Great tradition in safe hands

FOR FIVE decades, spring has seen eyes drawn almost magnetically to the theatre of dreams that is Ballydoyle.

At the peak of the maestro Vincent O'Brien's awe inspiring career there was no almost about it. The burgeoning talents of the likes of Nijinsky and Sir Ivor made sure of that. More often than was comfortable for the pocket, dreams dissolved into dust, but for every moody Monteverdi, there was a Roberto for every temperamental Try My Best, a Golden Fleece.

Juvenile potential can refuse to fruit, but spring has always been the time when everything seems possible, victories always within reach. It is no different now. Aidan O'Brien may be in only his second full season at the famous old stables but the dreams of glory are still achingly real.

It was obvious among the work riders, as they steered their charges towards the gallops in the clear sunshine yesterday morning. Set faces testified to intense concentration on every signal the swaggering athletes underneath them were transmitting through the reins. There was also the factor of having their 27 year old boss inching slowly alongside each horse in a mini van full of racing journalists examining each horse with the instinctive eye that has made him the most respected training talent in the country.

"That's Johann Cryuff. He has really strengthened up through the winter. That fourth horse is Desert King. He'll race through the season and could be a real champion. Plaza De Toros will run at Leopardstown on Saturday. He'll need the run but is very well," O'Brien surmises of the three horses who led the 32 strong lot onto the lush peat gallops.

Three of the country's most exciting two year olds, now three genuine prospects for classic glory. The intriguing question is in which of the rippling frames lies the heart of a classic winner.

Little could be gleaned from the four furlong uphill half speed gallop that followed except that all are in enviable good health and that Ballydoyle's mind boggling range of gallops are as close to perfection as can be imagined for the preparation of thoroughbreds. Nevertheless, the easy, contented lob of Plaza De Toros and the enthusiastic sweep of Johann Cryuff's gallop were eyecatching. Definitely more Johann than Jordi.

Twenty minutes later, and as Plaza De Toros stands contentedly with his front legs in buckets of water and crushed ice to cool down any possible heat, O'Brien addresses the expectant journalists with the same disinclination to hype of his illustrious predecessor. However, the potential among the 80 strong yard is too much not to acknowledge in some way.

"He could be a Derby horse," he said quietly as Plaza De Toros eyed the assembled throng with enviable coolness. The depth of such a statement was emphasised with the plaque next to the horse's box. The Minstrel is one of six Epsom Derby winners to come from this yard, and the plaques outside every other box remembering such champions as Alleged and Ballymoss emphasise that tradition. The expectations such success arouse would prove too much for most, but O'Brien seems to thrive on the challenge.

"It's very easy here. If you let them out of their boxes, there's always some gallop for them. We've a new underground watering system for the grass gallops, a swimming pool which is fantastic, everything really," he said before grinning: "There's no excuses here. Only one person can be blamed!"

It's not just the three year old colts that have the potential to make such a statement happily redundant. Shell Ginger, a runaway Group Three winner on the soft last winter, is a filly held in high regard, and her trainer asserts: "Physically, she has done very well and has the sort of action that could mean she's best on good ground."

Strawberry Roan may not overly impress in the looks department but the toned muscle she shows indicates an Oaks bid is a real enough hope. More wilt be known after she runs in the Ballysax Race tomorrow. More immediate hopes of classic glory will be invested in Orange Jasmine, who goes for the Italian 1,000 Guineas in Rome on Sunday.

The classics are a distant dream for the strong band of two year olds in the yard but two wins from two juvenile runners so far indicates they are a talented bunch. The best, however, are definitely still to show their faces.

King Of Kings, a colt by Sadler's Wells, cantered past, drawing nods of approval from his trainer. The $800,000 El Gran Senor colt Saratoga Springs moved with the fluency of a natural athlete, and the 600,000 guineas purchase Second Empire should make an impression in the second half of the season.

Of course, by then many of the spring dreams currently held throughout these islands will have been shattered. However, in a sunny, hopeful Ballydoyle yesterday, it was hard not to believe that more than one will survive.

. The Sun Alliance Hurdle winner Istabraq is scheduled to reappear in the £30,000 Stanley Cooker Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Wednesday. Aidan O'Brien confirmed the plan yesterday and said: "The horse is in fine form and hopefully the ground will be good at Punchestown."