O’Brien has Whistlejacket booked for Phoenix Stakes duty

Gary Carson
August 5, 2024 5:38 pm

Newmarket Group Two winner going for Group One gold this weekend.

Aiden O’Brien’s Whistlejacket is all set for Group One action in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.

The chestnut son of No Nay Never – a full-brother to Little Big Bear – was a Listed winner in the First Flier earlier in the season after finishing runner-up on debut.

At Royal Ascot he was fourth in the five-furlong Norfolk Stakes after coming with a late run, but regained the winning thread when taking the Group Two July Stakes at Newmarket last month, enjoying the move to six furlongs.

Ryan Moore gives Whistlejacket a well-deserved pat after victory at Newmarket (David Davies for The Jockey Club)

That form was nicely boosted at Goodwood, when the third horse home, Aomori City, landed the Vintage Stakes.

The next port of call for Whistlejacket will be the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, where he will be the Ballydoyle representative in preference to stablemate Fairy Godmother.

“Whistlejacket will run there, that’s the plan. Everything is good with him and that’s always been the plan for him,” O’Brien said.

“He’s a very straightforward horse. It just didn’t click at Ascot, when he was getting going the race was just finished.”

O’Brien also provided an update on Kyprios, a brilliant winner of the Goodwood Cup who is bound for the Irish St Leger to try to regain the title he won in 2022 and missed out on by only three-quarters of a length last year, in what was a remarkable run following nearly a year on the sidelines.

Kyprios was a class apart in winning the Goodwood Cup (Andrew Matthews/PA)

“He’s very good. It’s six weeks to the Curragh so that’s probably where we’ll go,” O’Brien said.

“We just want to keep him safe, get through the rest of the year and get to next year with him.”

Of the possibility the Irish Leger being the last race of Kyprios’ season, O’Brien added: “It could be, I’d imagine. He could go to Arc weekend, but that’s what we’ll do at the moment anyway. We’ll take it one at a time.”

Asked if he could be tempted by the Arc for Kyprios, O’Brien said: “I suppose it’s going to depend on what else is there. It’s just about getting him through the winter now to get him to next year.

City Of Troy and jockey Ryan Moore after winning the Coral-Eclipse (Steven Paston for The Jockey Club)

“Those Gold Cup horses are very rare, very unusual, and it’s very hard to get them. We’ve had so many good horses, but when they go past two miles the gauge just stops.

“He’s very good, what he did last year totally surprised me and I think that was the greatest performance of all out of him, his two runs last year.”

Meanwhile, Derby and Eclipse hero City Of Troy remains on course for the Juddmonte International at York’s Ebor meeting, with O’Brien saying: “At the moment everything is going good and that’s where we’re going.”