Aidan O’Brien's 'awesome' late bloomer may be ready for Queen Anne Stakes Aidan O’Brien will be firming up his Royal Ascot plans now and one horse he’ll be hoping to send over is the very talented four-year-old Diego Velazquez, who could be aimed at the Queen Anne Stakes on Day 1. Things haven’t quite gone to plan so far this season and the clock is ticking to get a run into him beforehand. Leopardstown hosts the Listed Glencairn Stakes on Thursday and O’Brien’s colt could be in the line up. talkSPORT BET Betting Offer If you already have a talkSPORT BET account, check out more of the best betting sites and online casinos Awesome pedigree This horse certainly has a smart pedigree, which is not unusual for a Ballydoyle inmate. Frankel was one of the greatest racehorses of all time and has made a flying start to his career as a stallion. He was an expensive purchase at 2,400,000 guineas and his dam was a Listed winner in her racing days, who also placed in a US Grade 3. It’s therefore no surprise that Diego Velazquez is so effective at trips around a mile. Two of his best performing half-siblings both stayed quite well, with Point Lonsdale winning at up to 1m5f and Group 1 winner Broome won over as far as two miles. Diego Velazquez has more pace than his siblings however and he possesses loads of ability. Smart juvenile form Aidan O’Brien’s colt absolutely bolted up on debut and it was immediately obvious that Ballydoyle had another smart horse on their hands. Starting off over 7f at the Curragh, he was very well fancied, going off at 2/5, and he didn’t disappoint. He followed that almost five-length success up when upped to Group 2 level, winning the Champions Juvenile Stakes but being forced to pull out all the stops. That was a good learning experience for him and he showed a good attitude. The heavy ground was against him when below-par in the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster after that and it’s easy to forgive that performance. Late bloomer at three He started off in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains as a three-year-old and he ran a cracker. Only beaten by a length in the end, he stayed on well to finish fourth. It appeared that he lacked the pace to challenge so connections understandably decided to go up in trip. Relatively disappointing in the Prix du Jockey Club over an extended 1m2f next time, he was then too bad to be true in the Edward VII Stakes over 1m4f at Royal Ascot. O’Brien gave him plenty of time to get over that and a drop in trip was on the agenda. A return to winning ways wasn’t far away and he was dropped down a couple of grades in the 1m1f Meld Stakes on his next start. He absolutely destroyed the field that day and bolted up by seven lengths and got himself firmly back on track. Leopardstown and Royal Ascot to come? O’Brien’s colt was withdrawn after getting upset in the stalls at Leopardstown last month and he should be well up to winning Thursday’s race if he lines up. His best form puts him well above the opposition and although he will improve significantly, he should still have enough. Royal Ascot’s Queen Anne Stakes could be on the cards, provided he manages to get through the Leopardstown race unscathed. It’s possible that improvement could be on the cards as a four-year-old and he wouldn't be a bad each-way option.
