Longfellow lands Aidan O'Brien his 4,000 career winner

4,000 and counting. How fitting that Aidan O’Brien’s 4000th winner was in the same race, the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, that gave him the breakthrough at the top level all the way back in 1996. And this winner, the unbeaten Henry Longfellow, is out of a mare, Minding, which he describes as the best mare he ever trained.

Wandering Thoughts, ridden by Pat Gilson on June 7, 1993, in the Ballybeggan Racegoers Club Handicap at Tralee, set the ball rolling for the thousands that have followed, and the quality has improved exponentially since.

Henry Longfellow was presumed a standby for City Of Troy in Sunday’s race but a mid-morning deluge softened the ground sufficiently for O’Brien to take the latter out of the race and for Henry to take his chance.

A son of Dubawi, which O’Brien described as a perfect outcross for his brilliant Galileo mare, the colt was utterly professional as he strode majestically clear in the closing stages to beat Islandsinthestream and the disappointing Bucanero Fuerte.

“The pedigree of this horse is second to absolutely none,” said O’Brien. “She (Minding) was the best mare we ever trained, and Dubawi was the total best outcross she could go to.

“What he has is different: he quickens. He travels and when Ryan asks him, he quickens and that makes horses different and very hard to deal with for other horses.

“Everyone has been happy with him, and he looks a very special horse. His dam won over a mile, a mile and a quarter, and a mile and a half. “ 

Asked if his current crop of juveniles might be the best he has ever trained, he responded, without hesitation: “They look very different, don’t they?”

Much further back on the figures but no less pleased with his day’s work at the Curragh was UK-based jockey David Egan, who made his maiden winner in his native country and local track a Classic one as he rode the Roger Varian-trained Eldar Eldarov to victory in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger.

Grandson of the late Dessie Hughes, it was an emotional success for Egan, who rode his first Classic winner aboard the same horse in the Doncaster St Leger of 2022.

“He’s a horse that means so much to me, “said Egan. “Obviously he was my first Classic winner, last year, and it’s only a stone’s throw away to Osborne Lodge (where Hughes trained) so it’s very special. Any time I get to come back to the Curragh, which is not very often, I try to come the night before and make a bit of family time.” 

Of Eldar Eldarov, he added: “He’s magic, very special. His owner, Sheikh Khalid, has been a great supporter of mine from very early. He gave me a lot of rides and his brother, Sheikh Nasser, gave me my first Royal Ascot winner, Daayheh, also for Roger, so the Bahran family has been very good to me.” 

Earlier in the day, improving five-year-old Moss Tucker gave trainer Ken Condon a welcome winner at the top level when taking the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Flying Five under a strong drive by Billy Lee.

“You go in and you’re thinking if he got placed it would be a super effort, but the heavens opened about an hour and a half ago and we were thinking that was going to help us a little bit,” said Condon. “It was a fantastic result, and I thought he got a superb ride. Billy was just brilliant on him, and he had a willing partner — it’s a great game when it works out.

“He was very good here last month, in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes, and we thought that was a career-best, and obviously this is going to be another step in the right direction. It’s particularly pleasurable for Donal and Geraldine (Spring) as they bred him.” 

Spring, who is a former Irish rugby international, named the horse after his late team-mates Moss Keane and Colm Tucker and was understandably emotional in the aftermath.

Spring said: “There are two guys up there looking down on us — Moss Keane and Colm Tucker — and he embodies everything they were about: Pure heart, toughness, and give it your all. I’d say he had as much odds today as Munster had of beating the All Blacks, so lightning does strike twice.” 

Karl Burke, Danny Tudhope, and Clipper Logistics added to Saturday’s success for Flight Plan when the exciting Fallen Angel ran out a most convincing winner of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, beating Vespertillo, the pair a long way clear of the remainder.