Power surged to the lead in deep stretch to capture the Abu Dhabi Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I) over Foxtrot Romeo at the Curragh May 26.
The victory by the son of Oasis Dream gave trainer Aidan O’Brien his third straight classic winner of the season. The Irish conditioner also sent out Camelot and Homecoming Queen to sweep both the English Two Thousand and One Thousand Guineas earlier this month.
O’Brien sent out a four-strong entry in the Guineas, made up of Goffs National Stakes (Ire-I) winner Power, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT) winner Wrote , UAE Derby (UAE-II) winner Daddy Long Legs, and Middle Park Stakes (Eng-I) third-place finisher Reply. Favoritism, however, went to the Richard Hannon-trained Trumpet Major, winner of the Champagne Stakes (Eng-II) at 2 and most recently a close fourth to Camelot in the British equivalent.
At the start it was Daddy Long Legs, winner of the UAE Derby (UAE-II) that went to the lead under Colm O’Donoghue. They were tracked by stablemate Wrote, with longshot Foxtrot Romeo chasing them in third. Richard Hughes had Trumpet Major just behind that group in fourth as Joseph O’Brien settled Power toward the rear of the field early.
Daddy Long Legs continued to gallop along easily on the front end, leading the field by as many as four or five lengths. With two furlongs left to run, O’Donoghue put the chestnut under a drive as the field closed in. Daddy Long Legs’ lead suddenly evaporated.
First to challenge was Trumpet Major under a strong ride by Hughes. They were joined by Foxtrot Romeo, and the three colts ran three abreast as they charged toward the wire.
Making up ground very quickly was Power, who was skimming along the inside rail under O’Brien. The pair burst into the clear just a few strides from the wire to snatch victory away from Foxtrot Romeo.
Power won by a length over Foxtrot Romeo, with Reply another three-quarters of a length back in third. Daddy Long Legs held on well for fourth, just a neck farther back. Trumpet Major tired badly and faded to last.
Final time for the eight furlongs was 1:39.04 over the good to firm turf course.
Power’s win was a vast improvement from his last race, where he finished 17th of 18 runners at Newmarket. O’Brien was quick to throw out that race, telling reporters at the Curragh, “We put his Newmarket run down to the soft ground and the fact it was his first run of the season, and we were prepared to forgive on both fronts.”
He added, “He’s showed today how much he’s come on in the past few weeks. He was solid at two and has lots of class. I would imagine it will be the St James’s Palace Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot next for him.”
Power was bred in England by Hugo Lascelles and Norelands, and races for the partnership of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Susan Magnier. Power is out of the winning Inchinor mare Frappe, and is a half-brother to 2005 Ribblesdale Stakes (Eng-II) winner Thakafaat.