Aidan O'Brien provides a rundown of his chances at Ascot on British Champions Day, including Constitution River and Gstaad, while reflecting on the ongoing title battle with Andrew Balding.
Aidan O'Brien stands on the brink of a ninth Champion Trainer title success in Britain but faces stern opposition from Andrew Balding as the 2026 campaign starts to draw to a close. Speaking on a Qatar Racing British Champions Day press call hosted by Ascot, the Irishman spoke of his pride at being in the race again this season and also provided a comprehensive guide to his chances on the richly-endowed British Champions Day card at the famous Berkshire venue this weekend.
Confucius in Champions Day Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes
“We’ve done a very bad job with him... he’s a very good work horse and we just can’t get him to get it together. We tried blinkers last time and he didn’t travel at all, he didn’t like them. He’s a classy horse but you haven’t seen it on the track yet, so we’re hoping. We’ve left everything [headgear] off, we’ll ride a normal race on him and see what happens but he definitely has a lot of ability.”
Queenstown & Amelia Earhart in Champions Long Distance Cup
“Queenstown is a solid horse, two miles will suit him well. We’re very happy with him. There are some of them in the race who have form that should finish in front of him but we think he’s progressing.
“Amelia Earhart ran a very good race in France, she was staying on and coming home. Her brother [Cleveland] we trained and he was best over two miles. She looks like a filly that definitely will stay two miles. So that will be interesting.
"Scandinavia would have had a very strong chance but 'the lads' felt he he’s after having plenty of racing this year. But he’s very well, his last piece of work was very good. We went to France, expecting the ground to be gone for Ascot, and with the benefit of hindsight maybe I should have skipped France. He ran a very good race, maybe we would have preferred a stronger gallop, we made the running so it was our own doing. He was just a little bit unlucky in France. We thought looking at the Gold Cup [at Royal Ascot] next year was the right thing to wait.”
Minnie Hauk in Champion Fillies & Mares Stakes
“It is possible this could be her last run. It’s not definite, obviously if she was to go again she would have the Breeders’ Cup [option]. It is only two weeks away. We just felt in the Arc she got trapped in there off a very slow pace, she’s a filly who likes a nice, evenly-run mile and a half.
"We felt she ran very well and up to the Arc she did have problems with corns and didn’t have a clear run, but since then she has been very good and everything has gone well.”
Gstaad & Hawk Mountain in QEII Stakes
“Obviously we think Gstaad is a very good horse and I probably messed up the tactics a little bit the last day in France, where they didn’t go overly fast. And Longchamp is a much quicker mile than most places. So, it is possible that didn’t see the best of him. We always felt that Ascot would suit him, he won a Coventry Stakes there over six. It’s a strong mile which will suit him, the Old Mile there is probably the fairest, there’s no turns or twists, it’s straight up. We’re looking forward to him. [Stall] 11 of 11, that’s the way it is, hopefully it should be an uncomplicated race really.
“Hawk Mountain is in good form, we’re going back to a mile for the first time this year so that will be interesting. We’re not sure with his last couple of disappointing run, whether [it was due to] the horses being a little bit under the weather. Or was he not staying. We thought the straight mile in Ascot would suit him well.”
Constitution River in Champion Stakes
“We always thought Constitution River had pace enough for a mile. Obviously, in his last two runs he went from the furlong and a half to the half-furlong marker then didn’t really quite finish off. Now, we felt in York there was a reason for that – the pace was very strong and he got hung up in it early and he was maybe in a gear too high the whole race. He went to Leopardstown and it was a little bit the same, the pace was very strong and he went early as the pace dropped away in front of him. Then he emptied out.
“We weren’t sure at that time if he wasn’t staying or what, it’s very possible with the health of the horses at that time, he was just getting tired and when there’s something going on for a while [low-grade infection in the yard], like yourself, you will tire quicker. So, there’s a chance that was happening.
“We were nearly going to do it [drop back to a mile] this time but then the more we thought of it, was it fair to Gstaad to throw him in to a mile and a quarter race of that calibre, and was it fair to Constitution to go back to a mile? It might have been a knee-jerk reaction. I was asking was I doing the wrong thing with them all year, and maybe I was, but we just decided – especially when the ground looks as though it’s going to be nice, proper, racing ground – we’d find out a bit more.”
On winning a third straight British Trainers’ Championship
“It’s obviously very important, it’s a privilege and a pleasure for us to be involved in it even. It’s great to win any time you do win it, as it’s very difficult.
“We obviously know Andrew [Balding, title rival this year] well and we would always wish him the very best.
“It didn’t affect us really [in making plans for Champions Day] because we always put the horses first and whatever we do is the right thing by the horses. There’s plenty of things we could have done, we could have run the filly [Diamond Necklace] back in the Fillies & Mares; we could have run Scandinavia. But for the horse at the time, we just felt it wasn’t the right thing.
“If it happens, we’d be over the moon. But we’ll do our best, after this we’ll only have for us really the Futurity left, and then we’re finished. I imagine for us to do it we’d have to win one of the good races and that’s not easy, it’s very competitive and horses are having a long, hard season. We’ll always do our best.”
More on British Champions Day 2026
Weekend Panel: Find out which favourite our experts are keen to take on
- Aidan O'Brien: My Ascot chances and why stick at 10f with Constitution River?
- Andrew Balding praying for perfect swansong with Kalpana
- Timeform: Champion Stakes analysis
- What makes Billy Loughnane stand out from the rest?
- Simon Holt on expecting the unexpected at Ascot
- Podcast team weigh up Champions Sprint 'banker' Almeraq
- David Ord on why William Haggas is backing the title underdog
- Ben Linfoot on the big questions heading into Ascot
- Andrew Asquith tackles Champions Day in Weekend View
- Matt Brocklebank reveals his Champions Day shortlist
- William Haggas on his British Champions Day team
- Andrew Balding on his British Champions Day team
- Richard Brown on Wathnan's Ascot team
- Nemone Routh on the Aga Khan Stud's Ascot team
- Tom Fanshawe on Kind Of Blue's Champion Sprint claims
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