A day to remember at the Curragh
Dylan Browne McMonagle landed an incredible 723-1 five-timer at the Curragh on Saturday, as Joseph O'Brien enjoyed a great afternoon at the Co Kildare venue. The Donegal jockey's five winners included four for O'Brien, with the other coming for local handler Daniel Murphy. The team's success came one day after Colin Keane recorded a 16/1 success for the trainer at York.
The winning run began in the Coolmore Stud St Mark's Basilica Irish EBF Maiden with two-year-old debutant Monogram, a first Juddmonte-owned winner for O'Brien. The Kingman colt was heavily backed as the 4-6 favourite and, while odds-on punters endured a nervous wait, he found his stride late to edge ahead and defeat Salt Lake by a short head. Coral offered Monogram odds of 16-1 for next year's 2000 Guineas.
"He looked nice. We wanted him to relax early and I thought his last furlong was good," said O'Brien. "It was obvious from his homework that he was a nice horse. It was an impressive debut. You don't expect him to do that after he fell out of the gates. It's just really nice to have a horse for the Juddmonte team and for the (Abdullah) family."
Acula, the 11-8 favourite, secured a double for the team in the Moloney's Bar and Music Venue Maiden Stakes, finishing half a length clear of the rapidly closing The Austrian. "It was hard going against the boys but we wanted to come to a nice track. We'll see how she pulls up and make a plan from there," O'Brien said.
Green Empress, priced at 11-4, claimed victory in the Group Two Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes, while Yousaynothingatall lived up to her 9-4 favourite status in the Neville O'Byrne Memorial Irish European Breeders Fund Fillies Handicap. Bear On The Run completed the five-timer for McMonagle, winning the Mitsubishi Electric Handicap at 14-1 for Daniel Murphy.
Queenstown strikes on comeback
In another highlight at the Curragh, Aidan O'Brien's Queenstown made a successful comeback from injury to win the Comer Group International Irish St Leger Trial at 9-1 under Wayne Lordan. The horse, who had last run in October's Prix Royal-Oak at Saint-Cloud where he finished second, won by four and a half lengths over Kizlyar.
Aidan O'Brien indicated that Queenstown would target the Prix du Cadran and the French Leger (Prix Royal-Oak) following this comeback win.
Defiantly secures Melbourne Cup golden ticket
Meanwhile, at Deauville in France, the in-form team of Joseph O'Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle achieved another significant success as Defiantly won a ballot-exempt guaranteed start in the 2026 Melbourne Cup with a gutsy front-running display in the Group 2 Sumbe Prix Kergorlay.
Australian Bloodstock's progressive son of Kameko stretched his advantage over Santorini Star to five and a half lengths at the line and was given a quote of 12-1 for the Melbourne Cup by Paddy Power, while Coral went 16-1.
"He's obviously a horse that's progressing well and I thought that was another step forward today," said O'Brien. "I thought he got a lovely ride from Dylan and he's a stayer going the right way. I think if he pulls up okay from the race and everything's going well, he'd be an obvious candidate for Melbourne. Speaking with Jamie [Lovett of Australian Bloodstock], this is a good trial for the Melbourne Cup so we said we might as well come here and see if it's realistic. I think he's answered the question."
Dunaden and Protectionist both used the Kergorlay on their way to Cup glory, and O'Brien supplemented Defiantly in the race's first year as a golden-ticket race.
Asked how the four-year-old compared to previous candidates he has saddled at Flemington, O'Brien said: "I suppose the closest comparison would be to Twilight Payment because he goes to the lead and he's hard to pass. But every horse is different and he's definitely going the right way."
Defiantly was beaten a head by Kizlyar in the Ascot Stakes before regaining the winning thread in a Glorious Goodwood handicap, with both races taking place over the extreme trip of two and a half miles. "Royal Ascot was an obvious target and he ran great, so Glorious Goodwood was an obvious target," said O'Brien. "He won well there and this looked obvious, so we just took it race by race."
Leigh Jordon of the Victoria Racing Club was on hand to witness the emergence of O'Brien's latest challenger for the Cup and was delighted that the first year of the golden-ticket link had produced such a strong contender.
Looking ahead
The weekend's results underlined the strength in depth of the O'Brien stable, with McMonagle's five-timer at the Curragh following Keane's success at York. The team now has a live Melbourne Cup candidate in Defiantly, while Monogram's debut win has already attracted Classic quotes. Both horses will be monitored closely as plans are made for the remainder of the season.