Considering it has only Listed status, the stakes involved in Saturday’s Curragh feature and the return to action of the 2,000 Guineas favourite Albert Einstein could hardly be higher.
Ryan Moore had been pencilled in for six rides at Meydan’s Dubai World Cup in races worth over $16 million in prize money.
Aidan O’Brien’s late call to scrap the habit of a lifetime and give his top Guineas contender a prep run before Newmarket means Moore is at HQ instead to ride in the €50,000 1xbets.ie Gladness Stakes.
The reason is Albert Einstein’s inexperience. The second of just two runs as a juvenile was last May. A setback meant he hasn’t been seen since, although the sky-high reputation he had as a youngster has, if anything, got even more stratospheric.
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O’Brien has labelled him the fastest horse he’s ever had through his hands in 30 years at the helm in Ballydoyle. A recent media morning had the trainer saying that he planned to all but sleepwalk Albert Einstein to Newmarket in a bid to teach him to settle and preserve his suspect stamina for a mile. But the son of the late sire Wootton Bassett is apparently so exceptional that he’s worth a Derby entry too.
Naturally gifted as he may be, the call has been made to test him competitively in the seven-furlong contest on testing ground conditions rather than come up the Curragh 24 hours later in a workout for the rest of Ballydoyle’s battalions.
None of O’Brien’s record 10 Guineas winners had a prep before scoring at Newmarket. Giants Causeway won the Gladness all of 26 years ago but subsequently found Kings Best too good at Newmarket.
Considering the hopes and investment pinned on Albert Einstein, the decision to deviate from the Classic norm adds to the intrigue surrounding his return to action.
He and his stable companion Neolithic are the only three-year-olds up against eight older horses that include last year’s winner Big Gossey. A cross-channel raider is Ten Bob Tony, third in last season’s Foret at Longchamp. His 112 rating may provide a useful guideline.
A clue to O’Brien’s thinking could be how Camille Pissarro couldn’t overhaul Big Gossey a year ago but was still able to land the French Derby. Even defeat on Saturday might be acceptable if it helps Albert Einstein deliver when it really counts on the first Saturday in May.
What it means more immediately is a hark back to the glory days of the Gladness Stakes.
Nijinsky (1970) and El Gran Senor (1984) were among the winners when it was Vincent O’Brien’s trial of choice en route to Newmarket. Modern trends have changed it. Between 2004 and 2014 three-year-olds couldn’t even run in it. It was demoted to Listed status two years ago.
Finding out how top Classic prospects had wintered used to be a key element of this time of year on the flat. Fascination at how perhaps the fastest horse O’Brien has ever had performs on Saturday will extend from the Curragh to Dubai and beyond.
Moore has three other rides for Ballydoyle, including the highly-touted newcomer George Stubbs in a maiden. The half-brother to high-class pair, Johannes Vermeer and Wembley is already a 40-1 shot in some Derby lists.
The start of the British flat season on turf is at Doncaster on Saturday, featuring the William Hill Lincoln. It is 42 years since the last Irish-trained winner, Dermot Weld’s Saving Mercy. Orandi is the sole raider this time.
Tony Martin’s runner was third last year on the back of having won the Irish Lincolnshire and is 6lbs higher in the ratings this time. Moore rode Orandi when finishing out of the money in his attempt at a Lincolnshire follow-up a fortnight ago.
William Haggas won with Goodwinson last year, a record fifth victory in the mile contest for the Newmarket trainer. Addeybb scored for him in 2019 and went on to win four Group One races. Haggas relies on Eternal Force this time.
“He’s probably not an Addeybb because he was a pretty stylish horse and this one is a bit lazy at home, so we’ll see, but he keeps finding this horse and that’s what I like about him. He’ll keep going, enjoy any cut in the ground and I’m hoping he’ll run a good race,” said Haggas.
It is a low-key weekend for the jumps in Ireland and Britain ahead of upcoming Grand National action at Fairyhouse and Aintree.
Downpatrick has the stage to itself here on Sunday with its featured €50,000 Randox Ulster National. Ian Donoghue won it last year with Dunboyne and runs three this time. Drying ground could suit I A Connect, who has a valuable claim in an attempt to successfully stretch his suspect stamina.
