Tag Archive for: Little Big Bear

Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear give O’Brien very strong Guineas hand

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Aidan O’Brien acknowledges it is “possible” the mile of the Qipco 2000 Guineas will be too short for hot favourite Auguste Rodin.

O’Brien is also represented in the opening Classic of the season by Little Big Bear, who is second-favourite, as the Ballydoyle maestro bids to add to his record 10 victories in the Newmarket showpiece.

The 53-year-old last won the prize in 2019 with Magna Grecia and has never had more than four successive years without a victory in the race since he first struck with King Of Kings in 1998.

Auguste Rodin is considered a Triple Crown contender, with the Derby and the St Leger on the radar. He won his previous three starts, including the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in October.

Like Little Big Bear, winner of the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, he will make his seasonal bow.

However, there are trip questions for both horses, with Little Big Bear untested beyond six and a half furlongs and Ryan Moore’s mount, Auguste Rodin, potentially finding a mile too sharp.

“It is possible that the mile will be too short for him,” admitted O’Brien. “We don’t know really. We are happy with what he has done and what he is doing at the moment.

“He is a horse who has loads of class. We are going to learn a lot about him and he’s going to learn a lot. We are looking forward to him.

“He’s a horse who has always shown plenty of class in all his work from very early on. Ryan sat on him in February or March as a two-year-old and he loved him then. He was showing loads then and it is usually a good sign.

Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien bid for more glory at Newmarket on Saturday
Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien bid for more glory at Newmarket on Saturday (Nigel French/PA)

“I suppose we had to see what his work was like and if anyone wasn’t happy at any step along the road, then he might not have run in the Guineas. But everything is good.”

O’Brien has no qualms about the pair taking each other on, as it is a tried and tested formula for Coolmore-owned horses in the Classic.

He is also not ruling out the possibility of a repeat of 2002, where Rock Of Gibraltar upset stablemate and favourite Hawk Wing when the pair finished first and second.

“We are lucky. So far, they have come through the winter well and they have taken their training well in the spring up until now,” O’Brien added.

“It was always a possibility it (a clash) was going to happen. They have two different profiles. Obviously they will probably go their separate ways after this race.

“I suppose Auguste Rodin will probably move up in trip, definitely.

Little Big Bear tries a mile for the first time in the colts' Classic
Little Big Bear tries a mile for the first time in the colts’ Classic (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

“I would imagine it will tell us a lot about Little Big Bear, whether he is going to stay a mile or go back. It is going to be very interesting and informative for us.”

Given the ground was very soft on his last run, any rain would appear to enhance Auguste Rodin’s chance. Yet O’Brien feels the son of Deep Impact will appreciate quicker conditions than when trouncing subsequent Epsom Blue Riband Trial winner Epictetus by three and a half lengths on Town Moor.

“We were a little bit surprised by Auguste Rodin at Doncaster,” he conceded. “We were a little bit worried about running him in that type of ground – the ground got soft that day and he is a beautiful-moving horse and definitely not a soft-ground horse. That’s why we were delighted.”

Asked if he could split Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear if they turned up on top form, O’Brien said: “Auguste Rodin is going to get the trip – we’ve seen that before. Little Big Bear hasn’t run near this distance at all and obviously two furlongs is a long way in a horse race. He’s only run over six (furlongs).

“If you put them together, you don’t know. Both of them are doing most of their work over seven furlongs and it looks lovely for both.

“Little Big Bear is getting home and he seems to be covering the last furlong well. We haven’t gone any further and obviously the other horse gallops through the line, which we expect him to be doing anyway. It is going to be a very interesting race, really.

“Little Big Bear is by No Nay Never, who is a big influence for speed. Joseph (O’Brien) won with a No Nay Never over a mile and a quarter in the week in a Group Two, so that’s been very encouraging to see at least that can happen.

“Until you see it, you are never sure. He’s out of a mare that it could happen, but he is by No Nay Never and he is a quick horse.”

Moore, who is such a major cog in the Ballydoyle operation, seeks a third win, following success aboard the O’Brien-trained Gleneagles in 2015 and Churchill in 2017.

He sticks with Auguste Rodin, although concedes it would be no surprise to see Little Big Bear (Wayne Lordan) take the laurels.

“We have two very good horses in here, but two very different horses, and they will be going down very different paths after this race,” Moore reported on his Betfair blog.

“I’ll start with Little Big Bear. After what he did in the Phoenix Stakes at two – that was quite a stunning win – he deserves to run in this Classic rather than in Ireland or France, as Newmarket will tell us a lot more about him and where he will be heading afterwards.

“He clearly has a lot of pace but I personally think he will stay a mile, and that makes him a very dangerous rival to all, including my mount Auguste Rodin.

“We haven’t seen Little Big Bear since that Curragh win in August but he has been going well.

“There are no stamina concerns with Auguste Rodin obviously, and he will probably be heading up in trip after this, and he is a horse we have always loved from day one as a juvenile and he fulfilled those expectations with his Doncaster win.

“He is an exciting prospect for the season, but hopefully for the here and now, too. But would it surprise me if Little Big Bear beat him? Not really.

“They are the two best horses in here and the others have to reach, and maybe surpass, their current level, and hopefully they are drawn in the right place in 12 and 13.”

O’Brien dreaming of Triple Crown bid with Auguste Rodin

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Aidan O’Brien is chasing the Holy Grail of the Triple Crown with Auguste Rodin but insists Saturday’s first leg, the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, will be the toughest.

The hot favourite for the Classic has won all three starts since finishing runner-up on his debut at the Curragh last June and looks sure to improve for stepping up in trip, which is why O’Brien feels he could be a contender for the Derby and St Leger as well.

He was last seen scorching to a three-and-a-half-length success in the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in October and has headed the market for the Guineas and Derby ever since.

The master of Ballydoyle, who has won the 2000 Guineas on a record 10 occasions, is optimistic that the Coolmore team have the horse to emulate Nijinsky, the last Triple Crown winner in 1970.

In 2012, he oversaw Camelot’s brilliant campaign, as he trotted up over a mile in the Guineas, then powered to glory over a mile-and-a-half in the Derby, before falling three-quarters of a length short when denied by Enke in the final leg, over a mile and three-quarters, in the St Leger at Doncaster.

“Obviously if we had a horse who could do it this year, he was going to be the horse,” said O’Brien in a Great British Racing press conference.

“We didn’t like to not give him the chance to do it, if he was good enough, really.

“The Guineas is a great race and there is only one Guineas. It is a great race to start him in and we will find out a lot about him.

“If it went well, then obviously the plan was always to go on to the Derby next and if that went well, let’s see what the lads want to do.”

A son of Deep Impact, who won seven Japanese Group One races and is from the family of Nashwan, Auguste Rodin is out of triple Group One winner Rhododendron, a daughter of O’Brien’s champion three-year-old Galileo. Stamina is therefore unlikely to be an issue.

With that in mind, O’Brien feels the first leg of the Triple Crown is likely to be the hardest to win.

He added: “Obviously the Triple Crown is a very hard thing to do, but sometime it would be great to do it. He is by Deep Impact, who stayed well, he’s out of a Galileo mare and we are looking forward to it.

“It is a difficult type of horse to find, because they have to have a lot of class and they have to have pace enough to run in the Guineas.

“It is really class that those horses have to have. It’s pure class and class gives them stamina and gives them speed. We just thought that, at the moment, he fits into that bracket really well.”

Asked what such an achievement would mean, O’Brien responded: “It would be incredible, really. It’s a very difficult thing to do, but if you don’t try, you’re not there, it definitely won’t happen.

“We don’t ever expect those kind things to happen – I dream about them – but if we have that type of horse, we don’t like to take that chance away from them.”

Ryan Moore (left) will get the choice of rides for Aidan O'Brien (right) in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas
Ryan Moore (left) will get the choice of rides for Aidan O’Brien (right) in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas (Brian Lawless/PA)

He added: “Obviously the Guineas would definitely be the toughest leg to win. It is shorter and it is the shortest that he would be ready to get.”

O’Brien, who last won the Guineas in 2019 with Magna Grecia, seems confident he can overcome the first objective in his Classic season.

“Obviously we think he could, because of the class he’s shown in his work – and always did show – and he’s showing it now in the spring,” he said.

“He is well and has gone through all his work and seems to be in very good form so far, so it’s definitely possible.”

O’Brien will also be represented by Little Big Bear, who won his next four starts as a juvenile after finishing runner-up first time out.

Little Big Bear goes into the unknown over a mile
Little Big Bear goes into the unknown over a mile (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

Those victories included the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot over five furlongs and the Phoenix Stakes over six furlongs at the Curragh.

Though currently second favourite for the Guineas, getting the mile trip on his first try beyond six-and-a-half furlongs is no foregone conclusion.

“He is by No Nay Never which is a big influence on speed,” admitted O’Brien.

“There is stamina in his dam’s side. He is a big, powerful horse and we saw what he can do over five and six furlongs.

“He’s a horse who won over five furlongs at Ascot and we know what kind of pace and precociousness that takes, and he had it.

“Then he got six and I suppose were were wondering would he get six. He got six and they way he got it, he looked like he would get seven standing on his ear, so obviously we are going to learn a lot.

“He hasn’t run in a long time. His work over that distance has been nice and he’s doing everything right, really.”

He added: “He is a very laid-back horse and he doesn’t use any petrol really – only what he needs to use. His temperament is a big advantage.”

Ryan Moore will get the choice of the two Ballydoyle runners, with outsider Cairo unlikely to take part.

“Really, we leave Ryan to make up his own mind as late as possible and we never put him under any pressure,” said O’Brien.

“I suppose when he decides what he is going to ride, then the rest falls into place.

“At the moment we think it will be Auguste Rodin.”

Auguste Rodin remains on course for Newmarket

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Auguste Rodin heads 15 colts confirmed for the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday.

Aidan O’Brien’s son of Deep Impact is not only ante-post favourite for the first Classic of the season on the Rowley Mile but also heads the market for the Derby at Epsom next month, such was the impression he made as a juvenile last term.

Auguste Rodin won three of his four starts at two, rounding off the year with a dominant display in the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, and looks set to make his return to action this weekend.

One of his biggest threats could come from his own yard with stablemate Little Big Bear, who has not been seen in competitive action since his brilliant victory in the Phoenix Stakes in August, also standing his ground. Cairo, meanwhile, is a potential third string for O’Brien.

Little Big Bear leads the way in the Phoenix Stakes
Little Big Bear leads the way in the Phoenix Stakes (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

Speaking at the Curragh on Monday, the Ballydoyle handler confirmed his intention to saddle both Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear.

He said: “So far so good, everything has gone good so far. At the moment both are on the way, that’s the plan at the moment.”

On jockey bookings, O’Brien added: “Obviously Ryan (Moore) won’t decide that until he sees everything. I would imagine at the moment he’s going to ride Auguste, but that’s not in stone.”

The home team is headed by Chaldean, who unseated Frankie Dettori shortly after the gates opened in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury a couple of weeks ago, but has proven class and course form as the winner of last season’s Dewhurst Stakes.

Roger Varian looks set to saddle Mill Reef winner Sakheer and the Greenham runner-up Charyn, while Charlie Appleby has the unbeaten Gimcrack victor Noble Style and Breeders’ Cup second Silver Knott in the mix as he bids for back-to-back wins following the victory of Coroebus last season.

Other hopefuls include Paul and Oliver Cole’s Royal Scotsman, who was beaten a head by Chaldean in the Dewhurst, and Craven winner Indestructible – one of three possible runners for trainer Karl Burke along with Holloway Boy and Flight Plan.

French Group One winner Dubai Mile (Charlie Johnston), Galeron (Charlie Hills) and Hi Royal (Kevin Ryan) complete the acceptors.

‘Special’ Auguste Rodin just one to look forward to for Moore

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Ryan Moore has high hopes Qipco 2000 Guineas and Betfred Derby favourite Auguste Rodin will go on and prove himself as a “special” horse.

Since finishing second on his debut the Deep Impact colt won his maiden before taking a Group Two on Irish Champions Weekend and signing off for the season in the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

“He’s obviously a very exciting horse, he should be unbeaten but we missed the first day. Apart from that, he’s done everything right, every start and the Vertem Futurity wasn’t a straightforward race, but he did everything right and showed a good attitude,” said Moore on the Betfair Betting Podcast.

“I think he beat a fair horse, the horse of (John and Thady) the Gosdens (Epictetus) and I think he’s going to be a better horse this year again. Obviously, he’s by Deep Impact out of Rhododendron.

“He ticks all the boxes, he’s a real good moving horse and has a beautiful rhythm. So we’re looking forward to this season.”

Despite being as low as 5-2 for the Guineas, Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien have always viewed him as more of a Derby type.

“We always thought that’s what he was, he got an awful lot of class and hopefully he’s a special horse,” said Moore.

“I don’t think he’s going to struggle for pace (in the Guineas). He’s got plenty of speed, his dam won a Lockinge. There’s plenty of pace there. He’s moving beautifully at the moment and seems to be in a good place.”

Little Big Bear spreadeagled his rivals in the Phoenix Stakes
Little Big Bear spreadeagled his rivals in the Phoenix Stakes (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

Second-favourite for the Guineas is stablemate Little Big Bear, who has not run since a setback prevented him from building on his stunning seven-length Phoenix Stakes win over six furlongs.

“When he got into top gear and he opened up in the last furlong there, he was very impressive and ran through the line. You know, his last furlong was his best furlong,” said Moore.

“All he’s done is finish off his race well, he’s a very exciting horse. By No Nay Never out of a Bering mare. He’s one that we’re very much looking forward to and he could be a very good miler, but we’ll see as we haven’t asked him a serious question yet.

Regarding the trip Moore said: “You never know until you try, but he’ll give himself every opportunity. He does everything right, he’s got a super attitude and the way he ran through the line at the Curragh, you’d like to think that a mile should be within range.”

Meditate is heading for the 1000 Guineas
Meditate is heading for the 1000 Guineas (Donall Farmer/PA)

Moore also holds strong claims in the Qipco 1000 Guineas with Meditate, last seen winning at the Breeders’ Cup.

“She ran pretty much every month last year. OK, she was beat in the Moyglare by a good filly (Tahiyra) but the ground was a bit soft that day,” said Moore.

“She was very good in America when stepped up to the mile. We are looking forward to her. I think she’ll run a big race in the 1000 Guineas.

“(She has a) good long stride suited to Newmarket, is well-balanced and will come down the hill.”

Paddington more likely to represent O’Brien in Craven than Cairo

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Recent Naas winner Paddington may represent Aidan O’Brien in the bet365 Craven Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday.

The Siyouni colt carried a big weight to victory to win the Madrid Handicap on his return to action and is on course to step up in class for the Guineas trial.

O’Brien also has Cairo entered, last seen finishing well down the field in the UAE Derby on dirt. But soft ground has made him a very unlikely runner.

“We left in two and I’m not sure as the ground has gone soft. Paddington is the one that might run. It might be a step too quick, but he’s in and we are thinking about it,” said O’Brien.

“Cairo would have been a possible only the ground has gone soft. He’s fine and just didn’t face the dirt over in Dubai.”

O’Brien currently houses two of the ante-post favourites for the 2000 Guineas in Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear and both are due to step up their work shortly.

“It’s so far, so good with the Guineas horses,” said the Ballydoyle handler.

“Little Big Bear is a quick horse and has not been asked to do a lot. His work will get more serious over the next few weeks.”

Leading fancy Statuette set to miss Guineas, reveals O’Brien

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Auguste Rodin, Little Big Bear and Meditate look likely to spearhead Aidan O’Brien’s Classic challenge this term, but leading Qipco 1000 Guineas candidate Statuette is unlikely to feature at Newmarket.

The daughter of Justify won both her juvenile starts last term but has been off the track since landing a Curragh Group in June.

She had been towards the head of the market for the first fillies’ Classic on May 7, but O’Brien feels she is doubtful to make the line-up.

He said: “Statuette has had a little bit of a hold up and I don’t think she’s going to make the Guineas. We will just go gentle and see what happens.”

Aidan O'Brien and Auguste Rodin on Monday at Ballydoyle
Aidan O’Brien and Auguste Rodin on Monday at Ballydoyle (PA)

The master of Ballydoyle holds a typically strong hand in the three-year-old division, with his two colts Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear sharing favouritism for the 2000 Guineas with many bookmakers.

Auguste Rodin signed off last term with victory in the Vertem Futurity Trophy over a mile at Doncaster, while Little Big Bear was an effortless six-length winner in the six-furlong Phoenix Stakes on his final start of the campaign at the Curragh in August.

Both took part in a post-racing gallop at the Curragh on Saturday, with O’Brien impressed by Auguste Rodin’s effort in working with sprinting candidate The Antarctic.

Speaking at a stable visit on Monday morning, O’Brien said: “We’re very happy with Auguste Rodin. What he did at the Curragh was very good, following a three-year-old sprinter. We were very happy with that.

“He was very comfortable (working with The Antarctic), we were surprised at him but he was always very classy from the first time Ryan (Moore) rode him.

“I think they are (the main two for Newmarket), then the lads will have to decide whether to let the two of them run together or split them up. They are the two that will be trained for Newmarket, that makes sense.”

Little Big Bear in action at the Curragh on Saturday
Little Big Bear in action at the Curragh on Saturday (Healy Racing)

O’Brien thinks Little Big Bear will get a mile, although he has yet to try a trip in excess of six furlongs, but Auguste Rodin is expected to sparkle over further in time.

He said: “I suppose Little Big Bear would be very comfortable and happy to go back sprinting, but I think there’s a good chance he will get a mile. He races very relaxed.

“You’d imagine Auguste Rodin will go better stretching out to a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half. He’s that type of horse (that could get any trip in time). If we have a horse that could do that, he’s definitely the one.

“We nearly didn’t run him at Doncaster on the ground. He’s an exceptional mover, a very slick, long and low mover. He’s the type of horse that could start in the Guineas and stretch out.”

Victoria Road, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, is pencilled in for the French 2000 Guineas and Derby, while Hans Andersen, Denmark, Alfred Munnings, Adelaide River and Alexandroupolis could all have Classic trial dates at some point, although Espionage is reported to have had a minor issue.

O’Brien said: “He was in full work and then he got a little bit of a shoulder and he’s only swimming, so he’s going to be held up for a little bit.”

O’Brien ranks his three-year-old colts team highly, adding: “We’ve plenty of chances there and we have two very strong Guineas horses, we have the horse for France. Little Big Bear is very classy, but they are obviously two very good colts.

“I suppose the difference in the two is Auguste Rodin could stretch right out and looking at him at the Curragh, he’s not short of pace. The other horse you would imagine would get a mile.”

Statuette might be missing her Guineas date at Newmarket, but Meditate is set to fly the flag after pleasing O’Brien in Saturday’s racecourse outing.

Placed twice in Group One company last summer, she graduated to top-level success in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Meditate at Ballydoyle on Monday
Meditate at Ballydoyle on Monday (PA)

Her trainer said: “Meditate is the one, she’s going there. She did a gentle piece at the Curragh, because she was at Tipperary a month before that and she was a little bit ouchy afterwards, so we had to be gentle with her.

“She still got to the Curragh to do her bit and she’ll do her first trot this morning, so hopefully she’s OK.

“The plan is to go straight to Newmarket with her. She’s a very professional filly, she’s not over big but she’s strong. We were very happy with her on Saturday.”

Dundalk maiden winner Beginnings could get the chance to emulate her dam, Winter, by tackling the 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday.

O’Brien, who also confirmed sprinting campaigns for The Antarctic and Aesop’s Fables, added: “Beginnings could go to a Guineas trial next weekend if it was nice ground, she’s fit and forward. We have had fillies from that Leopardstown trial win the Guineas, so they can step up.”

Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear on track for Newmarket

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Derby favourite Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear pleased Aidan O’Brien as the Ballydoyle trainer took a strong team of horses to gallop after racing at the Curragh on Saturday.

Auguste Rodin, a three-year-old son of Deep Impact, was seen four times in his juvenile season, finishing second on debut but then ending his campaign with success in both the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes and the Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes.

Little Big Bear was also beaten on debut then landed his next four races, taking the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot before stepping up in grade to claim the Anglesey Stakes and the Phoenix Stakes.

Both horses are headed in the direction of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and worked behind The Antarctic, a horse bound for a sprint campaign alongside stablemate Aesop’s Fables.

O’Brien said: “Little Big Bear, you’d have to be very happy with him as he hasn’t seen a track since the Phoenix Stakes. Seamus (Heffernan) said he was a bit on the bridle, a bit fresh, but travelled and finished very well.

“Wayne (Lordan) was very happy with Auguste Rodin. He was relaxed and did everything right. You couldn’t be happier with him.

“Obviously he’ll be looking at the Guineas. He’ll definitely go there without a run.

Classic hopeful Little Big Bear at the Curragh
Classic hopeful Little Big Bear at the Curragh (Healy Racing)

“When you are following up the likes of The Antarctic there, there are very few races you’d get as strong as that piece of work. They are highly-rated horses.

“Little Big Bear finished out very easy and Seamus seemed very happy. That was seven and a half furlongs today and he’ll go straight to the Guineas as well.

“We’ll take them home now and see how they are.”

He added: “We were very happy with The Antarctic. He’s probably going to go sprinting. Aesop’s Fables is the same, he’ll go sprinting. The Antarctic seems very versatile ground-wise.”

Tenebrism is another horse bound for a season of sprinting, whereas Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Meditate has a 1000 Guineas bid as her immediate early-season target.

Tenebrism, Thoughts Of June, Point Lonsdale, Irish Champion Stakes winner Luxembourg and Emily Dickinson all worked also and have pencilled-in plans for the earlier and latter stages of the campaign.

Luxembourg enjoyed a workout at the Curragh
Luxembourg enjoyed a workout at the Curragh (Healy Racing)

O’Brien said: “Tenebrism is going to go sprinting this year. Thoughts Of June will go for a mile-and-a-half fillies’ Group Three. Meditate will go straight to the Guineas.

“We haven’t seen Point Lonsdale out since the Guineas and Seamus was very happy with him. He might go to the Mooresbridge.

“Wayne was very happy with Luxembourg. He’ll probably start in the Ganay in France and then come here for the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Physically he’s done very well.

“Emily Dickinson will probably go the Gold Cup route and she’ll start in Navan in the Vintage Crop Stakes. She was very good over two miles here and when she stepped up in trip was by far her best.”

Tower Of London, beaten by Auguste Rodin on Irish Champions Weekend but a winner on debut, also worked and his trainer is sure he has more to offer.

He said: “Dylan (Browne McMonagle) rode Tower Of London and he was very happy with him. We thought he was a very good horse, he won his maiden in Leopardstown and then ran very keen in the race that Auguste Rodin won.

“He didn’t run after that and obviously that wasn’t his run. He looked very impressive the day he won.”

Auguste Rodin set to stretch his legs after racing at the Curragh

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Racegoers at the Curragh on Saturday could be in for an extra treat with the possibility of Aidan O’Brien’s 2000 Guineas and Derby favourite Auguste Rodin exercising after racing.

A high-profile string from Ballydoyle tends to head to Irish Flat racing’s Headquarters on the opening day to stretch their legs away from home.

While the gallop is never too strenuous, for those on hand to witness it there is the very real chance of a future Classic winner being on show.

Auguste Rodin currently heads the betting for both the Guineas and the Derby having won three of his four starts at two, including the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

Little Big Bear was one of last season's best juveniles
Little Big Bear was one of last season’s best juveniles (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

Stablemate Little Big Bear is next in the betting for the Guineas. He was beaten a short head on his debut but won his next four including the Phoenix Stakes by seven lengths. A minor setback prevented him from running again.

“Little Big Bear and Auguste Rodin are good, everything has been good so far anyhow,” said O’Brien.

“We’re not sure if either will run in a trial, they are going to go to the Curragh on Saturday maybe for a canter around, and we’ll see about them after that.

“It’s probably the same for the fillies, Meditate and Statuette.”

Little Big Bear crowned top juvenile in Europe for last year

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Aidan O’Brien’s Little Big Bear has been crowned Europe’s champion juvenile for 2022.

Narrowly beaten on his racecourse debut at the Curragh, the son of No Nay Never went on to win each of his four subsequent starts, including the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.

But it was his scintillating display on what proved to be his final juvenile appearance in the Group One Phoenix Stakes that saw him top the charts with a rating of 124.

Little Big Bear, who missed a planned step up to seven furlongs in the National Stakes, is O’Brien’s 12th European Champion Juvenile and is ante-post favourite for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Little Big Bear with connections at the Curragh
Little Big Bear with connections at the Curragh (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

O’Brien said: “We always thought from day one he was very good and we were very surprised the first day that he got beat, but with two-year-olds that can happen.

“Every run after that we did what we thought he would do. We always thought he was a very smart horse.

“We were looking forward to the National Stakes. He always showed plenty of speed, but when he stepped up to six furlongs he did really improve and I remember Ryan saying he’d get seven on his ear after the Phoenix Stakes.

“He’s by No Nay Never who is a big influence on speed, but there’s a good chance that a mile could be within his compass this year. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do.

“That (2000 Guineas) is what we’re thinking at the moment.”

Reflecting on Little Big Bear, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board handicapper Mark Bird said: “His dominant performances in taking the Group Three Anglesey Stakes and the Group One Phoenix Stakes propelled him clear of his rivals in the race to be Europe’s top two-year-old from an early stage of the season and whetted the appetite for what promises to be an exciting three-year-old career.”

Not for the first time O’Brien made a significant impact on the upper echelons of the rankings, with Little Big Bear 5lb clear of stablemate Blackbeard (119), who in turn finds himself 1lb ahead of another potential Ballydoyle star in the impressive Vertem Futurity Stakes winner Auguste Rodin – clear favourite for the Derby at Epsom.

O’Brien said: “We think Auguste Rodin is a very good horse. We were nearly not running him in the Vertem Futurity as he’s a lovely, big, slick horse and we were worried about the ground.

“He’s a very good mover with a good mind, we always thought he’d be a better horse at three and we think he’ll get middle distances, so the plan with him is he’ll probably start in the Guineas and see where we go from there.”

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road also features in the top 10 with a mark of 115, while O’Brien feels there is more to come from 114-rated Juvenile Fillies’ Turf heroine Meditate.

Meditate in action at the Curragh
Meditate in action at the Curragh (Donall Farmer/PA)

“With Meditate, the twice she got beat it was probably our fault,” he added.

“When she got beaten in the Moyglare, she’s a filly that has plenty of speed and we made the running with her over seven furlongs in soft to heavy ground, so that didn’t make a lot of sense when you look back.

“Then we might have panicked a little bit and ran her back in the Cheveley Park a bit too quick. She ran very well, but was probably a little bit flat.

“We were very happy going to America that she’d had a bit of time to freshen up and we knew the way we wanted to ride her this time. We always thought she was a very high-class, high-quality filly.

“It was only when we stepped Victoria Road up in trip that we started to get the best out of him.

“He could be a French Classic-type horse – French Guineas/French Derby-type horse.”

As far as the fillies were concerned, it was Meditate’s Moyglare Stud Stakes conqueror Tahiyra, with a mark of 118, who provided another major milestone in the career of the legendary Dermot Weld, ending the season as the trainer’s first ever European Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.

Bird said of Tahiyra: “She set off impressively in the illustrious hoofprints of her half-sister and Breeders’ Cup heroine Tarnawa, when winning at Group One level on just her second start.

“Providing Dermot Weld with his inaugural European Juvenile Champion filly, she is owner H.H. Aga Khan’s first juvenile female champion since Zarkava in 2007.”

O’Brien also gave mention to Justify filly Statuette, who was two from two last season but has not been seen in competitive action since landing a Group Two at the Curragh in June.

He said: “She’s a massive filly and I was surprised she came as quick as she did. We tried to back away from her and when we did she started to grow more.

“We’re very happy with her and we’ll take our time with her. We’ll train her for the Classics and see where we go, but we won’t force her.

“If it comes too quick for her we can go to Ascot, but I’m very happy with how she’s done physically.

“She’s going to be a filly to look forward to.”