Ballydoyle’s Twain Brings Up Group 1 Double For Wootton Bassett

[Wandering Eyes]

In the kind of fascinating group 1 encounter that the preceding Criterium de Saint-Cloud definitely was not, Ballydoyle and Wootton Bassett (GB) were the main stories again at the culmination of Sunday's Criterium International. Ryan Moore had picked last Saturday's impressive Leopardstown maiden-winning TDN Rising Star Twain (Ire) over the stable's Arqana Series Criterium d'Automne winner Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and his judgement was proven spot-on once more as the son of Wading (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) emerged with the Rosegreen bragging rights to stamp himself as a genuine Classic candidate for 2025.

As expected, the unbeaten 3-5 favourite Maranoa Charlie (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) set off in isolation as he had previously when winning the course-and-distance G3 Prix Thomas Bryon but it was soon evident that he was tanking in the hands of Aurelien Lemaitre and merely setting it up for the closers. With the leader's goose cooked two out, it was left to the Irish colts to come to the fore and the 53-10 shot Twain had more gears than his stablemate from 300 metres out.

At the line, Twain held a 1 1/4-length margin over Mount Kilimanjaro, with the Joseph O'Brien-trained Goffs Million scorer Apples And Bananas (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) 4 1/2 lengths away in third and Maranoa Charlie a further five lengths back in fourth. “He must be very good horse,” Moore said of the descendant of Urban Sea (Miswaki), linking him to some of the Turf's recent greats. “He was a bit inexperienced and got to the front a long way from home and was a bit green still. He's a beautiful-looking horse by a sire who is doing unbelievable things with his 2-year-olds.”

Aidan O'Brien added, “He's obviously a very good horse. We thought we were running him too early at Leopardstown, but we decided to run him with this in mind just in case he was as good as we thought he was. Ryan had to teach him and give him a chance there and we think he's very special. He's a legitimate Guineas horse.”

 

Two from two! Twain remains unbeaten in the Group 1 Criterium International for Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien… pic.twitter.com/hC4MblB8hL

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 27, 2024

Sunday, Saint-Cloud, France
CRITERIUM INTERNATIONAL-G1, €250,000, Saint-Cloud, 10-27, 2yo, c/f, 8fT, 1:46.31, hy.
1–TWAIN (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Wading (Ire) (GSW-Eng), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Cherry Hinton (GB), by Green Desert
3rd Dam: Urban Sea, by Miswaki
TDN Rising Star. 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €142,850. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, €153,470. *1/2 to Just Wonderful (Dansili {GB}), GSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng, GISP-US, $462,744; and Lost Treasure (Ire) (War Front), GSP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr), 126, c, 2, Siyouni (Fr)–Decorating, by Galileo (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€420,000 Ylg '23 ARQOCT). O-Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Glen Hill Farm LLC (FR); T-Aidan O'Brien. €57,150.
3–Apples And Bananas (Ire), 126, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Simannka (Ire), by Mastercraftsman (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€130,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR). O-MacLennan, Shanahan & Magnier; B-Phoenix Thoroughbred Ltd (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €28,575.
Margins: 1 1/4, 4HF, 5. Odds: 5.30, 4.70, 10.00.
Also Ran: Maranoa Charlie (Fr), Spirit Of Summer (GB), Matauri Bay (Ire).

The post Ballydoyle’s Twain Brings Up Group 1 Double For Wootton Bassett appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article