Aidan O’Brien took a knock to his Derby team as Pierre Bonnard was once again beaten at Leopardstown. The Criterium winner was lacklustre on reappearance, and while he bridged the gap to James J Braddock, he was unable to fend off the latter’s late challenge. Dylan Browne McMonagle, who won the Chester Cup on Saturday for the yard, delivered his mount with aplomb.
The son of Zarak saw his price plummet from three figures for the Derby. But Joseph O’Brien is in no rush to cement his plans. Speaking to the Press Association, via At The Races: “He was tough. He ran a nice race here the first day and we thought he’d come on from the run. We were a bit worried about the fast ground because his maiden win last year was on quite soft ground. You’d have to say that he handled it well.
“Before today we were thinking he might be a horse for the King Edward in Ascot. That’s the race we were working towards, but I suppose we now have to consider other options as well. We’ll see how he comes out of it and discuss it with Aziz Kheir. It’s the first horse we’ve had for him, he has a lot of horses in Australia.”
Aziz Kheir is a prominent figure down under, who remarkably was part-owner of the first three home in the 2021 Melbourne Cup. Jospeh O’Brien has a fine knack for targeting prestigious overseas pots, including the Melbourne Cup twice. Rekindling was his first winner of the contest in 2017, who also made his seasonal debut in the Ballysax.
“If we did want to go there he has earned his spot” – Joseph O’Brien
Part-owned by Kevin Blake, O’Brien seemingly has grand plans for his promising colt. “This is going to be a horse that will hopefully turn up in top international races” remarked the trainer. “Today was obviously a big step forward. We’ve always thought he’d love going a mile and a half.”
When pondered the Derby question, O’Brien stated: “It’s probably fair to say that, it looks like a relatively open race. If we did want to go there he has earned his spot. I think we’ll just see how the next week goes and discuss it with Aziz. See how he pulls up and make a plan then.”
Joseph O’Brien is yet to win the Derby as a trainer, having won it with Camelot and Australia as a jockey. James J Braddock certainly looks to have the tools required to be competitive, should connections take their chance.