Aidan O’Brien is represented at Galway on Tuesday by the regally-bred Dower House but his cross-channel Group One focus is on Kyrpios and his role as potential ‘spoilsport’ in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.
The Irish star, winner of last month’s Ascot Gold Cup, could prove the major stumbling block to Stradivarius’s chances of a fairytale career finale.
The reverberations of Frankie Dettori’s nightmare passage on Stradivarius in last month’s Ascot Gold Cup linger with the Italian’s compatriot, Andrea Atzeni, taking over in the saddle.
Dettori’s post-Ascot split with the John Gosden team was quickly healed but feelings are clearly still raw with Bjorn Nielsen. Stradivarius’s owner has opted for Atzeni and not ruled out bringing the curtain down on a great career if his veteran star lands an unprecedented fifth Goodwood Cup.
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Failure to emulate Yeats by recording four Ascot Gold Cup victories clearly still stings Nielsen who bluntly made it clear it wasn’t the horse’s fault that he failed to overhaul Kyprios over a month ago.
Amid the turbulent fallout, the emergence of Kyprios as the latest Ballydoyle Gold Cup star was comparatively overlooked.
That could prove the case again now depending on how Stradivarius goes and should Trueshan get a green light to run if ground conditions prove suitable.
The latter’s victory under a monster weight in the Northumberland Plate cemented his own place in popular affection, somewhere the other Irish hope, Princess Zoe, is also securely positioned.
In comparison, Kyprios is very much the new boy with just seven career starts under his belt. He faces the prospect too of having to emulate O’Brien’s ultimate stayer, Yeats, who won both times he ran in the Goodwood Cup in 2006 and 2008.
However, the Galileo colt had to overcome a less than perfect passage himself at Ascot and there could be even better to come from him.
“He is still learning and is a relaxed horse who takes everything in his stride, so we think there is more improvement to come,” O’Brien reported.
“He is straightforward to ride and uncomplicated. I think he is well-balanced and doesn’t over-race. Goodwood is an unusual track, but he seems to be okay going left- or right-handed,” he added.
Back at Ballybrit, Dower House, a sister to Churchill, is set to take on another blue-blooded two year old filly in Tahiyra. The latter is a half-sister to Dermot Weld’s Breeders Cup winner and Arc runner Tarnawa.
Weld famously likes running good juveniles at Galway but O’Brien has won this maiden three times in the last four years, including in 2018 with the subsequent Guineas heroine, Hermosa.
