Joseph O’Brien sweet on supplemented entry Moth in Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas

Joseph O’Brien is hoping Moth can justify being supplemented for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday.

Connections of the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly paid £30,000 to add her to the field at the confirmation stage on the strength of the promise she showed when easily winning a Curragh maiden four weeks ago. “She’s a lovely filly. I really fancied her first time out last year but she only finished fifth and I was terribly disappointed,” the jockey told At The Races yesterday.

“She came back and ran over six in a maiden and I got to the front too soon and she got a bit tired and was nailed by horses late on.

“She went to the Curragh and she showed on the track for the first time what she had been showing at home and she goes there with a live chance in an open-enough Guineas.

"Her pedigree suggests she will stay much further, at least a mile and a half. To do that over seven was very special and we're hoping she will progress with racing."

Win for third time
The jockey's father Aidan also has Snow Queen and Magical Dream left in the race, which he will be bidding to win for a third time, although the latter is not a certain runner.

“Snow Queen has a lot of ability and might be a bit better on a straight track. On her run this year she might struggle, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she ran a big race,” said O’Brien jnr.

“I wouldn’t be 100 per cent sure Magical Dream would run. We’ll see how she is but I would think it’s probably 50-50 with her at the moment,” he said.

One filly not taking her chance is Melody Of Love after trainer Ann Duffield scratched her from the Classic. “There’s nothing wrong but she didn’t work as well as a horse supposedly going to the Guineas would need to,” said Duffield.

“We’ll have a good look in the book to find a nice race for her comeback, but she could be hard to place until the second half of the season.”

O’Brien’s Lines Of Battle will race from stall 11 in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday night. The colt, who enjoyed a solid juvenile campaign, booked his ticket to the ‘run for the roses’ with victory in the UAE Derby at Meydan on his reappearance. A son of War Front, he arrived on Wednesday morning and will be ridden by Ryan Moore.