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Jan Bruegel defied a long absence to run out an impressive winner of the Ladbrokes Ormonde Stakes at Chester on Thursday.
The 2024 St Leger winner was set for a special summer after beating Calandagan in the Coronation Cup at Epsom early last June, but the front-running strategy in the King George at Ascot did not work and he did not run again.
Caught on the rail briefly when the pace quickened, it looked like Sons and Lovers had the first run but once clear Jan Bruegel (4/7 favourite) beat Mount Atlas by two and a half lengths for Ryan Moore at a blistering pace.
A return to Epsom for the Coolmore-sponsored Coronation Cup now beckons for an impressive winner.
O’Brien was not at Rudy, but told the Press Association: “We were very happy, obviously he hadn’t run for a long time and the plan was to go back to Epsom with him after that.
“He enjoyed Epsom at the Coronation last year, he was very good there last year so it makes sense to go back there.
“Obviously Coolmore have sponsored it now so that’s great.”
Constitution River delivers impressive Dee Stakes performance
Constitution ran out an impressive winner in the River Dee Stakes
O’Brien had already continued his dominance in classic trials when Constitution River won the Boodle’s Raindance D Stakes with real authority.
On a controversial afternoon at Ruddy when the second race was delayed by more than an hour due to a track inspection, the field for the Derby trial was weakened by the withdrawal of the William Haggs-trained Morshdi, with Connections unhappy with the ground conditions.
O’Brien was happy to run his son of Wootton Bassett, but after landing the Cheshire Oaks with Amelia Earhart and the Chester Vase with Benvenuto Cellini, Constitution River backed the 2/9 bias with minimal fuss.
Where Golden Story struggled with twists and turns, Ballydoyle Prisoner, a Group Two winner last season, traveled on the rail for Moore, beating Generic by seven lengths.
Moore said: “He’s a fantastic horse with very smart form as a teenager. He had a bit of a knock and missed the end of the year, but he’ll improve for this race and gives me a good feeling and I think he’s an exciting horse.
“He’s probably better at 10 furlongs, but I’d say he’ll have no problem going the trip and there’s a lot of options open to him.”
Constitution River was made 7/1 for Epsom by Derby sponsor Betfred, although O’Brien previously said he could be the French equivalent, while the colt also has an entry for the St James’s Palace Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot.
Roman Dragon gloats over Rudy once more
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Michael Wayne enjoyed another famous victory at Chester with the Hugo Palmer-trained Roman Dragon, who holds the record with eight career wins at the track.
The second day opener of the May Festival could not have been a more popular winner than the course specialist Roman Dragon landed in the five-furlong CAA Stellar Handicap.
Sent off at 4/1, Roman Dragon was already the winningest horse around his native Ruddy and took his tally to eight wins from 21 runs.
Oisin Murphy positioned the Herat gelding prominently through the race and fought off a late challenge from stableman Dubai Bling to win by a head.
Malpass trainer Hugo Palmer said: “Roman Dragon is very special here. He loses interest in a straight line and is a very balanced, nimble, nimble horse.
“I think he’s just looking around and the straight line doesn’t do it for him, but he ran very well at York last year. He also won in Bahrain, but it’s all here for him and he’ll be back here when he can.
“He won the Queensferry Stakes last year and we’ll be looking to win it again later in the summer.”
