Moore fires in treble through hot-favourite Gstaad in Guineas

Gstaad went off 4/11 favourite for the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas in the Curragh and duly stamped his authority on proceedings.

Ryan Moore, partnering a treble on the card, soon had him in touch just behind the leaders. He moved closer in third off Alparslan and Power Blue with three furlongs to travel and Moore worked him to the front inside the final quarter of a-mile.

The favourite began to pull away in the final furlong and was well in charge in the closing stages. Distant Storm (5/1) kept on for second, beaten three lengths by the winner, with Pacific Avenue a length further back in third at 40/1.

Gstaad finished second in the 2,000 Guineas in Newmarket at the start of the month behind impressive winner Bow Echo with the front two clear of the remainder.

Aidan O'Brien said: “He’s a lovely uncomplicated horse and Ryan gave him a beautiful ride. He’s very straightforward and genuine.

“All the team around him do a great job, there are so many people involved with him and thanks to them. Obviously, he was in Coolmore as well from the time he was a foal.

“He’s a lovely horse and we always thought that he would end up even getting a bit further than a mile.

“Ryan was very happy today, he said he was a little bit lazy through the middle of the race but when he got him opened up he went to the line very well. We’re delighted.

“He got beat in three Group One's last year and we felt that he was a little bit unlucky in the three.

“We were delighted that he held on to go to America, and he won his Group One.

“Sometimes when that happens horses don’t get it back, but we felt there were circumstances every day he got beat.

“He’s very straightforward, he just needs a little bit of room to get going. Sometimes if it gets too tactical or if he gets caught up in pace that wasn’t strong early (it doesn't suit).

“He’s probably stronger now and the Curragh was lovely.

“Ryan was drawn wide, and you’d say that would be a disadvantage to some horses, but it was lovely for him because he was going to get a clear run and the pace was nice.

“Ryan said the best feel he ever gave him was when he won the Coventry, so you’d hope that he’d be very happy to go back to Ascot.

“The horse we ran in the French Guineas (Puerto Rico) will be happy to go forward if someone else doesn’t go and this horse will be very uncomplicated.

“Hopefully, George’s horse (Bow Echo) comes and Francis’s horse (Rayif) comes. Let them all line up, that’s what racing is all about and that’s what we all want."

On the rematch with Bow Echo he added:- “We’ll look forward to it. In Newmarket he was out there all the way, his first run, and he got no cover. It’s very hard to do that in Newmarket.

“In the last furlong he looked for a bit of company and he went right.

“Bow Echo had cover for the first half of the race and when you have cover you come out and always turn in on a little bit. He came to the near side at Newmarket, which is always better.

“We’d really look forward to Ascot, win, lose or draw. There will be plenty of pace on and we’ll see what happens.”

O’Brien feels that Gstaad could get further in time as he added: “We think he’ll have no problem stepping up (in trip) when the time comes, he looks like a horse that could go further.

“We always thought that he could turn in the Cox Plate horse, but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then.”

Moore added: "He had a nice draw really - he was sat out there on the wing, but he was comfortable. Nothing was able to sort of get in his way and we kept it very uncomplicated.

"I just kept asking him to creep forward from halfway and he's got quite an extravagant stride and, when able to use it, he's an impressive horse.

"He did (deserve that), he has been second a few times and has never run a bad race. Sometimes things went against him last year.

"He has come back and he is a big, scopey horse and looks like he can progress further.

"His mind is in an unbelievable place and there is no-one better at that than Aidan. I remember him when he was a two-year-old and the way he has brought him along - he has got more confident this horse and that is down to the trainer."

O'Brien also saddled Sergei Diaghilev ridden by Moore, in the opener, while the jockey also scored on Donnacha O'Brien's Comanche Brave in the Group 2 Greenlands Stakes.

Paddy Power shortened Gstaad from 3/1 to 9/4 for the St James's Palace Stakes.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson