AIDAN O’Brien, Ryan Moore and the Coolmore partners emerged with top honours on Naas’ Royal Ascot Trials Day meeting as the powerful axis struck with a treble, including the Group 3 Goffs Lacken Stakes with The Antarctic.

It was the fifth time in the race’s 10-year history that O’Brien has plundered the six-furlong event, having memorably done so with 2017 Commonwealth Cup hero Caravaggio.

The Antarctic arrived with a point to prove after failing to fire on his seasonal comeback in extremely testing conditions at Navan. This was much more like it from last season’s Middle Park Stakes second, doing enough to score by a head despite being strongly pressed close home by Ocean Quest, who had his measure last time at Navan.

Ladbrokes cut the 13/8 winning favourite to 16/1 (from 25/1) for the Commonwealth Cup, but O’Brien indicated that The Antarctic’s Royal Ascot target could hinge on where stablemate Little Big Bear runs.

“I’m delighted with him. He made good progress from Navan and he just needed that as well. This horse is going to come forward again, he’s still a little bit tubby but he’s coming.

“Ryan was delighted with him, he said he got a little bit lonely and idle in the last half a furlong but we couldn’t be happier with him.

“He had progressed plenty without us really having to chase him. We thought this race would bring him the rest of the way and if everything stays well we should be able to let him coast into Ascot now.

“We have a choice at Ascot. Little Big Bear is going to run in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock on Saturday, and The Antarctic would have the option of going to the Jersey Stakes over seven furlongs if Little Big Bear went to the Commonwealth Cup.”

Tiber a terrific prospect

There was a bigger shake-up to the Coventry Stakes market when exciting juvenile River Tiber made it two wins from two starts in the five-furlong Coolmore Stud Calyx Race.

A 10-length maiden winner on much softer ground at Navan a month earlier, the Wootton Bassett colt was forced to dig in when the front-running Tourist turned the screw in front. However, River Tiber found generously under Moore and powered away to score by two and a half lengths as 2/9 favourite.

Betfair made the 480,000gns yearling purchase their 9/4 favourite (from 11/4) for the Coventry at Royal Ascot.

O’Brien said: “He hadn’t been asked to do anything off the bridle at home, then he went to Navan and won very easily in soft ground so he probably doesn’t know a lot. He would have learned an awful lot here and Ryan was very happy with him.

“I thought that he mightn’t even come off the bridle because he shows loads at home. The runner up [Tourist] is obviously a good horse. We thought River Tiber would be a Coventry horse.”

Unless comes good

The Sandringham Stakes at the Royal Meeting could be an option for Unless after the daughter of Justify made it seventh time lucky in the Twydil/Clovelly Irish EBF Fillies Maiden over a mile.

Having finished second on her previous trio of starts this season, the scopey three-year-old certainly wasn’t winning out of turn at 9/4.

O’Brien said of the two-and-a-half-length winner: “She’s a nice filly and will probably go up in trip. She’s a long time waiting to win. I’d say the Justifys appreciate a little bit of time and you don’t want to rush them. They are all starting to come now. They are big horses and she is a big filly as well.”

JOHNNY Murtagh’s string has made a bright start to the campaign and his high-class sprinter Ladies Church booked her place in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot when brushing her rivals aside in the Listed Sole Power Sprint Stakes.

The Mark Dobbin-owned four-year-old had impressed two starts earlier when scoring at Group 2 level in Dubai and this three-length success under Ben Coen prompted Paddy Power to cut her to 16/1 (from 33/1) for her target at the Royal Meeting.

“We think the world of this filly and brought her to Dubai during the winter as she likes fast ground,” said Murtagh of the 4/1 winner.

“I was hoping she’d do something like that today. We’re delighted and I think she deserves her place in the King’s Stand.

“It’s hard to get Group 1 horses and we think we have one. Anyone who has ridden her work always thought she was a high-class filly and could be the real deal. She reminds me a little bit of Sole Power, she’s very responsive.”

Emperor has the answers

Murtagh and Coen were narrowly denied another Listed winner with narrow runner-up Sharlouk later on the card but managed to secure a double thanks to a likeable performance from 2/1 favourite Blues Emperor in the concluding Tote Always SP Or Better Handicap over a mile.

It was a second win in just six career starts for the Gleneagles four-year-old, who carries the colours of Helen and Mark Keaveney.

Murtagh said: “He’s a bonny little horse, very genuine and tough. It’s a pleasure to have horses for the owners, they are lovely people and I rode winners for them when I was with John Oxx as an apprentice. It’s great to get a horse like this for them. Hopefully he’ll be able to be a premier handicap type because he’s very genuine. A mile is probably a good trip for him.”

Albany next for promising Porta

Earlier on the card, it was Donnacha O’Brien who landed the day’s most valuable contest, the Group 3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes with unbeaten juvenile Porta Fortuna.

The daughter of Caravaggio had produced a smart performance to win on debut at the Curragh and was subsequnetly sold to Barry Fowler, Medallion Racing 2020 LLC. Steven Weston and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.

Ridden by Gavin Ryan, the 8/1 shot was always doing enough to repel the late challenge of fast-finishing breeze-up recruit Navassa Island, trained by Michael O’Callaghan.

O’Brien said: “We thought she was a nice filly and it’s nice to see her handle the step up in class well. She was bought by some American partners and it’s great for them. We’ll speak to them now but there is probably a good chance she’ll go to Royal Ascot now, likely for the Albany Stakes.”

COSMIC Vega will go down as a landmark horse in the careers of Mick Halford and Tracey Collins as he became the first winner for the pair’s newly-established Conyngham Lodge training partnership in the Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes.

It was a gritty display from the Long Inch Limited-owned five-year-old to boot, pulling out all the stops to score by a short head under the in-form Ronan Whelan.

“We’ve had a challenging time so it’s good to get going - it means a lot,” said Halford, with Collins not present.

“It’s a tough game and there are a lot of ups and downs so you have to enjoy the good days. It’s been a change of circumstances, a change of fortunes and we’re settling in well now in new surroundings.

“Myself and Tracey have a lot in common with the way we train, our methods. There was no better place for me to go on that side of the Curragh, with some great gallops. Conyngham Lodge is a wonderful facility.

“I had a chat with Tracey before Christmas. Her numbers were down and I needed somewhere to go. It just made sense, and we both train for owner-breeders. Hopefully it will work out for both of us. We let out some two-year-olds for the May grass and by the end of the month we’ll have about 55 horses in.”

On the winning performance Halford added: “He was all heart and got a brilliant ride, Ronan is riding out of his skin. He could go to Killarney for a Listed race.”

Vega keeps Lavery in spotlight

Sheila Lavery’s excellent start to the 2023 campaign also continued at the Kildare venue as Fort Vega clung on to deny Aidan O’Brien a four-timer with Broadhurst in the Royal Ascot Trials At Naas Handicap over a mile.

Ridden by Robbie Colgan in the colours of John Lavery, the 6/1 shot became the trainer’s sixth winner of the year in Ireland from just 48 runners, already closing in on her previous year’s tally of 10 winners (from 191 runners).

“I’ll talk to John - they love having runners at Ascot and I’d say the Jersey Stakes could be an option,” said Lavery.

“He’s a gorgeous horse, you can put him anywhere and do anything with him - he’s just so easy.

“I was a little bit worried, being a Lope De Vega, whether the ground would be a tad fast for him. We decided to let him take his chance because it was such a good race for him.”