O’Brien will be back in the Classics if he can continue the rise of Moth
Published:Aidan O’Brien will have been disappointed with the way Moth’s passage was disrupted in the 1000 Guineas, but there were no shortage of positives to take back to Ballydoyle with the Oaks now the natural target.
Moth was storming home after suffering traffic problems and although Joseph O’Brien said after the race that she didn’t take off as quickly as he had expected, once at full steam there was no horse covering ground at such pace.
With the perfect middle distance pedigree in being the daughter of Galileo, there can be a degree of confidence that the extra two furlongs in the Oaks will bring about the necessary improvement.
O’Brien Jnr. also said in his interviews that he felt Moth would be best seen on a flatter track, but that will not dissuade father and son from tackling the unknown effects of the Epsom undulations.
The rate of improvement from Moth’s maiden win at the Curragh back in April is remarkable and no-one in the game is better at preserving such trajectories than O’Brien.
It’s worth mentioning that there were other eye-catching performances on the exterior of the places that may not have been given the attention they deserve by the layers. Stablemate Snow Queen and neighbour of the winner Maureen were both finishing with notable flourishes and they will get the chance to put things right as well come early June.
On performance and pedigree alone Moth deserves to be spearheading the betting for a stable that can be trusted to nurture the improvement that will certainly be required. O’Brien may have been empty-handed in terms of trophies on the first Classic weekend, but he is armed with clues to aid him on his quest for the next ones.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
