Order of St George galloped home an easy winner in the Comer Group International Irish St. Leger (G1) at the Curragh Sept. 10 to regain the title he lost when he finished second in the race last year.
With jockey Ryan Moore up for trainer Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore ownership, Order of St George waited patiently in the middle of the field until they hit the top of the course and turned for home.
Without much urging from Moore, the 5-year-old son of Galileo quickly surged to the lead and extended that advantage to the finish to win by nine lengths. Torcedor finished second. Wicklow Brave, who defeated Order of St George in last year's running, briefly gave chase in the stretch run but finished fourth.
Her Majesty's star, Dartmouth, was never in the mix and finished eighth.
The way was cleared for Order of St George, as his expected top rival, Big Orange, was withdrawn Sept. 8 over concerns about the going. The race was run over soft to heavy turf, which proved no problem for the winner.
Order of St George won for the second time since his desperate loss to Big Orange in the Gold Cup (G1) at Royal Ascot.
It was 1-2-3 for O'Brien in the Moyglare Stud Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, as Happily won by a head bob over Magical, with September third. The favorite, Alpha Centauri, was right in the mix until the final furlong, then drifted in to the rail and faded badly to finish fifth.
Happily, a Galileo filly out of the Storm Cat mare You'resothrilling, scored her third win from five starts. In her previous outing, she finished second behind Magical in the Breast Cancer Research Debutante Stakes (G2) at the Curragh.
O'Brien had five of the 10 entered for the Moyglare Stud but withdrew Clemmie. That led to a shuffling of the stable's riders, with Donnacha O'Brien on Happily and Ryan Moore taking the mount on Magical.
The Moyglare Stud is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race, which provides a fees-paid spot for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Del Mar Nov. 3.
In the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes for 2-year-old colts and fillies, Verbal Dexterity emerged from a tight bunch to win going away by 3 1/2 lengths, with the favorite, Beckford, left second and Rostropovich third. O'Brien withdrew Gustav Klimt, who might have gone off as the favorite in the seven-furlong test.
Verbal Dexterity is a Vocalized colt out of the Holy Roman Emperor mare Lonrach. He won at first asking in June for trainer Jim Bolger and finished second behind Beckford in the GAIN Railway Stakes (G2) July 1.
Moore had a happier outcome in the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes (G2), as Caravaggio returned to his winning ways after two sub-par starts. The 3-year-old Scat Daddy colt raced well off the pace in the five-furlongs race, came through in the center of the course, and pulled away at the end to finish a length ahead of stablemate Alphabet.
O'Brien said Caravaggio's earlier woes may have resulted from shoeing issues and predicted a return to form in the Flying Five, which is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T).
