TWO of the weekend features in the USA were the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks and the Grade 1 Belmont Derby. Both races usually attract a European interest, and this year was no different.

In the past decade, the Oaks has been won three times by Irish-trained runners, Fozzy Stack landing it last year with Aspen Grove, while Aidan O’Brien has won it twice in the same period, with Athena in 2018 and Santa Barbara three years later. The Ballydoyle maestro has also won the Derby on two occasions in the past decade, Deauville being successful in 2016 and Bolshoi Ballet capturing the feature three years ago.