Aidan O’Brien’s pre-eminence in European racing over the last 20 years has been so unrelenting that it can sometimes be taken for granted, but even by Ballydoyle’s standards, the 2025 season is turning into an extraordinary campaign that could match, or even surpass, the record-breaking 2017 when he saddled 28 Group One winners worldwide.
Scandinavia was O’Brien’s 16th winner at the highest level in the St Leger here on Saturday, while Delacroix – like Scandinavia, a 2-1 favourite – took the total to 17 a couple of hours later, showing an exceptional turn of foot to win the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown under Christophe Soumillon.
There is such strength in depth in O’Brien’s stable this year that Lambourn, the Derby winner, turned out to be the weakest link in his three-strong team for the Leger, as he faded into fourth after setting a strong gallop. But Lambourn and Sean Levey had, by that point, teed it up perfectly for Scandinavia and Tom Marquand to strike for home two furlongs out, and the proven stamina of the winner of the two-mile Goodwood Cup allowed him to tough it out through the final quarter as Rahiebb and Scandinavia’s stable companion, Stay True, tried and failed to close him down.
Marquand was called up for the ride on Scandinavia as O’Brien grappled with a mini-crisis in his team of jockeys, after a season-ending leg injury for Ryan Moore and a 10-day suspension for Wayne Lordan, who rode Lambourn to his Derby success. The fact he had ridden Scandinavia as a two-year-old was perhaps what tipped the balance his way, and the betting market struggled to separate Scandinavia and Lambourn until shortly before the start, when late money sent the former off as the 2-1 favourite.
“I’ll be honest, I’d have been happy on any of the three, any ride in a Classic is big,” Marquand said. “I rode him as a two-year-old at Newmarket and really liked him, it was one of those when sometimes the stars align, when I rode him that day. Obviously I didn’t think I’d be winning the Leger on him, but it’s nice to ride these horses early when they’re progressing into staying types, as they just take their time to get there.
“He’s got the most beautiful temperament [and] he was tough today, it’s a long way up the straight on that ground when you’ve been trying to fend off good horses. He stays extremely well, as he showed at Goodwood, but I thought today was a real show of his tenacity on that ground.”
Doncaster 1.20 Stormy Monday 1.55 Obito 2.30 Indian Springs 3.00 Royal Velvet 3.35 Beaming Light 4.10 Queen Of Mougins (nb) 4.40 Hiya Maite 5.18 Arnhem
Bath 2.00 Spinning Dancer 2.35 Karakula Dancer 3.08 Bohemian Breeze 3.43 Asinara 4.18 Supreme Diamond 4.50 Call Time 5.28 Albus Anne
Musselburgh 2.15 Farandaway 2.50 Parisian Scholar 3.25 Rory The Cat 4.00 Drumcondra (nap) 4.33 I’m Next 5.08 This Years Love 5.43 Sanditon
Soumillon, O’Brien’s stand-in No 1 after Moore’s injury, had drawn a blank on his first nine rides for Ballydoyle after his call-up before the first day of Irish Champions Weekend, but his enduring quality emerged aboard Delacroix in the afternoon’s feature event.
Soumillon seized the initiative on the turn for home and carved out a decisive advantage before Delacroix showed grit to go with his turn of foot and hold the challenge of Anmaat, the secondfavourite, by three-quarters of a length.
“He’s some horse to quicken, isn’t he?” O’Brien said. “He [Soumillon] was very confident and took his time on him but when he said go, he just took off.
Worcester: 1.30 Seeyouinmydreams 2.00 Courtland 2.30 Rodeo 3.00 The Expensive One 3.30 Moon Over Clyro 4.00 Faitque De L’Isle 4.30 Ghasham 5.00 Shantou Lucky.
Brighton: 2.12 Perfect Parole 2.42 Airside 3.12 Madman 3.42 Fighting Poet 4.12 Kranjcar 4.42 Havana Gila 5.12 Unico.
Thirsk: 2.20 Beaune 2.50 Maasai Mata 3.20 Kiss For An Angel 3.50 Hockney 4.20 Miss Yorkshire 4.50 Ravishing Beauty (nap) 5.20 Al Muqdad.
Kempton: 4.25 Port Of London 4.55 Dancing Flower 5.30 Midnight Rodeo 6.00 Falmouth Lad 6.30 Riyadh Gem 7.00 Media Darling 7.30 Champion Again Ole 8.00 Red Flyer 8.30 Carderock.
“It’s that quickness he has, but what he did at Sandown [in the Eclipse Stakes] was very unusual, you don’t see horses do that and he did it again today. Two strides, it was over. He wasn’t there, and the next, he was gone.”
Delacroix is now a hugely significant stallion prospect for the Coolmore Stud operation which supplies O’Brien’s ammunition, as he is an outcross from the Galileo and Sadler’s Wells bloodlines that feature in many of the stud’s broodmares. As a result, he is highly unlikely to race on at four and O’Brien did not commit to even a single further outing after Saturday’s success. “It could be,” O’Brien said as to whether it was the horse’s last race. “I can’t tell you how important he is … he has all the options really.”
