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Not such a bad season after all for O'Brien – and now he's stepping it up a gear
Alan Sweetman with his weekly round-up of the Irish racing scene
Less than a fortnight ago, while the York meeting was in full swing, Aidan O'Brien spoke about the difficulties of the current campaign.
He described flu-like symptoms that permeated the yard during the summer months as the worst outbreak in his 23-year spell at Ballydoyle.
O'Brien sensed the crisis had almost run its course. His optimism was not exactly borne out by results at York, where the narrow victory of Fairyland in the Lowther Stakes marked a lone success. Kew Gardens, third in the Great Voltigeur, and Idaho, third in the Lonsdale Cup, were the only other members of a 16-strong team to reach the first three.
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