Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 6 July 2026

I have to admit that I am a little confused about the pecking order of this season’s three-year-olds.

The Coral-Eclipse on Saturday was the first Group 1 test against older horses but, on form, this did not strike me as a top renewal.

Constitution River was the only three-year-old to have won a Group 1 this season, while Saddadd had not won anything better than a Group 3.

The French were not represented either but, yet again, Aidan O’ Brien found the right one on the day.

Yes, he has a wealth of talent to call upon but, if you had created a pie chart at the start of the season based on the amount of coverage Aidan gave to his three-year-olds, then Christmas Day and Constitution River would have been allocated the thinnest of slices.

In fairness he had plenty to say about Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini but, by my reckoning, over half the cake would have been devoted to Albert Einstein. However, we won’t go there again!

Trying to read between the lines — and there are plenty of them — and factoring in the unusually forthcoming comments from Ryan Moore, I get the impression that, if Benvenuto Cellini and Constitution River were to meet over ten furlongs, the latter would be favoured. However, over a mile and a half Benvenuto Cellini would get the nod.

That is in line with the possible targets for the two colts, with the King George pencilled in for the Irish Derby winner and the Coral-Eclipse winner being aimed at the Juddmonte International.

Things will then get interesting with both colts holding entries for the Irish Champion Stakes — a race long coveted by the Coolmore behemoth — and the Arc.

Yet, despite all the talk, once again Aidan and his team have landed one of the industry’s leading Group 1 races.

Furthermore, in the Prix du Jockey Club he also saddled the second and third, while on Saturday he had the third. To cap all that, he even allowed a slot for his two sons to get a slice of the action.

What has become clear in recent years is that, if he is unsure of his best prospect for a top race, he goes in ‘mob-handed’.

This has paid off numerous times, notably in the Derby, but if he believes that he has a horse with star quality, then it will probably be their sole representative, or latterly with a pacemaker.

I recall Lester Piggott once saying that the one single factor which could prevent the form horse from winning was a false pace, which is why — frequently much to the annoyance of those he rode for — he sometimes made the running on horses that were usually held up.

Aidan is a keen advocate of the same principle and that is why he runs pacemakers. It has far less to do with team tactics than is widely assumed.

We have the Newmarket July Meeting this week and you can read my views in our Weekend Bulletin.  I’m already keen on a couple of handicappers, including one for the Bunbury Cup.

Bye for now

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