Kyprios on course to cement his credentials in Irish St Leger

Ashley Iveson
August 3, 2022 3:19 pm

Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup hero is the new staying force.

The Irish St Leger remains the most likely next objective for Kyprios following his thrilling victory in the Goodwood Cup.

Aidan O’Brien’s colt claimed Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot last month, a triumph that was somewhat overshadowed by the Stradivarius saga that followed, with both trainer John Gosden and owner Bjorn Nielsen criticising Frankie Dettori’s ride aboard the popular stayer.

A mouthwatering rematch played out on the Sussex Downs, with Andrea Atzeni replacing Dettori in a race Stradivarius had already won on four occasions, while the presence of defending champion Trueshan adding further spice.

But while Stradivarius went down fighting in second and Trueshan performed admirably in third, it was Kyprios who once again came out on top, much to the delight of his breeders and part-owners Moyglare Stud Farm.

🥊 A glorious @Goodwood_Races Cup!!
The three big guns fight out a thriller with Kyprios seeing off the gallant Stradivarius & Trueshan for @Ballydoyle & Ryan Moore

🏆 G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup🏆 G1 Ascot Gold Cup🏆 G3 Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes🏆 Listed Vintage Crop Stakes pic.twitter.com/iZJ3yTUwrO
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 26, 2022

“It’s great, he’s a good horse and it was a good race. I didn’t think he got the credit he deserved after Ascot and it was nice to see him prove a point at Goodwood,” said Moyglare’s Fiona Craig.

“Hats off to Stradivarius – he’s a tough old campaigner. I think they’re going to run him in the Lonsdale Cup at York next and Kyprios won’t run at York, so I doubt they’ll meet again, but that’s two meetings and two wins for Kyprios now.

“I think he deserves a little bit of credit, which he hasn’t really got.”

O’Brien nominated the Irish St Leger as a major target for Kyprios in the Goodwood winner’s enclosure.

What slightly complicates the issue for Moyglare is the fact his full-sister Search For A Song has already won the Classic twice and the team are understandably none too keen on the pair locking horns.

Search For A Song winning her first Irish St Leger (Niall Carson/PA)

Craig added: “I think that (Irish Leger) is the plan for Kyprios – I think that’s what Aidan wants to do. We also have Search For A Song, who is going to run in the Irish Leger Trial, and we’ll have to figure it out after that.

“I don’t think the two of them will run against each other. They did that in the Vintage Crop at Navan earlier in the year and Kyprios won comfortably.

“I think Search For A Song may end up going back to France as one thing we do know is she doesn’t want firm ground.”

What happens with Kyprios beyond the Irish St Leger remains uncertain, but he is likely to have options over a variety of trips.

Asked whether a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe could come under consideration, Craig said: “That hasn’t been mentioned and that would be a question for Aidan – I haven’t even gone down that road.

“Aidan wants to go for the Irish Leger and we’ll just have to see where we go from there. He did say after Goodwood the horse could go down in trip and I think he’s fair adaptable.

“At the end of the day he’s going to be a fun horse as now he’s won an Ascot Gold Cup he’s going to be a National Hunt sire rather than a Flat sire. Whether that’s right or wrong is another day’s work, but that’s where he’ll end up, even if he came back and won at a mile and a half.”