O’Brien denies ‘team tactics’ claim

Aidan O’Brien has denied ‘team tactics’ were employed during the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.

The Ballydoyle handler saddled both Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Gstaad and Puerto Rico in the Group One contest, with Gstaad beaten a short head into second place by his old rival Bow Echo and Puerto Rico weakening out of contention in the home straight to finish last of the six runners.

The riders of both horses were in trouble with the stewards afterwards, with Gstaad’s jockey Ryan Moore given a three-day suspension for careless riding on leaving the stalls and Christophe Soumillon, rider of Puerto Rico, banned for eight days after he was deemed to have ridden “in a manner to benefit Gstaad”.

The stewards ruled Soumillon had ridden his mount “in such a way that intended to give an advantage to another horse from the same stable, in that he moved his mount away from the rail thereby ensuring a clear run for Gstaad on his inside”.

Asked for his reaction to the suspensions, O’Brien said on Wednesday: “I’m not a steward and they are the ones that make the decision. Rules are rules and the stewards have their job to do and that’s the way it is.

“I thought both horses would be very forward and I thought one could be leading. I thought Christophe might be leading because his horse won making the running twice last year. I thought he would lead and then we thought Ryan would be sitting second, but whatever happened at the start Ryan ended up back pinned on the rail, that’s the way I read it.

“Our instructions are always very clear after that, it’s simple stuff. I don’t know what happened and I saw it like everyone else.

“The lads (jockeys) got days (bans) and I’m after forgetting about that already.”

On whether he disagrees with the opinion that team tactics were used, O’Brien added: “There’s no doubt about that. I always say when we put horses in a race, they’re in there for one thing – it’s to make sure there’s an even pace for everybody. That’s the only reason.

“Then you come out of the race and you know what trip your horse wants and whether your horse is good enough to run against those horses or not. If it’s a muddle, you don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s inconclusive for everybody.

“What happened was a mess, wasn’t it?”

The trainer confirmed Gstaad could lock horns with George Boughey’s Bow Echo again in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

He said: “I’d imagine if everything is well that is where they might meet again, that’s where we might go with our horse.

“I love it when the best horses run together and I’m always very happy to get beat, as long as everyone gets a clean shot.

“For us, competition is what we all want to see. Because of it sometimes you get beaten in races, but so be it – isn’t that what racing is all about?

“Everyone has to have an opinion and voice their opinion. I listen to everyone’s opinion and usually the logical thing comes out of it.”