1st Churchill (4/9 fav)
2nd Thunder Snow (5/1)
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Churchill defied rain-softened conditions to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas, adding to his victory at Newmarket earlier in the month.
Sent off a slightly uneasy 4/9 favourite following a downpour at the Curragh, backers of the favourite might've been concerned as Ryan Moore asked his mount to pick up from the rear of the six-runner field.
However, just as he had at Newmarket, the son of Galileo merely took a few strides to hit top gear and when hitting the front two furlongs from home, the race was as good as over.
Thunder Snow travelled perhaps best of all but couldn't go with the winner, who was two and a half lengths clear at the line and gave Aidan O'Brien his 11th win in the race.
O'Brien was winning the race for the 11th time and has now trained seven of the last 10 winners of the first Classic of the Irish season.
Churchill becomes the fourth Ballydoyle inmate to complete the Guineas double following the previous successes of Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Henrythenavigator (2008) and Gleneagles (2015).
Reaction
Ryan Moore: "He's been such a pleasure to ride from day one. We went a good gallop and he relaxes so well, but you could just tell he wasn't really enjoying the ground. I had to pick him up and when I asked him, he picked up Christophe (Soumillon, on Thunder Snow) a lot sooner than what I expected him to do.
"I think he's a very talented horse, he does everything you want him to do as a jockey and he ticks all the boxes. He goes to sleep on you and he's such a good mover, that's the thing that always stands out with him. When you sit on him, there's a lot of power underneath you and he never misses a beat. I think he's a very special horse."
Aidan O'Brien: "He's a great horse and we're delighted with him. He sleeps, he relaxes and he quickens. He's a very exciting horse. The ground was a concern, but Donnacha (O'Brien) rides him in all his work and he said it'd be no problem, so that gave us great confidence to keep going.
"He's brave and so versatile. Ground and trip all come alike to him and he has a lovely demeanour. He saves all the petrol, and when you ask him to quicken he quickens. Coming here we were thinking we'd go from here to Ascot and he'll probably go for the St James's Palace Stakes.
"He'd have no problem stepping up to 10 furlongs later in the year. He's so relaxed and chilled."
