From Newmarket Disappointment to Curragh Triumph: Lake Victoria's Stunning Comeback

Aidan O'Brien scored the 11th Irish 1000 Guineas win of his career as Lake Victoria bounced right back to her best on the Curragh.

Just like Field of Gold in the Irish 2000 Guineas a day previously, she was aiming to rebound from a disappointing result at Newmarket on her seasonal reappearance.

There, Lake Victoria had shed her unbeaten record as she finished sixth in a race won by Desert Flower for Godolphin.

O'Brien had remained steadfast going into this season in suggesting his star three-year-old filly would get the time she needed to blossom, and he warned she would improve again for the Curragh run.

Ryan Moore's partner scorched past the furlong pole and scooted two-and-a-quarter-lengths clear of California Dreamer in second for trainer Adrian Murray at odds of 50/1, with Joseph Murphy's Cercene completing the frame.

Clearly brought to concert pitch by that Newmarket comeback run, Lake Victoria moved off the running rail and accelerated away neatly when asked at the two-furlong pole once Moore called on her effort.

"Ran beautifully"

"She ran beautifully today," Moore told RTE Sport after winning this race for the fourth time. "She's come on massively from Newmarket. It's really exciting."

O'Brien has won the Irish 1000 Guineas with stars like Imagine, Yesterday, Winter, Hermosa and Peaceful in the past, with a 28-year span from his first winner — Classic Park — in 1997 to his latest success.

Lake Victoria was an incredible success story as a juvenile. She won all five starts including a trio of Group 1s at 6f, 7f and a mile late in the season at the Curragh, Newmarket and Del Mar, as she showcased incredible versatility.

O'Brien sensed going to Newmarket she wasn't quite at her best.

"She was only ready to start going to Newmarket. We were going to come here to the Curragh first time out but, the way it worked, she went to Newmarket,” he said.

"We thought she ran an incredible race in the circumstances. Ryan [Moore] looked after her and was over the moon with her."

Reflecting on what Lake Victoria had done as a young filly, the Ballydoyle supremo admitted it was mind-blowing as he revealed the signs at home were good from the Rowley Mile to the Curragh.

"Everything went great after Newmarket and her work was out of this world really," he added.

"We've never had a filly that could win a Group 1 over six, seven and a mile before as a two-year-old. She went to Newmarket getting ready for a racecourse gallop and was beaten only a length or two in the Guineas. She has all the speed in the world, she travels and does everything."

The Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot next month looks the likely next stopping point for the Frankel filly. She's as short as 5/4 to win that race and tackle the likes of Desert Flower and French Guineas scorer Zarigana come June 20th.

She showed last season she will stand plenty of racing through a season and given the fact she took such a sizeable step forward from Newmarket to the Curragh — and O'Brien's belief that more improvement is still to come — the world does appear to be at her feet now.