- Ballydoyle trainer grabs the glory in Newmarket Group One race
- Commonwealth Cup rather than a Guineas the more likely target
Aidan O’Brien may not have had as memorable a season by his normal high standards but the Ballydoyle stable’s two-year-old colts delivered him a one-two in the Group One Middle Park Stakes on Saturday at Newmarket with Blackbeard sprinting clear from The Antarctic.
There was a major worry before the race as the eventual winner did his normal trick of getting thoroughly worked up in the preliminaries and consequently drifted out to 100-30 in the betting, but he kicked clear in the closing stages to win by two lengths and became the third horse to win a Group One in Britain for the trainer this year.
