Major international assignments on the cards for Whirl; big-spending owners buy Aidan O'Brien Royal Ascot winner

Whirl could be targeted at races across the globe following her latest Group 1 victory in the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, trainer Aidan O’Brien said on Tuesday.

While a definitive next target has yet to be agreed upon by O’Brien and the Coolmore partners, Whirl was among the initial entries for the A$6 million (£2.9 million) Cox Plate on October 25, with her trainer stating she “could go to America, to Australia, to Hong Kong, she can go anywhere really”.

A total of 108 horses have been nominated for the Cox Plate but Carl Spackler was not among them when the race closed on Tuesday, with the three-time US Grade 1 winner set to remain in Europe having been transferred to trainers John and Thady Gosden by owner Yuesheng Zhang.

O’Brien said: “Nothing is decided for Whirl and won’t be for about a week, ten days or two weeks; we'll see how she is. 

“We put a lot in the Cox Plate and it's a race she would be eligible for. It's a long way away, so we'll take one step at a time. All the horses have a programme and two or three races in advance you're never sure, but that doesn’t mean those races couldn’t come on their radar. 

“We'll get the next one and see where we go after that. She could do anything. She could go to America, to Australia, to Hong Kong, she can go anywhere really.”

Alongside Whirl, O’Brien has nominated Bedtime Story, Diego Velazquez and Mount Kilamanjaro for the Cox Plate.

Trinity College was an impressive winner of the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot and will continue his career in AustraliaCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Zhang, who is becoming an increasingly powerful player in European racing, has bolstered his Australian string with the private purchase of Trinity College out of O'Brien's Ballydoyle yard. The winner of the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot and runner-up in last month’s Grand Prix de Paris will join Chris Waller.

“Trinity College is a very high-class horse and hopefully he'll do well for Chris and Mr Zhang,” O’Brien said.

Carl Spackler joined Zhang’s Yulong Investments operation in the spring having landed his third Grade 1 in the Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland in April. The five-year-old was switched to Ciaron Maher's stable with the intention of racing in Australia after a stop-off in Britain to contest the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and last week’s Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, in which he finished sixth of seven. 

Carl Spackler will stay in EuropeCredit: Edward Whitaker

Sam Fairgray, Yulong's chief operating officer, told Australian radio network RSN927: “He pulled up okay, but I think at this stage we'll probably leave him in Europe.

“There were plans for him to come down for the Cox Plate, but I think we'll leave him there and let him acclimatise a bit and see if we can just get him back on track.”

Joseph O'Brien won the Cox Plate in 2021 with State Of Rest and could be represented by Al Riffa or Galen, while Jessica Harrington's Hotazhell could provide further Irish representation.

Richard Hannon's pair Haatem and Persica, the Brian Meehan-trained Rashabar and Cosmo Kuranda, trained in Japan, complete the 11 international entries for the Group 1 mile-and-a-quarter contest.

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