Aidan O’Brien and the Ballydoyle team are raring to go heading into the Irish Champions weekend at the Curragh and Leopardstown, showcasing some of their best horses over the Irish Champion Stakes, the Matron Stakes, and the Irish St Ledger, but one horse who has yet to achieve group one glory is exciting filly January, but is the Matron Stakes where she find it?
Ballydoyle’s three year old filly January is one of Aidan O’Brien's many horses who haven't quite yet reached group one glory, and although she should have gotten that crown much earlier than expected, she may have to wait until the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown to achieve that illustrious group one win.
After losing out by a head to Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville back in early August, that seemed to be the race she was poised to break her group one chains, however although she was running off eight stone 11 pounds, she just lost out underneath Christophe Soumillon, and once again didn't show what she is really made of. Another disappointing result for January came in July at Newmarket in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes, losing out to William Buick and Charlie Appleby’s Cinderella’s Dream by half a length, a race that really she should have taken easily.
Aidan O’Brien himself said ‘she has been a bit disappointing, she comes there to win but doesn't really follow through’. On the last two occasions January hasn't looked like turning the jests on completely against worse competition, but now she is poised at Leopardstown to get the job done.
O’Brien has also stated that he has changed her routine a bit, saying ‘maybe we haven't got it right with her’, indicating that it is tactical, and something just hasn't gone right in the training. Nevertheless, we should never doubt O’Brien and the Ballydoyle team, and the Matron Stakes could be the race that relieves the pressure for both O’Brien and January, and it will be a real test to see if she is made of group one material.
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