European Road: O’Brien has half of field in Beresford

Like the other three European Road scoring races held in the fall – the Sept. 30 Royal Lodge (G2) at Newmarket, Oct. 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) at ParisLongchamp, and Oct. 28 Futurity Trophy (G1) at Doncaster – the Beresford is worth points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale to the top five finishers, respectively. 

In another point of commonality, these first four European Road events are contested on turf, and accordingly attract hopefuls for the 2024 classics on the Continent. The demographics begin to change, and the points structure increases, when the European Road action shifts to the all-weather tracks for the final three scoring races in March.

It’s not easy to separate O’Brien’s trio, with all three well-bred juveniles stepping up from recent maiden wins in the vicinity of this one-mile trip. Nor can you use the usual rule of thumb by looking for go-to rider Ryan Moore, who is in Australia Saturday to team up with Coolmore’s Shinzo in the Golden Rose (G1). 

But legendary jockey Frankie Dettori picks up the mount on Navy Seal, a convincing winner as the 1-4 favorite during the Galway Festival. As a son of Dubawi and 2018 Belmont Oaks (G1) heroine Athena, Navy Seal is a full brother to multiple Group 3 winner Never Ending Story, who was runner-up in the French Oaks (G1) earlier this summer.  

Ireland’s champion jockey, Colin Keane, gets the call on Grosvenor Square, who wheels back from a sharp debut score at Galway Sept. 12. By the great Galileo, he is a half-brother to 2020 Irish Derby (G1) winner Santiago as well as multiple Group 1-placed La Joconde.

Gavin Ryan is aboard Chief Little Rock, another Galileo colt. He’s reportedly been set for this target ever since his workmanlike victory as the 3-10 favorite in an Aug. 17 Leopardstown maiden. Out of Australian Group 1 vixen Amicus, Chief Little Rock is a full brother to current Melbourne Cup (G1) contender Okita Soushi.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the Ballydoyle squad comes from Aidan’s son Joseph O’Brien, who sends out two-time winner Stromberg. The Teme Valley Racing runner was second on debut to well-regarded filly Caught U Looking, but he’s romped in both ensuing starts, dominating by 10 lengths at Galway and by seven at Roscommon. 

Deepone, the most experienced in the line-up, represents high-percentage trainer Paddy Twomey. One of the early-season headliners after winning his first two outings, Deepone was overturned as the odds-on favorite in the Aug. 11 Churchill S. at Tipperary. He was most recently fourth in the Champions Juvenile (G2) during the Irish Champions Festival, where it paid to race more forwardly than he did. With a different race flow at the Curragh, the grandson of Deep Impact and Galileo might fare better.

Longshot Ozark Daze, fifth in his unveiling at Naas, rounds out the cast.

The Beresford is carded as the third race at 9:30 a.m. (ET) Saturday, and you can watch and wager at TwinSpires.com.