the next with Giverhertilxmas.<\/p>\n

In other news, Charlie Appleby has outlined plans to run up to seven horses at the Breeders\u2019 Cup topped by Rebel\u2019s Romance who will bid for an unprecedented hat-trick in the Turf.<\/p>\n

Group One winner Cinderella\u2019s Dream and Notable Speech as well as the two-year-old Military Code are among those set to travel to California.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aidan O\u2019Brien\u2019s hopes of breaking his own world record for Group\/Grade One victories look to hinge on next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[14400,13673,8029,90922,3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-211221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-ascot","tag-horse","tag-horse-racing","tag-qipco-british-champions-day-ascot-racecourse","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}