Power lives up to his name as he carries O’Brien jnr over

Power employed an electric turn of foot to land the Abu Dhabi Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by his son, Joseph, Power, who disappointed in the Newmarket Guineas on his seasonal bow, was sent off an uneasy 5-1 chance.

Having seen his stablemate Daddy Long Legs open up a big early advantage, Power flew in the final furlong to pip Bryan Smart’s outsider Foxtrot Romeo, with Reply, another O’Brien runner, in third.

Daddy Long Legs, who was pulled up in the Kentucky Derby, set the early pace under Colm O’Donoghue, with fellow O’Brien inmate Wrote the only one to follow his lead. The pair built up a healthy advantage over the rest of the field and were still well in control two furlongs out.

However, the distress signals were out thereafter, with O’Donoghue pushing his mount along while Seamie Heffernan aboard Wrote was also getting to work.

With just a furlong left to run, the field still had plenty of ground to make up, but first Foxtrot Romeo and then Power emerged to challenge. Power’s change of gear was thoroughly impressive and when O’Brien jnr finally got his head in front, the Oasis Dream colt pulled a length clear in style.

Foxtrot Romeo, a 33-1 chance, outran his odds to claim the runner-up prize with Reply filling the frame at 25-1. Richard Hannon’s Trumpet Major was sent off the 9-4 favourite but never looked dangerous, while Sea The Stars’ half-brother Born To Sea made good late headway behind the principals.

Power is owned by the Coolmore team and John Magnier said: “The ground makes a big difference to him. He didn’t have to have fast ground last year, but he’d been working well since we got good ground and he just got stuck in the mud at Newmarket.

“It looked like Daddy Long Legs would win but I think Power has to be ridden to come late, I think that’s something they have learnt about him.”

Meanwhile, at Haydock, Bated Breath served further notice he is a sprinter to be reckoned with when producing a smart performance to land the Betfred.com Temple Stakes. Dropping to five furlongs for just the second time, Roger Charlton’s five-year-old (2-1 favourite) was moving with tremendous ease two furlongs out. George Baker, standing in for the suspended James Doyle, pressed the button with a furlong to run and the response was immediate.

Last year’s winner Sole Power gave strong chase under Paul Hanagan but was a neck down at the line in a race run in a track record time. Baker said: “I feel a bit sorry for James Doyle as he is banned, but his bad fortune is my good luck. The horse deserved this and hopefully this leads on to better things for him.”