O'Brien Not Losing Faith With King George

Aidan O'Brien was in a philosophical mood yesterday, 24 hours after the eclipse of George Washington in the Boylesports Irish 2000 Guineas.

And the Ballydoyle maestro believes his two-length beating at the hands of Araafa will have had only a galvanising effect on his temperamental star.

'I was delighted with George. Forget about winning ? he walked out of the race a man,' O'Brien said of his charge, who once displayed his now trademark tendency to play up in the preliminaries.

'He has to grow up and face reality but I just want to avoid being confrontational with him and him getting resentful towards me.

'He loves his racing but when he hits the front he tends go left and right. He would have got tired yesterday but that can only have done him good.

'Ideally he wants fast ground but racing on all surfaces will make a man of him.

'I will now look forward to taking him to Royal Ascot, where he will run in the St James's Palace Stakes.'

The one-mile Group One contest on the opening day of the Royal extravaganza is also the target for the Jeremy Noseda-trained Araafa, who stepped up considerably on his creditable fourth at HQ.

'I'm absolutely thrilled with Araafa's win but now we'll put our heads down and work towards Royal Ascot,' the Newmarket handler told www.jeremynoseda.co.uk.

'We are looking forward to a rematch there with George Washington.

'It's 1-1 and we will lock horns with him again in the St James's Palace Stakes.'

? PA Sport