On the back of a successful week at the Galway festival Joseph O’Brien attempts to break new international Group One ground in Germany on Sunday.
O’Brien runs the filly Je Zous in the Preis der Diana, the German Oaks, in Dusseldorf, a mile and a half Classic that has never been won by an Irish-trained horse.
The Irish raider will be ridden by Kazakh jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev, a four-time champion jockey in Germany before transferring his services to top French trainer Andre Fabre a year ago.
The partnership break from stall 11 of the 16 runners, a wide draw that can be a problem around the tight Dusseldorf circuit.
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Je Zous ran third in a Naas Group Three in May before finishing fifth in Royal Ascot’s Ribblesdale Stakes.
Her opposition includes a pair of British-trained rivals in Mark Prescott’s Lingua Franca and Karl Burke’s Darnation, who earlier this season landed the German 1,000 Guineas at the track.
Only John Gosden’s Miss Yoda (2020) and Dancing Rain in 2011 have taken the ‘Diana’ for Britain.
Jamie Spencer will ride the French hope Bubble Gum, sixth to Sparkling Plenty in last month’s Prix De Diane at Chantilly. The race is off at 2.45 Irish-time.
At just 31, O’Brien, who landed the big Mile handicap and the Galway Hurdle at Ballybrit this week, has already assembled a major international CV highlighted by a pair of Melbourne Cup victories with Rekindling and Twilight Payment.
He has also scored at the top level in France and the US, where his Grade One tally includes the 2021 Saratoga Derby with State Of Rest.
That race is now the target for his father, Aidan, on Saturday night where Diego Velazquez lines up for the $600,000 contest under Ryan Moore.
The Irish hope for the extended nine-furlong contest is a 2-1 Morning Line favourite in the US and will break from stall four of the eight runners.
Unable to land a blow in the French Derby and the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot, Diego Velazquez bounced back to form when impressing in the Meld Stakes at Leopardstown last time.
The Frankel colt’s biggest threat could come on his inside from Charlie Appleby’s Legend Of Time. The race is off at 8.21 Irish-time.
More top-flight Irish international interest this weekend will be at Deauville on Sunday where Co Laois trainer Kieran Cotter runs his stalwart performer Matilda Picotte in the Prix Maurice de Gheest.
Ronan Whelan takes the reins on the four-year-old filly, who ran in Saudi Arabia in February and returned to action behind Mitbaahy in the Greenlands at the Curragh over Guineas weekend.
She is one of 16 lining up at 3.07 for a race that was last won by an Irish horse 23 years ago. Spencer did the steering on the Ballydoyle runner King Charlemange on that occasion.
Matilda Picotte’s regular rider Oisín Murphy is on the supplemented Flora Of Bermuda for Andrew Balding. William Buick jets to Normandy after riding Legend Of Time to ride the July Cup winner Mill Stream.
