Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore achieved an unprecedented clean sweep of all pattern races at the Chester May festival on Friday, capping a remarkable three-day meeting with victory in the Huxley Stakes aboard Lambourn.
Historic Achievement
The Ballydoyle trainer and jockey combination won every major prize at the fixture, including the Chester Vase, Cheshire Oaks, Dee Stakes, Ormonde Stakes, and Huxley Stakes. O’Brien’s record at Chester now stands at 12 wins in the Chester Vase, 10 in the Cheshire Oaks, 13 in the Dee Stakes, eight in the Ormonde Stakes, and five in the Huxley Stakes, with Moore in the saddle for the majority.
Lambourn's Triumph
On the final day, Moore guided last year’s Derby winner Lambourn to an all-the-way victory in the Huxley Stakes, defeating Bay City Roller by a neck. Lambourn was racing for the first time since finishing fourth in the St Leger, dropping from 1m6f to an extended 1m2f. Moore had to push the colt early, but the horse responded gamely.
Kevin Buckley, representing owners Coolmore, said: “That was class. Ryan is a genius and a true professional. That was fantastic. We are fortunate enough to have lots of winners here but that’s the first time we have won the five Pattern races, so it’s quite a special day.”
Moore added: “He won the Vase here last year so we knew he would go round the track. He is a good-actioned Derby winner, Irish Derby winner. He carried a penalty in the Voltigeur and it didn’t work out for him and then he ran in the Leger and he probably didn’t stay. It’s nice to bring him back here and bring him back in trip. He’s had a long time off and it’s hard when they are going back from a mile six to a mile and a quarter. You’d be happy with him. He was probably having a laugh the whole way round there. We haven’t gone anywhere near the bottom of him.”
Earlier in the meeting, O’Brien and Moore had also won with Amelia Earhart (Cheshire Oaks), Benvenuto Cellini (Chester Vase), Constitution River (Dee Stakes), and Jan Brueghel (Ormonde Stakes). The clean sweep extends their winning streak at the Chester fixture to 12 consecutive races since May 2024.
