LATEST update on the likelihood of Aidan O’Brien equalling or breaking Bobby Frankel’s record of 25 Group/Grade 1 wins in a calendar year: On the positive side, the champion trainer bagged another Group 1 win when Capri landed another Irish Derby for him on Saturday. Add that to his five classics this year and his Coronation Cup and his three Group 1 Royal Ascot winners, and that makes 10 so far in 2017. This time last year, after the Irish Derby, a year that saw Aidan O’Brien reach a total of 23 Group/Grade 1 wins in total, he had six. So he is well ahead of last year’s pace at this juncture.

On the negative side, regrettably, Wings Of Eagles has been retired and Somehow has been lost. Also, Acapulco’s racing career is running out of time, and Minding’s return has been delayed at best. These are blows. Minding provided five of the total of 23 last year.