Time for Aidan O’Brien and Excelebration to prove themselves
Winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at the Royal Ascot is highly important for the Aidan O’Brien team. The trainer needs the backing of the prize money to gain superiority over trainer, John Gosden, who is squeezing in on the chances of Aidan O’Brien winning the title. Besides that, his under charge, Excelebration, has to prove that he can notch up the runner-up’s position in the last edition, to the winner’s, specially in the absence of his lifelong rival, Frankel.
“Excelebration goes for the mile race and we’re happy with him,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien.
The last time the two met, the mighty Frankel defeated Excelebration in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (British Champions Series) on 19th June, 2012 at the Ascot race course over a mile. Aidan O’Brien’s under charge lost the race by an agonizing eleven lengths.
Exceed And Excel’s four-year-old bay colt has raced under the intimidating shadows of the top miler of the world, Frankel. If there was a horse who put in all that he had for measuring up to the racing icon, then it has to be Excelebration. He, and neither did his connections give up without a fair battle. With each loss, they came in more prepared for the next challenges, but the gravity of racing against the best thoroughbred race horse in the world dawned when even the fifth time was not enough to pull down Galileo’s mighty colt.
The Aidan O’Brien trained lost the last edition of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on 15th October by four lengths.
As soon as Excelebration strode out of the shadows of Frankel, he won the Group 1 Prix Du Haras De Fresnay-Le-Buffard – Jacques Le Marois (Turf) on 12th August, 2012 at Deauville over a mile.
Riding with jockey, Christophe Soumillon, he defeated the Roger Charlton trained, Cityscape, by 1 ¼ lengths.
"It was a fantastic chance ride to get," said the Belgian, "and I feel very sorry for Ryan. He did tell me before his fall that he thought the horse would win."
The Ascot meeting without any doubt is an anxiously awaited date for the Aidan O’Brien’s stables.
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