Will O'Brien rely on Churchillian stamina or operation Black Swan?
Rivet’s all-the-way defeat of Yucatan in last Saturday’s Racing Post Trophy has put an element of doubt in the minds of bookmakers and racing fans alike as to whether Aidan O’Brien can match or pass the global record of 25 Group and Grade 1 victories on the Flat in a season.
Such is the depth of two-year-old talent at his disposal that the Racing Post Trophy had been priced into calculations long before it emerged that Yucatan and not Beresford Stakes winner Capri would be the tip of the O’Brien spear.
Capri can still play his part if given the go-ahead for the Criterium de Saint-Cloud on Sunday in what, alongside its upstart sibling the Criterium International, is the last throw of the dice for the two-year-olds in Europe.
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