Going for Gold: Kew Gardens can bloom next year says Donnacha O'Brien

Donnacha O'Brien enjoyed British Champions Day at Ascot more than anyone and the 21-year-old rider, who celebrated a big-race double on Saturday, thinks Kew Gardens can continue to bloom next year and will be gunning for Stradivarius's Gold Cup crown.

Stradivarius's ten-race winning streak came to an end in the Long Distance Cup, as he failed by a nose to repel Kew Gardens, and the successful jockey believes the four-year-old can be a big player in the Ascot Gold Cup, a race he was cut to 5-1 for by Betfair and Paddy Power.

"Kew Gardens tried very hard. He has a lot of talent and is very genuine. It was nice for everyone to see how good of a horse he is. He looks like he would stay the Gold Cup trip and, yes, absolutely, you'd have to consider him a Gold Cup contender," said O'Brien.

Donnacha's father, Aidan, who described his son's ride on Kew Gardens as "unbelievable", says we will not see the star stayer again this year but he will return in 2020.

He said: "I don’t think he’ll race again this year but obviously, he can race on next year. We were really happy with him before Ascot this year and were looking forward to it. It was great for Donnacha. I thought he gave Kew Gardens an unbelievable ride and he was very good on the filly [Magical] too."

Donnacha O'Brien is congratulated by James Doyle after Magical's defeat of Addeybb in the Champion StakesCredit: Charlie Crowhurst

Although Addeybb made Magical pull out all the stops to land the Champion Stakes, the winning rider felt he always had matters in hand up the home straight.

"Magical is a lovely mare," Donnacha O'Brien said. "She always, always tries her best. She is very versatile. I always felt like she was saving a little bit and she just kept on finding for me."

Asked whether he was worried about the quick turnaround from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, O'Brien replied: "She was in good form at home, but you can never be sure. She felt great during the race and is such a lovely mare."

Donnacha O'Brien was on duty at Ascot as Ryan Moore was at Randwick in Sydney for The Everest to ride Ten Sovereigns, a rare blip for Ballydoyle on Saturday with the three-year-old trailing in last.

Aidan O'Brien felt the bend was to blame for such a poor showing in the sprint, and said: "We haven’t decided what we’ll do with Ten Sovereigns yet. He just got a little bit lost on the bend and obviously it was all a bit new for him in against some of those more professional sprinters down there.

"He just found the bend a bit different, so we haven’t decided what we’ll do next – whether we go down to Melbourne or not."

He added: "If you look at the race, when they came out of the bend, he was about three or four lengths detached and when they rounded into the straight, he closed and ended up just finishing at the back of the bunch. They jumped and they ran."

There is another big weekend for Ballydoyle coming up as the trainer seeks a record-equalling tenth victory in the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

O'Brien, who has won the last two renewals with subsequent 2,000 Guineas winners Saxon Warrior and Magna Grecia, said: "Mogul and Innisfree are our two for Doncaster. We’re very happy with the two of them and that’s the plan. That’s the way we’re thinking at the moment anyway."

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