Bar 1 Betting Flying Five Stakes (Group 1)

AFTER enduring a luckless Group 1 passage with A Boy Named Susie in the Irish Champion Stakes less than 24 hours earlier, Donnacha O’Brien got on the Irish Champions Festival scoresheet for 2026 thanks to a sizzling display from Comanche Brave, who can now safely be described as one of the best sprinters Ireland has produced for the last decade.

With the exception of a brief moment of anxiety when waiting for a gap on the July Cup winner, it was a highly satisfying watch for owner Muhaideb A Almuhaideb’s talented colt. He became Billy Loughnane’s first winner in Ireland when scoring by a length and a quarter from five British-trained runners, headed up by American Affair and Rumstar.

O’Brien said of the winning 5/2 favourite: “He was very good, and Billy have him a lovely ride. I'm very pleased for Mr Almuhaideb and for all the team at home, they've done a great job with this horse.

“He's getting better, Billy said five was definitely his trip. I was worried about the ground today but obviously that wasn't any problem. He's just a very, very good, fast, horse.

“There is a lot of Holy Roman Emperor in him looking at him. He's not over-big but he's very strong. He's a real fast strider; he has a very strong front on him. He's a very good-looking horse and I'm very lucky to have him.

“I think there is a chance he might stay in training again next year which would be great as well. I think he's a horse that is getting better the whole time. He'd be a really nice one to have.

“He ran in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Saudi and he still has his passport so I'm sure we'll travel this winter. The Breeders’ Cup is very possible. We were even discussing whether he'd go for the Breeders' Cup Mile rather than the five and a half furlongs at Keeneland, but I'd say looking at that you wouldn't have any worries about the trip.

“He's a very valuable horse with a good page. His dam won the Jersey and was third in an Irish Guineas. He's got a great pedigree, is a good-looking horse, and is a dual Group 1 winner now.”

Reacting to the run of A Boy Named Susie, who would surely have finished a fair deal closer than fifth but for the interference he received from the winner, O’Brien added: “I thought it was brutal riding from Shane [Foley, on Hotazhell], to be honest. If a claimer did that, you’d give them a bollocking. But that’s racing. I’m sure he’ll know that himself.

“Paddy [Harnett] used his whip one over the limit at Cork the other day and got a similar ban to what Shane got. It’s frustrating. Oisin [Murphy on A Boy Named Susie] thought he was coming to win. He said he was going better than the winner at the time. I think he had the quickest second-last to last furlong, and then obviously got wiped. He’s a good horse and seems okay after. It could be worse.

“It’s so hard to get horses that good, and to get them right on the day, to get to a race like that with a chance… It is frustrating. We’ll make sure he’s okay but the Breeders’ Cup is an option and the Hong Kong Cup is an option too in December. I think we’ll keep him next year too, so he’ll have a lot of options.”