Aidan O’Brien may give Air Force Blue the chance to redeem his reputation in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh later this month.
The War Front colt was sent off the odds-on favourite in the opening British Classic of the season at Newmarket on Saturday but he failed to cut any ice under Ryan Moore.
Air Force Blue was in trouble a long way from home in his first try at a mile, as Frankie Dettori dominated affairs to hand local trainer Hugo Palmer his first ever Classic success on British soil with Galileo Gold.
O’Brien hinted he may have over trained Air Force Blue ahead of the 2,000 Guineas and he says he will reassess how the three-year-old is worked at home ahead of a potential run at the Curragh on May 21.
“It was his first run of the year and in his second last piece of work he was very fast, so we were worried about if he would get the trip.
Maybe I trained him too hard,” O’Brien said. “I will probably change his work regime a little bit as I know what doesn’t work with him and I need to find what does work for him.
“We will have an eye on the Irish 2,000 Guineas and will have a look at that and see what the ground is like before deciding if he runs in that or not.”
There was better news for O’Brien in Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas as hot favourite Minding led home a one-two-three for his team, stablemates Ballydoyle and Alice Springs filling the places in the fillies Classic.
O’Brien’s US Army Ranger is 6.00 to win next month’s Derby at Epsom, while 2,000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold is 9.00 to add a second Classic success to his CV.
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