RACING:AIDAN O'BRIEN enjoyed a momentous Breeders' Cup in Churchill Downs last weekend with St Nicholas Abbey and Wrote both winning but the champion trainer's Group One haul for 2011 may not be finished yet.
The final top-flight prize of the year in Europe is up for grabs in France on Saturday with the 10-furlong Criterium de Saint-Cloud containing a number of Ballydoyle entries.
They include Learn, who ran fourth to French Fifteen in the Criterium International at the same Paris track last month, and Apollo, a highly-rated Curragh maiden winner last July.
The €250,000 event has been won four times in the past by O’Brien, including with Recital last year. Fame And Glory (2008), Alberto Giacometti (2002) and Ballingarry (2001) were the other three.
St Nicholas Abbey and Wrote brought O’Brien’s Group One tally for 2011 so far to 20 when winning in the USA at the weekend.
In other news, Mouse Morris is trying to find more opportunities for his high-class novice chaser First Lieutenant, who returned to winning ways at Cork on Sunday.
“I’ll have to have a good look, but there aren’t that many races for him between now and Christmas – the options are a bit limited.
“He will have an entry in the Drinmore at Fairyhouse but we’ll see. I’d really like to step him up to three miles but there are hardly any races in Ireland for three mile horses.
“There is the three-mile race in Leopardstown at Christmas, but there isn’t much before that.
“He’s had the three runs already this season but I just want to get plenty of experience into him. His jumping is improving all the time,” Morris reported.
