Aidan O’Brien inched closer to his own Group One record, as both Puerto Rico and Pierre Bonnard enhanced their Classic claims when starring in a big-race double at Saint-Cloud.
O’Brien registered a record 28 top-level victories in 2017 and less than 24 hours after Hawk Mountain gave him a 23rd top-level success for 2025 at Doncaster, he took his tally to 25 in France.
Puerto Rico had waited until Doncaster’s Champagne Stakes to open his account but has been unstoppable since and shot to the top of the betting for next year’s 2000 Guineas with a brilliant all-the-way victory in the Criterium International.
Supplemented into the race earlier this week, there was barely a moment of worry for Christophe Soumillon in the saddle, as he scurried to a cosy length-and-three-quarters success over Jean-Claude Rouget’s Campacite to follow up his Group One triumph in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day.
O’Brien said: “He’s a lovely horse and is very happy in front. He’s always happy to get a lead but he’s an unusual horse as he has a lot of speed but he stays as well.
Puerto Rico (Soumillon) won the Criterium International (Photo: Zuzanna Lupa)
“We wanted to see how comfortable he would be over a mile today and Christophe was happy to take a lead if someone else was going to go, but obviously nobody did so he was happy to go on.
“He’s a very classy horse and obviously very good. I think he’s a Guineas horse first then probably a Derby horse.
“He’s uncomplicated, relaxed, quickens and has lots of speed and goes on the ground. He would also be happy on fast ground as we were thinking of taking him to the Breeders’ Cup, so he is obviously a very good horse.”
However, Pierre Bonnard returns to Ballydoyle as the new ante-post favourite for Epsom next June having followed in the footsteps of stablemate and 2023 scorer Los Angeles by winning the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.
The professional performance was arguably less impressive than when coming from last to first at Newmarket earlier this month, but he was still pulling clear of his rivals at the finish to leave O’Brien agreeing with the layers that he looks a true Derby candidate.
O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing: “Wayne [Lordan] loved him when he rode him at Leopardstown [on debut] and won on him at Dundalk and then Christophe was raving about him when he won him at Newmarket the last day.
“It was lovely to come here on that ground and give him more education. He’s a very special horse I would say and Christophe gave him a beautiful ride.
“He looks a Derby horse and he’s by Camelot and all those Camelots have class. They are very comfortable at a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half and he looks a typical Camelot and all class. He’s very exciting.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
