O'Brien and McMonagle double up as Sons And Lovers wins Ballyroan Stakes Sons And Lovers completed a double for Joseph O'Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle when making all the running to win the Group 3 Tote Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown. Sent off 6/5F, the four-year-old was smartly into stride under McMonagle, leading from main market rival Crystal Black. Colin Keane produced the latter to throw down a strong challenge early in the straight, drawing alongside Sons And Lovers over a furlong out. However, with a fitness advantage perhaps proving crucial, the O'Brien trained gelding found that bit extra close home to edge ahead for a half-length victory. Joseph O’Brien said: “He’s had some very good runs this year and it was his first time going the trip. We were pretty hopeful that he would enjoy it. “There is a race here for him on Champions Weekend (Kilternan Stakes) and we’re also going to look at some international targets in the autumn. “The owners have Absurde who ran well in Melbourne a couple of times and there is a good chance we could look at something like that for him. “There are races all over the Middle East and there is also Dubai early next year. Everything is on the table at the moment.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
