Bank on Brussels to deliver July joy

BRUSSELS is taken to provide trainer Aidan O’Brien with back-to-back wins in the Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes at Newmarket.

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The Ballydoyle handler saddled Whistlejacket to land the Group Two prize 12 months ago, his third victory in the race having also struck gold with Ivan Denisovich in 2005 and Royal Lytham in 2019.

It is notable that Brussels, a son of sire-of-the-moment Wootton Bassett, was O’Brien’s only entry for this year’s renewal and he certainly made a good impression when making a winning debut at the Curragh in late May.

That form looks pretty strong with his stablemate and runner-up Kansas, as well as the third-placed favourite Learntodiscover, winning since. Juveniles from this yard tend to improve hugely from their first to the second runs and the fact O’Brien feels Brussels is up to a test like this so early in his career speaks volumes.

It could be another profitable afternoon on the July Course for O’Brien, with Scandinavia a tentative choice in the curtain-raising Bahrain Trophy.