Aidan O'Brien will be attempting to repeat the success of Merchant Navy (Aus) seven years ago as he primes fellow Australian import Storm Boy (Aus) for an assault on Royal Ascot.
The son of Justify won his first four starts at two for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, including the G2 Skyline Stakes over 1,200 metres, and was later third, beaten just over a length, in Australia's premier juvenile contest, the G1 Golden Slipper. As a three-year-old he added the G3 San Domenico Stakes to his list of five wins in 10 starts before making the trip north to join the Ballydoyle team in December.
During a media morning on Monday, O'Brien said that he will follow the same route to the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (known as the Diamond Jubilee Stakes when won by Merchant Navy) with a warm-up in the G2 Greenlands Stakes.
“The plan is to go to the Curragh on Guineas weekend for the six-furlong race and then if all goes well he will go to Ascot for the six-furlong race,” he said. “We think he's fast. Before he came I wasn't sure whether he was six furlongs, seven furlongs or a miler, but he's fast, so we think he's a six-furlong horse.”
As a Southern Hemisphere three-year-old, Storm Boy will be regarded as a four-year-old this summer in Europe.
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