Donnacha O’Brien under no illusions of task facing A Boy Named Susie in Eclipse

Donnacha O’Brien is under no illusions about the task facing A Boy Named Susie as he prepares to take on a couple of his father’s big guns in the Coral-Eclipse.

Aidan O’Brien has saddled a record nine winners of Sandown’s midsummer showpiece, including each of the last three, and this year saddles the French Derby one-two Constitution River and Hawk Mountain, as well as possible pacemaker Flushing Meadows.

A Boy Named Susie, who is owned by Donnacha’s sister and Aidan’s daughter Ana O’Brien, finished a never-nearer fourth behind a Ballydoyle one-two-three at Chantilly and while his trainer is hoping he can close the gap on two of those that finished in front of him, he acknowledges it is a tough assignment.

Reflecting on his luckless run in the Prix du Jockey Club, O’Brien said: “We hoped we could follow Ryan (Moore, riding Constitution River) out of the stalls, which was the plan, but I think the pace was pretty hot early and I think that’s been overlooked. Dad’s horses went very quick early from wide draws and you look at the horses that followed them and sat fourth and fifth, they finished nowhere, whereas they were able to sustain the pace.

“Looking at the race you’d say we were a bit unlucky because we flashed home, but I wouldn’t say it’s a guarantee that any horse that used that much petrol to go with them early would have finished as strong as what he did.”

Aidan O’Brien is bidding to win yet another major prize this season having completed the English, French and Irish Derby hat-trick and landed multiple other Classic and Group One races at home and abroad.

When asked whether he hoped to match those achievements, Donnacha added: “It’s an impossible task for everyone. What he’s doing is incredible and I don’t think there’s any point waking up in the morning and saying I’m going to train 30 Group One winners this year – it doesn’t work like that.

“It’s great to be able to see what he’s doing and I guess be some kind of small part of it. I’m competitive as much as anyone, but everyone in Ireland is competing with dad and Joseph day in day out and it’s so tough to beat them.

“I think everyone in Ireland is kind of the same – we’re nearly happy to see them going to the world stage and beating everyone else because it kind of shows what we’re up against every day.”

While clearly proud of his father’s achievements, Donnacha would love to get the better of him on Saturday with a horse he feels has not yet had the opportunity to realise his full potential.

“It’s a strong race, obviously. Constitution River looks a very good horse, Gethin looks a good horse, Saddadd and Hawk Mountain – they’re very strong, proper Group One horses,” he said.

“I thought Constitution River looked very good in Chester and I thought he really did things the hard way in France. He used plenty of petrol early, was stuck wide and didn’t look particularly comfortable on the track and he still found a way to win. When horses like that are able to win it’s often the sign of a really good one – we’ve seen champions throughout the years be able to do that.

“We’ll see, we’re still going to take him on and do our best. I think with a few of our horse’s runs you could say he was arguably unlucky. Part of that he probably does to himself, but I think with a smooth run he could well have won the Ballysax Stakes earlier in the year, won by Christmas Day (Epsom Derby winner) and in the French Derby he looked unlucky.

“I think the small field will help our horse, but it looks like a proper, strong Group One and whatever wins it will have to be a very, very good horse.”

Hopes of a British-trained success appear to rest with Owen Burrows’ Gethin who returns to Sandown having pushed Ombudsman close in the Brigadier Gerard in late May, while Roger Varian’s Saddadd also brings smart course form to the table and was third in the Tattersalls Gold Cup most recently.

Harry Charlton’s King’s Gambit completes the field of seven set to face the starter.