THE unbeaten High Definition could be given a chance to shine in the 2000 Guineas next spring before being aimed at the Derby by trainer Aidan O’Brien.

Speaking on Racing TV’s Luck on Sunday programme, O’Brien said of High Definition: “He was always very special. He’s a big, long, scopey horse with a great mind. The plan was always to give him two runs and he was seriously impressive in the Beresford Stakes – it was unbelievable.

“He’s always been a very exciting horse and the plan was always that he would be trained for the Derby next year. He’s had his two runs for education at the Curragh and would have learned a lot.

“It’s possible (he could run in the 2000 Guineas), but not definite. We’ll see how he trains in the spring and whether it’s the right thing to do or not. I don’t think he’d have any problem with it pace-wise as he’s a high cruiser who gets the trip really well.”

O’Brien will also possess plenty of strength in depth in the three-year-old division, with Dewhurst one-two St Mark’s Basilica and Wembley, plus Battleground among his most obvious classic hopefuls.

“We have some nice two-year-olds,” he said. “Because the season was such a mess, the two-year-olds kind of got lost in the middle and we had to run some of them a little bit more than we wanted to – Wembley would be an example of that.

“Like every year there’s horses that are going to make good improvement and some might not make the improvement that we hope. It will be interesting to see what the spring will bring.”

Older horses

The trainer also had news of Love and Serpentine, winners of the Oaks and Derby respectively this year.

Love also won the 1000 Guineas and the Yorkshire Oaks before being denied a chance to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe due to heavy ground.

O’Brien ultimately ended up having no runners in Europe’s premier middle-distance contest, or any of the supporting races that weekend, due to fears over contaminated feed.

Of Love, O’Brien said: “She’s a very special filly. It’s easy to forget what she did in the Guineas and then what she did in the Oaks.

“She’s very uncomplicated and something to really look forward to for next year. She had a canter this morning, everyone is happy with her and she’s done very well physically.

“She had a little break after Arc weekend as she was trained for the Arc like there was no tomorrow. When you do that, they do need a little bit of a rest, so she got that and she’s just back cantering away slowly.”

Other three-year-olds rising four that the trainer is looking forward to next season are Hong Kong Vase hero Mogul and Serpentine, who was the subject of much debate after winning the Derby at Epsom in June under an enterprising ride from Emmet McNamara.

“The late start to the season didn’t suit Mogul. We had planned on getting two runs in before the Derby, but obviously that wasn’t to be and everything was a little bit forced and a little bit rushed,” O’Brien added.

“He’s a big, powerful horse and the more racing he got the better he got – we did get him there in the end.

“Serpentine is a very relaxed horse who stays very well. He’s very uncomplicated and very balanced and a very well-bred horse – we did believe that it could happen (winning the Derby). He had to be a good horse to do what he did.”

Magical retired

It was confirmed this week that Magical has been retired following her narrow defeat in Hong Kong a fortnight ago.

The brilliant mare looked set to start her broodmare career this year after rounding off her 2019 campaign with victory in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

However, she was brought back as five-year-old this season and it has proved a wise decision, with the daughter of Galileo claiming another three Group 1 wins to extend her top-level tally to seven.

She finished a close-up third in the Hong Kong Cup and O’Brien initially thought there was a hope she could return to the track in 2021, but that was dashed when Coolmore tweeted: “Brilliant seven-time Gr.1 winner Magical has been retired and will join the broodmare band @coolmorestud. Mating plans yet to be decided.”

O’Brien said “She was a great filly, she ran at the very top level all the time until she retired. She travelled a lot. She won three Group 1s this year and I was delighted to have her again this year, it was a brave decision of the lads to keep her in training. She was amazing, she always turned up. She was tough, she was consistent and had a super mind and was very sound.”