Joseph O’Brien is turning to an old rival to try and help secure Group One glory in Deauville, France, on Sunday.
The Irish trainer has engaged Mickael Barzalona to ride Rogue Millennium in the €300,000 Prix Rothschild. The mile race for fillies and mares is due off at 2.50 Irish time. Other Irish interest in the seven-runner field comes from the Willie McCreery-trained Ocean Jewel, with regular rider Billy Lee on board.
Barzalona, however, gets a first try at securing Rogue Millennium a maiden top-flight success. The 32-year-old champion jockey in France in 2021, memorably won the Epsom Derby on Pour Moi in 2011. A year later he controversially landed the St Leger when riding Encke to defeat O’Brien, who was on board the Triple-Crown chasing Camelot. Encke subsequently tested positive for an anabolic steroid.
Rogue Millennium is having a fourth start for O’Brien following her 1,650,000 guineas purchase last year when her exploits for Tom Clover included a second to Tahiyra in the Matron Stakes.
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Unlucky behind Ocean Jewel on her Curragh reappearance, the mare finished ahead of her opponent when fifth at Royal Ascot and then ran third to Porta Fortuna in the Falmouth. Fifth in the 2023 Rothschild, Rogue Millennium again takes on last year’s winner Mqse De Sevigne who has already landed a Group One this season in May’s Prix D’Ispahan.
Also in the line-up is last year’s Foret winner Kelina, as is Blue Rose Cen who has yet to hit the heights she achieved in 2023 when winning four times at the top level.
O’Brien, who has not struck at the top level on the flat since Al Riffa in the 2022 National Stakes, has also engaged a local rider, Christophe Soumillion, for Uluru in the later Group Three Prix De Psyche on Sunday’s Deauville programme. Uluru belied 28-1 odds when third to Soprano in Royal Ascot’s Sandringham last month. She faces just four opponents in a 10-furlong race won by Jessica Harrington’s Trevanaunce in 2022.
Before that O’Brien’s ambitions extend to Ascot where he runs Thornbrook in Saturday’s Group Three Valiant Stakes. Ryan Moore rides the filly who was an unlucky fourth in the Brownstown Stakes at Leopardstown over a fortnight ago.
The final domestic fixture before the Galway festival takes place at Gowran on Saturday which features the Listed €40,000 Marble City Stakes. A field of nine lines up for the mile and a half test which could prove ideal for Ger Lyons’s hope Bellezza.
Having got within four lengths of the subsequent Oaks winner Ezeliya in the Salsabil Stakes, Bellezza returned to Navan for the Yeats Stakes before again finishing runner-up to Hanalia in an Oaks Trial at Naas. That was over 10 furlongs and a fresh step up in trip could see the Moyglare-owned filly secure some valuable winning black type. Kinesiology looks an obvious danger.
Jack Cleary gets to use his 7lb claim for Aidan O’Brien on board Iseult Of Ireland in a later maiden. Her runner-up effort on the track in May has subsequently been made to look a decent piece of form.
