Host to the equine gods

KING OF KINGS is a two-year-old colt with fire in his eye who won his only race last Sunday and is already 7 to 1 favourite for the 2,000 Guineas.

That's the 1998 2,000 Guineas. A race that will last just over a minute and a half in over 11 months time. If such betting sounds just the other side of derangement then try telling it to those who are still going on about King Of Kings as if he is the reincarnation of Nijinsky, Sir Ivor, Pegasus and any other equine god you care to mention.

Of course, at least two of those gods came from that quiet, almost mystical training centre outside the tiny village of Rosegreen in Co Tipperary that has always provoked dreams of greatness since the world realised that the impish little man who built it up possessed genius.

Vincent O'Brien built the Ballydoyle complex into the finest training centre in the world and, on the backs of such as Nijinsky, Sir Ivor, Alleged and Sadlers Wells, created a dynasty. Now King Of Kings is becoming a vehicle for his successor, Aidan O'Brien to build even further on that Ballydoyle tradition.

That tradition ultimately was broken down to one simple premise: the most important and thrilling weapon in any racehorse's armoury is the ability to accelerate. The new O'Brien may be in only his third season at the famous stables but he knows that that is what they are still built on.

"Everything here is geared to speed, speed and more speed," he says. "The easier they travel in a race, the longer they will last."

To that end, no expense has been spared in adding to the facilities that his famous predecessor established. Now, it is an almost awe-inspiring self-sufficient centre of attention to detail.

So much is evident everywhere. The huge barn where the horses limber up before going on the gallops has an overhead watering system. An underground watering system for the gallops has also been installed, but even technology cannot compare with the mind-boggling assortment of turf and all-weather gallops that characterise Ballydoyle.

The variety is immense with one, the famous sweeping replica of Epsom's Tattenham Corner, still drawing the eye as surely as it must have when the likes of The Minstrel and Golden Fleece sailed around it before successfully tackling the real thing on their way into history.

More practically, it allows no disruption in the preparation of the 90 or more blue bloods in the yard. Whereas trainers on the Curragh can be subject to vagaries in the weather that make their gallops unusable, the Ballydoyle academy canters on remorselessly.

Almost inevitably, though, there are contingency plans if some of the inmates legs are not up to the stresses that galloping produces. A modern equine swimming pool allows the horses to exercise without their ever-fragile legs being open to the everyday scares of strains and tendon injuries.

Ballydoyle is now a rejuvenated centre of excellence, backed up by the formidable financial clout of Coolmore Stud's John Magnier and his partner in many of the best prospects, the south of France-based former bookmaker, Michael Tabor.

Ultimately, though, the success or failure of their investment depends on the talent and nerve of their prodigiously-talented trainer. Nerve, because for a young man of only 27, the current Ballydoyle enterprise must be an immense challenge. Remarkably, Aidan O'Brien seems to be thriving on it.

The pressures and demands on a top trainer should never be underestimated. David O'Brien, son of Vincent, crammed victories in the Epsom, Irish and French Derbys into a remarkably successful career before deciding in his early thirties that the constant struggle for success had taken the enjoyment out of training. He gave it all up.

Aidan O'Brien, however, seems remarkably unaffected by his meteoric rise and increased responsibilities. The quietly-spoken cheerfulness is ever present, and when overlooking his relatively new domain O'Brien merely grins: "There can be no excuses here."

There hasn't been any need to look for any either. The dual Irish Guineas successes of Desert King (2,000 Guineas) and Classic Park (1,000 Guineas) last weekend were historic in that it was the first time since Paddy Prendergast in 1963 that the double was brought off, and only the sixth time in all, but also because they promise to be only a harbinger of a glorious future as well as harking back to Ballydoyle's past.

Such was the dominance of the yard in the seventies and eighties that the advice for ravenous punters often was to back the stable rather than any particular horse in the classics. The most glorious vindicaion of that came in the 2,000 Guineas 14 years ago when the much-touted Danzatore was withdrawn days before the race. Ballydoyle simply replaced him with Lomond, who won in brilliant style.

Things may not be at that all-conquering stage yet under the new regime, but the thrilling thought is that in time they might just be again.

If it does happen, then at least one craftsman will be happy. Every box in Ballydolye has a plaque hanging on its wall with the name of a past great on it, the horse's breeding and the races it won. The result, when walking through the yard, is a walk through perhaps the most colourful period in racing's history.

He may have had only the one run, but the raking stride and almost imperial presence of King Of Kings at the Curragh last Sunday fired the dreams of thousands that here may be the next champion to add to those famous Ballydoyle walls.

The 7 to 1 price for next year's 2,000 Guineas might be ridiculous, but Ballydoyle has its way of inspiring those dreams. If it continues to do so, then its impact will be priceless.