Field Of Gold made full amends for his narrow Newmarket defeat with a stunning victory in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the son of Kingman was beaten half a length after finishing fast and late under Kieran Shoemark in the British mile Classic three weeks ago.
Sent off the evens favourite for the Irish equivalent, new pilot Colin Keane never had a moment of worry aboard Field Of Gold, who made smooth progress with a couple of furlongs to run before fairly sprinting clear.
Field Of Gold came home a cosy three-and-three-quarter-length victor over his fellow Juddmonte-owned runner Cosmic Year, with Hotazhell a further three-quarters of a length back in third.
The winner was following the same route as his sire Kingman, who was also trained by John Gosden and suffered a half-length defeat at Newmarket in 2014 before going on to triumph at the Curragh as part of four subsequent Group One strikes.
“We did it with his father but I do remember coming here years ago with The Minstrel, when I was working for Vincent O’Brien, and it doesn’t always work out that way,” said John Gosden.
“He’s right up there with his father, I think he’s as good as his father right now.
“Juddmonte have wonderful farms here and rear great stock and have a lot of people employed here. They are beautifully managed and controlled by (European racing manager) Barry Mahon.
“To that extent, we have to be thankful to them, because good horses don’t drop out of the sky. He had to come back here to win because this is his home turf.
“The Irish Guineas is on a very fair track and I wanted to come here and prove he was a Classic winner, so it was very important to come here.
“We came here with Too Darn Hot and he finished second, so it doesn’t always happen. I was sorry we got beaten in the English Guineas but he finished so well.”
Gosden feels the experience of travelling will stand Field Of Gold in good stead and also praised Keane’s ride, with the jockey replacing Shoemark as part of a new ‘best available’ policy.
He said: “To get on a plane and come here and see something different, they are young horses only three, so he would have learned a lot from this. They grow in stature and in mentality.
“It’s probably a very good thing he came here and Colin rode him beautifully.
Colin Keane takes the acclaim aboard Field Of Gold
“He seemed very fresh saddling and then we couldn’t find a shammy, so we were late to the parade ring.
“In truth, I was concerned he might overrace with no cover on the outside, but I told Colin if he relaxes going down, he should relax coming back and he rode him just right.
“I told him ‘you have no instructions, ride it as you find it’.
“He rode him beautifully, he’s the best horse and he quickened up well and a very good horse was second to him and Hotazhell was third.
“When he quickened, he went – he takes two or three strides and he’s off.”
Field Of Gold is now the 5-4 favourite for the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, with his Newmarket conqueror Ruling Court on course to step up in distance for the Betfred Derby – with a longer trip not ruled out for the Gosdens’ charge either
The trainer added: “It’s good, solid form, it was a proper race, as good as the English Guineas. No doubt about that at all, probably in the end equal, if not better.
“The winner of the English Guineas goes to the Derby, so that makes it very exciting.
“Let’s hope the owners want to go to Ascot and have a look at the St James’s Palace there. That’s what Thady told me to do, so I’ll listen!
“Prince Saud is keen to go a mile and a quarter, so we’ll hang on a little.”
Shoemark lost his position as the Gosden yard’s first-choice jockey in the wake of Field Of Gold’s Newmarket eclipse, with Irish champion jockey Keane delighted to “step in” this time.
He said: “From the minute I got on him, he was a gentleman. Talking to John, Thady and Kieran this morning, they couldn’t say how straightforward he was, to be fair to them.
“He jumped, he didn’t really need to get in cover. I was on Gavin’s (Ryan on Comanche Brave) girths and he was lobbing, so I was happy to stay there. We didn’t go mad, we went even, but when I asked him, he didn’t half quicken.
“When he went through the line like that, that was as good of a feeling as I’ve got off a horse for a long time. Just so straightforward and powerful to sit on.
“Kieran said he used to be keen and fresh last year. He has done a marvellous job getting him to relax, to be fair now. I’ve just stepped in for today.”
Delight for British raider with gutsy Greenlands victory
James’s Delight swooped on the line to take home the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes.
Trained by Clive Cox, James’s Delight was settled on the heels of pacesetter Lethal Levi by Oisin Murphy, who was hard at work as the field entered the last of the six furlongs.
Oisin Murphy and James’s Delight head for home
The 22-1 winner kept responding for pressure though and edged a short head victory over Lethal Levi on the line, with Big Gossey a further neck back in third after struggling to find a gap at a crucial stage.
Australian import Storm Boy was sent off the 6-4 favourite on his European bow for Aidan O’Brien, but he dropped away after racing prominently early on and was also slightly hampered in the finish, eventually ending up last of the nine runners.
Murphy said: “Clive was very happy with him. The plan was actually to get a bit of cover, but the speed wasn’t very fast and he broke well. He is a tough, game horse for very good owners, the Rooneys.
“Jason Maguire (the owners’ racing manager) does a top job and it’s fantastic they have kept this guy in their colours and he can pick up valuable prizes like today.”
James’s Delight was continuing a recent British domination of the race, with Cox’s winner a fourth successive triumph for the raiding party.
Asked why British runners have been so successful of late, Murphy added: “We generally have quite a lot of them and the handicap system is quite tough on them.
“They really have to perform in those big Saturday class two races. This guy came through that system and the guys have done a great job bringing him over here and preparing him for such a big day.”
Brussels sprouts wings late on to land Curragh maiden
Brussels followed in the hoofprints of fellow Aidan O’Brien-trained runner Henri Matisse by winning the Avenuebloodstock.com Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden.
The subsequent French 2000 Guineas victor landed the six-furlong contest on his juvenile bow 12 months ago, while Unquestionable won for O’Brien in 2023, and Brussels (11/4) ensured a third successive win for the handler.
The Wootton Bassett colt was the pick of stable jockey Ryan Moore and duly proved too good for another Ballydoyle runner in Kansas, coming home three-quarters of a length in front, with the Ger Lyons-trained favourite Learntodiscover a further length and a quarter back in third.
Brussels excelled under Ryan Moore at the Curragh
Brussels is a 14/1 shot with bookmakers for the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, but O’Brien expressed some doubt about running in Berkshire next month.
He said: “Ryan was very happy. He said he was very green, he was very babyish when he got on and going down. He said he will come forward a lot from it.
“All these horses are running with Ascot in mind, but Ryan said that he was so babyish that it might come too quick. We’ll see how much he comes on.
“He said that he thought he would have no problem getting seven. He’s very big, a massive, big, powerful horse.
“The second horse ran lovely. I’m not sure if he’s quick and six is far enough for him. It was five in Naas and he might be a fast horse.”
O’Brien’s son Joseph was also on the scoresheet as Trustyourinstinct (5/4 favourite) made the most of a drop to Listed company as he beat Romzina by four lengths in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Orby Stakes.
The JP McManus-owned five-year-old was running over hurdles at this point 12 months ago, but O’Brien plans to stick to the level now.
He said: “He’s a lovely horse, very consistent and he loves it here at the Curragh. I’m delighted to have a nice winner for JP.
“He’s well enough handicapped over hurdles but he doesn’t really jump with great fluency. He’ll probably stick to the Flat.
“He’s a very solid Listed/Group Three horse and he pays his way every year. We’ve ran him internationally a few times as well and we might look at that again at a later date.”
