Venice Beach provides record win for O'Brien

A record eighth win in the race for O’Brien as Ryan Moore’s mount picked up in good style to see off stablemates Wings Of Eagle and The Anvil, the victory came just days after the trainer achieved similar dominance in Ireland’s Derrinstown Derby Trial on Sunday,

This from a yard that already has the ante-post Derby favourite in the unbeaten Churchill, who could not have been more impressive when winning the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday before Winter took the fillies’ equivalent 24 hour later.

It is perhaps telling, though, that O’Brien seems rather more excited about the prospects of Cliffs Of Moher, who lines up in Chester’s Dee Stakes today, and Sir John Lavery who has been declared for tomorrow’s Derby trial at Lingfield.

“I’m delighted with him (Venice Beach),” said O’Brien whose horses are all owned by the world-leading Coolmore breeding empire.

“We knew that he stays a mile and a half. He’s a little bit lazy and a little bit babyish, that’s why we felt it would be important to bring him here.

“He’s a good bit to learn, but Ryan was very happy with him. You learn a lot at this place – a lot of stuff happens very quickly. You have to make room, it can be tight and you have to stay as well.”

Of runner-up Wings Of Eagles, O’Brien said: “I’m delighted with him as well. If he was going to be ready for the Derby, he needed to run and he travelled well and settled well.

“We’ll know a lot more after the one at Chester (today, Cliffs Of Moher) and Saturday (Sir John Lavery).

“Those two are only just ready to start back, but they looked very exciting types last season. They’d had a few little hold-ups in the Spring, which is why they’ve been aimed at the later trials. They work like very classy horses at home so we’ll see how they do.

“You’d have to hope Venice Beach and Wings Of Eagles will step up on what they’ve done there, while The Anvil brought the best form into the race and is solid.

“You need them to learn before a race like the Derby and they do that here. Hopefully Cliffs Of Moher and Sir John Lavery will improve for their run, but they’ll need to.”

Moore, who also won the Huxley Stakes on O’Brien’s Deauville, was clearly taken by the style of Venice Beach’s win on a tight track – it bodes well for Epsom.

“I thought it was a very good performance from a lightly-raced colt,” he said. “We are still learning an awful lot about him.

“He picked up and he won his race. He’s still learning about it and it’s still early days for him. I don’t know what the plans are, but he’s certainly a colt with plenty of potential.”

Meanwhile Storm King made virtually all of the running to take the concluding Virgin Atlantic Handicap under a shrewd ride by David Allan.

The winner is trained at Bawtry by David Griffiths who said: “He loves to bowl along so that was the plan. David gave him a fantastic ride, as always.

“He loves racing around a bend so even though he’d only been here once before I knew he’d enjoy it. I’m delighted to have a winner at the May meeting.”

Likely fast ground means Karl Burke’s dual Group One winner Quiet Reflection, Yorkshire’s reigning horse of the year, has not been declared for York’s Dante meeting.

The four-year-old sprinter had been due to appear in Wednesday’s Duke of York Stakes, but failed to sparkle in a racecourse gallop at Newcastle on Monday.

The field is headed by last year’s winner Magical Memory from the yard of Charlie Hills.

Meanwhile entries have been reopened for the Musidora Stakes, a trial for Epsom Oaks, after the race failed to attract sufficient interest.