THE 20 to 1 outsider Classic Park provided trainer Aidan O'Brien with his first classic in Saturday's Airlie Coolmore Irish 1,000 Guineas, but while O'Brien wore the smile of a contented man, his stable jockey Christy Roche had to come to terms with finishing second on a filly he, and many others, felt should have been the one to break that duck.
Strawberry Roan, backed down to 4 to 1, was a desperately unlucky loser. Initially denied a clear run, she then felt the force of Frankie Dettori's whip across her face when Roche attempted to drive her up the inside of the struggling favourite Ryafan two-and-a-half furlongs out.
Not surprisingly, that halted her momentum. But when Strawberry Roan was eventually galvanised into action, her stablemate had flown.
Stephen Craine, in contrast, had a dream run. He pulled Classic Park from behind the pacesetting Oh Nellie, and Classic Park showed the sort of speed that had led O'Brien to initially think she was a sprinter to fly without recall.
"I knew she had gears and I only had to give her one backhander," an overjoyed Craine said afterwards. But his exultation was in sharp contrast to his veteran colleague.
"I can't believe it went wrong, Roche said openly. "I was trying to get out but the filly in front came back on top of me, and by the time I got out Stephen had flown. The fact that Aidan has won anyway takes some of the pain away, but I f---ed tip."
The stewards believed that an unwitting Frankie Dettori hadn't been too clever either and cautioned him to exercise more care in the use of his whip in future.
O'Brien, however. contented himself by saying that Strawberry Roan "looked a little unlucky" and he can realistically look forward to possibly more Group One success with both fillies.
Classic Park will now go for Royal Ascot's Coronation Stakes and a clash with Sleepytime after proving her stamina. "We knew she had the speed to be good if she stayed and we spent the winter trying to settle her in her mind," O'Brien said.
Strawberry Roan, however, will be upped further in distance to the mile and a half of the Epsom Oaks.
