Donnacha O'Brien hopes A Boy Named Susie has improved since the Prix du Jockey Club ahead of the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday.
Last seen when fourth in the Group One at Chantilly on May 31, he was beaten just under three lengths in that contest by Constitution River, who reopposes this weekend, after not receiving the clearest of runs in the closing stages.
“He's in good form," O'Brien said on a Zoom call organised by The Jockey Club on Thursday.
"It's hard to know whether he has improved since France. His weights are pretty similar. His work is good. He's always been a good work horse.
“He looks great. So, there's no metric that I could tell you that he's a 10 pounds better horse here than he was in France. But I guess the question is whether he was unlucky in France or not.
“That's kind of a thing that we'll figure out on Saturday, whether if we had followed the pace, we would have been able to beat them or would we have paid for that later on? So I guess that's where you're hoping that the few lengths will come out of.
“He's a big, tall horse. And I think he's going to improve throughout the year and even into next year. So, I'd be hoping that he has improved to some degree.”
Reflecting on the decision to target the Coral-Eclipse, he said: “It was either Sandown or the Irish Derby. We are kind of not sure about the 12 furlongs just yet.
"I think it's probably within his range, but Saturday is the race that we were working towards from the French Derby and there wasn't any reason to change our mind. His work programme was always towards here, and we've just stuck to that plan.”
Looking back on the colt’s performance in the Prix du Jockey Club, Donnacha continued: “It's a hard one to know. As I said, we kind of hoped that we could follow Ryan (Moore, rider of Constitution River) out of the stalls, which is what the plan was. I think the pace was pretty hot early and I think that's kind of overlooked.
“Dad's horses, they went very quick early from wide draws. You look at the horses that followed them, that sat fourth and fifth, they finished nowhere in the end. Looking at the race, you'd say, ‘Oh, we were a bit unlucky because we flashed home’, but I wouldn't say it's a guarantee that any horse that used that much petrol to go with them early would have finished as strong as what he did.
“It doesn't look like he has a mile and a half pedigree. The other thing is, in Chantilly, you're turning from a long way and what that does is that the field just naturally takes a sit. The pace just naturally goes out even though it doesn't look like it because you're turning the whole time and it just turns into basically a mile and a quarter that's not as stiff as maybe what it looks because the whole field ends up having to take a sit for even two or three furlongs.
“It’s a stiff mile and a half at the Curragh and we knew the pace would be on. To be honest with you, looking back at the race, I'm glad we didn't go there because it turned into a real test of stamina. I'm not saying we'll never try mile and a half, but I think the Irish Derby probably wasn't the place to try it.
Assessing his rivals on Saturday, the trainer said: “Obviously, Constitution River looks a very good horse. Gethin looks a good horse, Saddadd the same. Hawk Mountain too - they're very strong, proper Group One horses.
“I think the small field will help them, but it looks like a proper strong Group One and whatever wins, it'll have to be a very, very good horse.
“Constitution River looks very good. I thought he looked very good in Chester. I thought he really did things the hard way in France.
“He used plenty of petrol early. He stuck wide and didn't look particularly comfortable on the track. And he still found a way to win. So, you know, on horses like that, they're able to win ugly. It's often a sign of a real good horse.
“We've seen champions all throughout the years be able to do that. We'll see. We're still going to take them on and do our best.
“Oisín (Murphy) rides A Boy Named Susie. He rode him in Leopardstown early on in the year. Oisín's a great rider. He knows his English tracks very well and whenever he's available, we're happy to use him.”
Although A Boy Named Susie has only won one of his seven starts to date, when scoring on debut at Killarney in July of last year, Donnacha still believes he has a very serious horse on his hands, although he admits the colt has perhaps not always been the easiest of rides.
He said: “We actually always thought he was very, very good. He went to the Curragh, did a very impressive bit of work about three weeks before and then went to Killarney and bolted up. We kind of got a bit excited then. His next two runs were disappointing with no obvious reasons, but he got a bit worked up before both of them.
“And then after that, we got him back on track. But we've always thought that he was very good. He's just probably taken a little bit more time to really be a high-class horse.
“But, you know, that's to be expected. This year and even towards the end of last year, I haven't seen anything to suggest that he's not a very good horse just yet.
“I think in a few of his runs, you could say he's arguably been unlucky. Part of that he probably does to himself, but I think with a smoother run, he could have won the Derby Trial early on in the year, won by (subsequent Betfred Derby winner) Christmas Day, when he just lost by a nose or two. Obviously in the French Derby, he looked a tad unlucky.
“I think he's a horse that has been a little bit unlucky and he's very unlucky not to certainly be a Stakes winner somewhere along the way.
“It's funny. It's nearly easier to bowl along in front than it is to go forward and then slot into a position because at least if you're along in front, you can get them into a rhythm.
“With him, he's a little bit funny with his mouth. You have to have a soft pair of hands with him. If you put him into gear, it's hard to get him out of it. So, the two options we've had so far with him is just let him relax and take our time or you could let him bowl along in front, but we haven't done that yet. But I think he's coming. Mentally, he's starting to get it together and as he gets older, he'll get easier to ride, I think.”
A Boy Named Susie runs in the colours of Donnacha’s sister Ana, who also bred the colt, and the trainer concluded: “Ana is good. I think she's excited and I think she'll be there on Saturday - it's a family affair.”
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Free bets
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
