Coolmore Stud Wootton Bassett Tom Cooper Irish EBF Futurity Stakes |
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| Group 2, Curragh 15:27 €120,000 guaranteed, 2yo, 7f, Class 1  |
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Donnacha O’Brien isn’t losing any sleep over A Boy Named Susie dropping back in trip for this.
The Starspangledbanner colt caught the eye when giving weight away first time out, and history tells us that race has thrown up stars like Luxembourg and Lambourn before. This, though, is very much a family tale. The horse is owned by Donnacha’s sister Ana, who, despite no shortage of suitors, has chosen not to cash in.
“The plan is to go to the Futurity Stakes at the Curragh in about a fortnight,” said O’Brien. “I don’t think coming back a furlong will bother him. He showed plenty on his debut and that turned into a sprint so it wasn’t really like a mile maiden anyway. I don’t have any concerns coming back to seven.
“There was a lot of interest in him, which was to be expected, but we decided to keep hold of him, for now anyway. Obviously it’s a gamble when you hold on to impressive maiden winners, but we’re keeping him for now anyway.”
So, the stage is set: a colt with promise, a family keeping faith, and a Futurity test that will tell us just how high A Boy Named Susie might climb.
Aidan O’Brien has won the race a record 17 times, with the likes of Giant’s Causeway (1999), Hawk Wing (2001) and more recently Henry Longfellow (2023) and Henri Matisse (2024) among the distinguished Ballydoyle alumni on the roll of honour.
He is well represented once again with Constitution River, who built on his narrow defeat at Newmarket on debut when scoring nicely at Galway.
Irish EBF Futurity Stakes (Group 2)
€120,000 guaranteed, 2yo only, 7f
5 runners
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places
NO. (DRAW) FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 (5) 1 A Boy Named Susie 2 9-5 Donnacha O'Brien Gavin Ryan
2 (1) 72 Chicago Pope 2 9-5 J P Murtagh Ben Coen
3 (4) 21 Constitution River 2 9-5 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan
4 (3) 1 Geryon 2 9-5 G M Lyons Gary Carroll
5 (2) 4 Go Just Do It 2 9-5 Joseph O'Brien Dylan Browne McMonagle
