Billet, Camouflage and Premier Dance rounded out the order of finish.In spite of the loss, O'Brien won four races at The Curragh Sunday. He captured the Royal Whip (Ire-II) with Solskjaer and the Patrick P. O'Leary Memorial Phoenix Sprint Stakes (Ire-III) with rebounding 3-year-old One Cool Cat against older horses at six furlongs, and the Robert H. Griffin Debutante (Ire-II) for 2-year-old fillies with Silk and Scarlet.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien's bid for a seventh straight Phoenix Stakes (Ire-I) for 2-year-olds at The Curragh came up short when unbeaten Damson, ridden by Kieren Fallon, beat a pair of of O'Brien-trained competitors.O'Brien's Oratorio and Russian Blue were second and third in the six-furlong event.Although O'Brien didn't win, the Entrepreneur filly is owned by O'Brien's major clients, Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor. David Wachman, who enjoyed his first group I success, trains Damson. The win had Fallon thinking about next year's One Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) with the Queen Mary Stakes winner."She will have absolutely no problem getting a mile," Fallon told Racing Post after Damson won in her first clash with the colts with a dynamic 4 3/4-length win. She's the first filly to take the Phoenix in 10 years. Wachman said, "She was idling after she got to the front. It's a big relief to have had everything go so smoothly today and to have won a Group 1." The 8-11 choice, Damson stalked Russian Blue and Oratorio into the final furlong and grabbed the lead between the two leaders with a sixteenth of a mile to go.Oratorio finished a half-length in front of Russian Blue. The time was 1:13.29 on good to firm footing.
