Sun Goddess leads O’Brien’s bid for 12th Moyglare victory

Sun Goddess leads Aidan O'Brien's bid for a record-extending 12th victory in the Moyglare Stud Stakes on Sunday.

The master of Ballydoyle has used the Curragh Group One to test the Classic credentials of some his best youngsters down the years, with Lake Victoria (2024) and Precise (2025) winning the last two renewals before striking Classic gold in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, while Minding (2015) and Love (2019) are also on the roll of honour.

This time around it is Sun Goddess who is the intriguing market leader, having carried almost all before her at six furlongs and now steps up in distance – but O'Brien warns it would be dangerous to dismiss her stablemate Alpha despite an odds-on defeat in the Debutante Stakes three weeks ago.

“You're going to have to ride Sun Goddess to get the trip, that's the way you would ride her anyway,” he said.

“The two of them have two totally different ways of running. You've got one (Alpha) who wants seven furlongs and will get a mile and with the other you are thinking will she get seven furlongs? It will be very interesting.”

Alpha saw her momentum checked when beaten into third behind Joseph O'Brien's reopposing pair of Green Empress and Dancing Destiny in the Debutante, but O'Brien feels she may now be ready to peak for the year.

He added: “You could say I'm keeping Alpha busy enough, but we're not doing much with her between races and she is learning and we are learning about her.

“She's a big, sleepy filly and we feel with those type of fillies, if you overwork them at home, they could get a little bit resentful as you're pushing them too hard.

“We're taking her to the races and letting that be her work and letting the races bring her on.”

It is a similar story in the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes where O'Brien's ante-post Derby favourite Giant Sequoia seeks to enhance his growing reputation.

“The last day was a little bit tougher for him,” said O'Brien, who will also saddle Florida Bay – second to Giant Sequoia in the Futurity Stakes last time – and Acomb Stakes winner Haffner .

“Florida Bay was making the running and going a good, even gallop and Wayne (Lordan) was to follow him and not get there too early. Then Seamus' (Heffernan) horse ( Nola Soul ) started to lie on him a little bit and Wayne had to go a little bit earlier than he wanted, and because of that he had to fight a little bit harder.

“He's a big, powerful horse who will get a mile well, he'll get a mile and a quarter next year and could even get further.

“Haffner is a lovely, straightforward, good-moving horse – a typical Justify. He's relentless with a big, long stride and keeps going.”

Joseph O'Brien has won the Group One three times since 2020 and is responsible for both Phoenix Stakes runner-up Folsom Blues and the highly exciting Juddmonte-owned colt colt Monogram , supplemented for the race earlier this week after a winning debut.

“We had the option of going to Doncaster, but we just thought we'd keep him at home,” explained Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon.

“The ground in Doncaster could have been soft and we had to travel over, so Joseph presented this option to the owners and they said ‘let's give it a go'.

“We've no doubt it's a tough task to jump into a Group One on your second start, but he's a horse we like and we're going there with an eye on the future, hoping he can run a good race and get some experience while doing so. Whether that's good enough to win or not, we won't get too hung up on that, but he's a nice horse and we hope that some day he'll be up to this level if not on Sunday.”

Eve Johnson Houghton's Zavateri who claimed top honours 12 months ago and Oliver Cole's unbeaten Dr Rascal will attempt to land another blow for the British raiders follow Vintage Stakes success at Goodwood.

Cole said: “Dad (Paul Cole) always enjoyed coming out to Ireland. Obviously the racecourse is one of the best in the world and with a clear run there shouldn't be too many excuses.

“He's my first runner in Ireland in my own name and I'm really looking forward to it.

“He's got the most amazing temperament and he's just very, very relaxed. He's very strongly built.

“We gave him a gallop at Newbury with another two-year-old and it was a great bit of work. You want your horses to be running every three weeks and it is six weeks since Goodwood, so to have had a racecourse outing will have really helped him.”