PICKING yourself off the canvas once at the highest level of sport takes some doing, so for Aidan O’Brien to have done it twice in the same season with Auguste Rodin goes down as a year and achievement to remember with extreme fondness.
After plenty of chatter surrounding the Coolmore homebred’s talents at two, 2023 was the year that the son of Deep Impact spoke up and established his own CV to prove he is worthy of the hype. Nothing ended the year with a higher official rating domestically (125).
A flop in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, he dazzled in the Derby at Epsom - beating subsequent Champion Stakes scorer King Of Steel in a thrilling finish - and he joined a classy group of Epsom-Curragh double winners when producing a workmanlike performance to win the Irish Derby a month later.
It had looked as though the Ballydoyle maestro was back to square one with Auguste Rodin when blowing out spectacularly in the King George at Ascot, but his best was yet to come.
In a display that silenced any doubters, the exquisitely-bred colt was sublime in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown - lowering the colours of Group 1 regulars Luxembourg, Nashwa and King Of Steel just six weeks on from the King George. It looked an up-to-scratch renewal of the €1.25 million event, with the first five home entering the race rated 123, 121, 122, 121 and 120, with another 120-rated performer back in seventh.
Moore masterclass
Arguably his most stylish display was saved for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, however. Ryan Moore came up with a wonderful ride in a race where others would surely wish to have made different decisions on beaten runners, but the winner - plundering a fifth Group 1 in the space of seven starts - showed star quality.
An ambitious decision from the Coolmore partners to keep Auguste Rodin in training for 2024 - potentially with a Breeders’ Cup Classic bid in mind on the dirt - means there are likely to be more intriguing chapters to write in his career next season. He will be given the chance to prove himself possibly the greatest flat performer O’Brien has ever trained.
One Ballydoyle-trained three-year-old who will not be back on the track in 2024 is Paddington, who was retired to stud this autumn after a stellar campaign that saw him rattle off six consecutive wins - progressing from handicap class to Group 1 and classic success.
Thrown in off a mark of 97 in the Madrid Handicap at Naas on his seasonal bow, he hacked up before following suit in the Tetrarch Stakes and landing the Irish 2000 Guineas under an excellent tactical ride from Ryan Moore.
The Siyouni colt proved there was no fluke about that Group 1 breakthrough when collecting in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, beating 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean by a decisive three and three quarters of a length.
Peak Paddington
He showed toughness to match his quality in beating Emily Upjohn in the Coral-Eclipse, and when coping with extremely testing ground on his way to winning the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
Encountering the fastest ground he has ever met may have contributed to his first defeat of the season when a highly respectable third to Mostahdaf and Nashwa in the Juddmonte International, and it was potentially one run too many when down the field in the QEII at Ascot on his final start, but he still ended 2023 as the joint highest-rated horse in training in Ireland with a mark of 125.
All in all, it was a fine season’s work for Ballydoyle, including in the three-year-old and older division. Luxembourg struck in the Tattersalls Gold Cup under a masterful Moore ride, Continuous plundered the St Leger and Great Voltigeur Stakes, Savethelastdance won a dramatic Irish Oaks after trading as big as 999/1 in the in-running markets, and Warm Heart showed massive improvement to win the Ribblesdale Stakes, Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille. Her season was nearly capped off in some style when beaten a neck by Inspiral in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf and third against the boys in the Hong Kong Vase.
Global firepower
Internationally speaking, there was also a Grade 1 success at Saratoga for Bolshoi Ballet in the Sword Dancer Stakes, a Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup strike for Broome at Meydan and a local Group 2 win in Qatar for Order Of Australia.
Royal Ascot was a massive meeting for O’Brien in 2023 too. He contested 22 races on the biggest week in international racing and emerged with four winners, seven seconds, two thirds and four fourths.
Overall, the champion trainer’s domestic prize money tally of €6.7 million ranked as his best return in five years.
From his smallest number of runners in an Irish season since 2009, he recorded his joint-best winner count since 2019 with 105 successes from 441 runners. That 24% strike rate is his highest in a single Irish season in a decade.
IMPRESSIVE returns for Aidan O’Brien in 2023 were aided strongly by his two-year-olds, who won a whopping 61 races between Ireland (52), Britain (six), France (two) and America (one).
Amongst that numerical strength, however, was serious quality, winning six juvenile Group 1s, five Group 2s and five Group 3s. Of the 23 two-year-olds with a rating above 105 in Ireland at the end of the season, O’Brien is responsible for 16 of them (70%).
Top of the pile is City Of Troy, who joint-owner Michael Tabor described as “our Frankel” in the aftermath of a devastatingly impressive Dewhurst Stakes win and is already the joint highest-rated horse in training in Ireland for 2023, alongside Auguste Rodin and Paddington.
By sire-of-the-moment Justify, he rates as one of the most exciting juveniles O’Brien has ever had on his hands and no bookmaker is willing to lay any bigger than even-money about him for next year’s 2000 Guineas.
Futurity and National Stakes winner Henry Longfellow, unbeaten in three starts, is a bright prospect in his own right and is impeccably bred as a son of Dubawi and prolific Group 1 winner Minding.
Autumn aces
Unquestionable added his name to the list of top-level winners in this division with a clearcut win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last month, while Los Angeles made it two wins from two starts when landing the Criterium de Saint-Cloud in late October.
Irish Champions Festival winner Diego Velazquez disappointed in the Futurity at Doncaster but otherwise looked a high-class operator and River Tiber was placed in two Group 1s after winning the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.
As for the Ballydoyle fillies, Opera Singer looks a readymade classic contender on the basis of her brilliant win in the Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day and ends the campaign with a mark of 118. For context, Arc heroine Found - one of O’Brien’s previous Boussac winners in the last decade - was rated 117 at the same point of her career.
Fillies’ Mile scorer Ylang Ylang wraps up her campaign on 112 and has the makings of a better three-year-old when stepping up to middle distances.
The only overseas-trained winner of a juvenile blacktype race in Ireland this year was Fallen Angel (Karl Burke), who showed a terrific attitude to fend off Vespertilio in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.
Murray magic
An unprecedented season of flat success for Adrian Murray through his link-up with Amo Racing was made memorable in the two-year-old ranks.
Bucanero Fuerte blitzed his Phoenix Stakes rivals to provide the Co Westmeath yard with a breakthrough Group 1 victory at the Curragh, while a shock Royal Ascot success came in the Norfolk Stakes with 150/1 shot Valiant Force. The latter proved that was no fluke when beaten half a length in second behind Big Evs in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
It will be fascinating to see whether connections attempt to go down a Guineas path with Bucanero Fuerte on the back of a disappointing defeat in the National Stakes when likely getting their tactics amiss. Valiant Force looks to have a clear sprinting programme in front of him.
Donnacha O’Brien has only been training for four seasons but came up with his fifth Group 1 winner from Bawnmore Racing when Porta Fortuna backed up her Albany Stakes win in the Cheveley Park Stakes.
Only beaten half a length in second when stepping up to a mile for the first time on her final start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, she collected close to €550,000 in prize money this season and will have plenty of options open to her if able to stay a mile in Europe next year.
Classy One
One of the most impressive juvenile winners of either sex this season came in the Goffs Million, though, when newcomer One Look defied her inexperience to blow away the 23-runner field for Paddy Twomey. If any two-year-old filly in Ireland falls into the “could be anything” category for 2024, this is the one. For this daughter of Gleneagles to post such a massive performance against battle-hardened rivals in these circumstances was quite special.
Twomey also pulled off a fine training feat when winning the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes with a maiden, as Letsbefrankaboutit - a €240,000 breeze-up recruit - showed a touch of class in the colours of Alymer Stud. Unfortunately for connections, it emerged since that victory in August that the Sioux Nation colt has died.
One of the highlights in the two-year-old category this year was the exploits of Gavin Cromwell at Royal Ascot. A 12/1 win for Snellen in the Chesham Stakes under Gary Carroll brought the dual-purpose trainer’s record at the meeting to two wins from two runners, having previously landed the 2021 Queen Mary Stakes with Quick Suzy at 8/1.
No pressure then for whatever he sends to the fixture in 2024.
DERMOT Weld’s more select string in 2023 served him well, emerging with his second best domestic prize money tally since 2016. In that campaign, he sent out double the number of runners than he was represented by this season.
Coeur D’or was an admirable contributor to the Rosewell haul of over €1.5 million in Ireland with wins in the Colm Quinn BMW Mile and Paddy Power Irish Cambridgeshire, and Shamida chipped in with Group 3 wins in the Irish St Leger Trial and Stanerra Stakes, but it was Tahiyra who took top honours as Europe’s outstanding three-year-old filly.
Narrowly denied by Mawj in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Aga Khan homebred sluiced up in the Irish equivalent before winning with similar authority in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot under regular rider Chris Hayes.
There was a joyous homecoming for the Siyouni filly in the Matron Stakes when showing a sizzling turn of foot, and time was called on her career after finishing a respectable third to the brilliant Big Rock in the QEII at Ascot.
It is high praise indeed from her master trainer when he describes her as “right up there” with the best he has ever had in his care.
Via Sistina shines
There were two British-trained winners in senior Group 1s in Ireland this year, starting with the George Boughey-trained Via Sistina in the Pretty Polly Stakes. A 5,000gns steal as a yearling by Stephen Hillen, the five-year-old by Fastnet Rock recorded her sole top-level success in this Curragh prize, though there was some controversy as connections of the Hughie Morrison-trained runner-up Stay Alert went on to lodge an appeal over interference.
The result stood, and Via Sistina proved she belonged in this grade when beaten a nose in the Prix Jean Romanet and runner-up to King Of Steel in the Champion Stakes. Earlier this month, she sold for 2,700,000gns to Evergreen Equine at the Tattersalls December Sale.
Eldar Eldarov was the other overseas raider to strike in an Irish Group 1 in what can probably be viewed as a substandard edition of the Irish St Leger given runner-up Kyprios was ring-rusty on his return from injury and the only other runners were the 105-rated pair of Dawn Rising and Yashin.
That said, the Roger Varian-trained winner couldn’t have done any more to collect in good style and he was operating at his optimum trip. The result was also a special one for Co Kildare native David Egan, riding his first winner in Ireland at what was previously his local track.
Mighty Moss
Speaking of the Curragh, there was a popular winner in the Flying Five Stakes on the same card when Moss Tucker won at the highest level for the first time for Ken Condon.
Some of the leading players failed to deliver their ‘A’ game, and the runner-up Get Ahead entered the race with a mark of just 102, but the mount of Billy Lee delivered a career-best and was in no mood to be denied at 16/1. What a success story he has been for breeder Donal Spring and the Charlie Bit Me Syndicate. Moss Tucker started out in a 10-furlong maiden at Cork and has shown remarkable improvement to go from a mark of 74 to 114.
Fozzy Stack pulled off a memorable first win Group 1/Grade 1 company with Aspen Grove in the Belmont Oaks earlier this summer under Oisin Murphy, while another trainer to enjoy a landmark campaign was Natalia Lupini.
The native of Italy ended her campaign with a career-best total of 15 winners (up from nine in 2022) and those included an Irish Champions Festival triumph with Kitty Rose and a win in the Ahonoora Handicap at Galway with stable stalwart Dunum.
Joseph O’Brien may have been without a Group 1 winner on the flat in 2023 but he did emerge from Royal Ascot with a double courtesy of Dawn Rising (Queen Alexandra Stakes) and Okita Soushi (Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes).
He also caused a 150/1 upset in the Friends Of The Curragh Irish Cesarewitch with Magellan Strait, plundered a valuable pot on Arc weekend at ParisLongchamp with Islandsinthestream and no more than 20 listed or group races.
THERE was no stopping Colin Keane in the jockeys’ championship as he rattled off his fifth title by a wide margin.
His closing total of 92 winners was too much for Billy Lee on 74, who in turn was well clear of Dylan Browne McMonagle (57), Gary Carroll (54), Ben Coen (54) and Ryan Moore (51).
It was also a memorable season for multiple classic-winning rider Keane as he partnered a previously elusive first Royal Ascot winner aboard 25/1 outsider Villanova Queen in the Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap for Jessica Harrington.
Jamie Powell was a deserving winner of the apprentice title for the first time, ending the campaign on 28 winners, and there was a broad spectrum of young riders making their mark on the flat in 2023.
In close pursuit of Powell were Adam Caffrey (25 winners), Conor Stone-Walsh (24), Luke McAteer (23), Joey Sheridan (20), James Ryan (19), Sean Bowen (19), Robert Whearty (19) and Wayne Hassett (19).
Emotional victory
The most uplifting apprentice story of the season, however, came when Wesley Joyce returned to the winner’s enclosure for the first time since suffering serious injuries in a horrendous fall at the 2022 Galway Festival.
It was an emotional scene at Cork in the aftermath of his success aboard the Eddie Linehan-trained Trueba in late August.
To his credit, Joyce has really pressed on since kickstarting his comeback and rode 12 more winners before the year was out. A tilt at the apprentice title is on his mind in 2024, but having him back in the saddle in any capacity is a result to savour for everyone involved in his inspiring recovery.