RACING: The Coolmore-Ballydoyle superpower suffered a rare reverse at the Curragh yesterday when the Doncaster St Leger winner Milan was injured in his comeback race.
The favourite for the Mooresbridge Stakes was apparently lobbing on the run downhill to the straight when Mick Kinane suddenly applied the brakes.
Rebelline went on to win the race from Milan's pacemaker, Shoal Creek, but Aidan O'Brien's attention was on his stricken star who was taken to the Troytown veterinary hospital nearby.
"Milan has a spiral fracture of his off-fore canon bone. We were lucky Mick pulled him up so quickly and it may not need an operation. It's a time thing now and it may mean him missing the first half of the year," the trainer said later.
"The horse had a stone bruise on the same leg yesterday but it came right. We took x-rays to make sure everything was fine and he was perfectly sound today. It's just one of those things, and in fact it's much better than if it was a tendon or a ligament."
Rebelline missed out on the Prix Ganay after her Gladness victory here last month but could still have a crack at a French Group One in Longchamp's Prix d'Ispahan in two weeks.
"It's over nine furlongs which should suit. The mile and a quarter stretches her," said Kevin Prendergast who will aim Solid Approach at Sunday's Derrinstown Derby Trial.
The colt ran from last to first in the Orpen Handicap to beat Margarula by a comfortable two lengths.
Apart from Milan, it was pretty much business as usual for O'Brien and Kinane who picked up the Group Three Tetrarch Stakes with the Irish 2,000 Guineas hope Century City.
However, it wasn't the expected smooth success of an odds-on favourite as Century City only just held on from Creekview after looking to have the race sewn up a furlong out.
"He quickend up nicely and just started dossing," reported Kinane while O'Brien said: "He is terrible hard to assess because he is so lazy. This is a very good race every year and he will go for the Irish Guineas."
O'Brien and Kinane picked up the opener with Ontario who beat off Pakhoes by a head and at the same time in France, the Ballydoyle colt Diaghilev picked up the Group Three Prix La Force at Chantilly.
"Jamie (Spencer) said he just got there and that he would like a bit better ground. I think he will get a mile and a half," was the trainer's perspective from the Curragh.
Just to round things up, the Ballydoyle newcomer Lousiville, who is Hawk Wing's work companion, easily beat the opposition in the last.
However, Dermot Weld uncovered a Classic hope of his own in the Athasi Stakes with Rum Charger quickening clear of the favourite Kournakova by two lengths. "There are options for her including the French Guineas next weekend and the Irish Guineas. I was pretty confident she would win today the way she was working," said Weld.
Wayne Smith rode his first winner of the season since returning from his winter stint in Dubai on Anne-Lise who picked up the seven-furlong handicap by a head.
