Group 1-winning superstar leaves Aidan O’Brien for ‘excited’ Richard Hannon in shock mid-season switch

5 months ago 54

AIDAN O’BRIEN’s Group 1-winning superstar Unquestionable has left Ballydoyle for Richard Hannon in a shock mid-season switch.

The three-year-old miler is now owned solely by Sheikh Joaan Al Thani’s Al Shaqab operation after Coolmore sold their share earlier this month.

Breeders’ Cup winning miler Unquestionable has left Aidan O’Brien and joined Richard Hannon[/caption]

Unquestionable won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last November and finished fourth on both starts this season to new stablemate Rosallion.

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But, as revealed on the Nick Luck podcast, he is now settling in at an ‘excited’ Hannon’s Marlborough yard.

Alison Begley, racing manager at Al Shaqab, said on the podcast: “After Ascot Sheikh Joaan bought 100 per cent of the horse and so he has moved to Richard Hannon’s.

“Obviously Aidan has done brilliant with him but now the Coolmore team haven’t got a percentage of him we moved him over to Richard, who is one of our principal trainers and we have had a lot of success with.

“He moved over at the beginning of this week. It’s going to be interesting (how he settles in with stablemates) but Richard was excited to have him and he’s settling in now.”

Asked where we could next see Unquestionable, Begley added: “The Qatar Goodwood Festival is very important to Sheikh Joaan so it could be he runs in something like the Lennox.

“But he’s got to settle in first and then we can make a plan going forward.”

Hannon was already very strong in the three-year-old miler division.

Stable star Rosallion saw off O’Brien’s Henry Longfellow to win the St James’s Palace Stakes at last month’s Royal Ascot.

That came after he won the Irish 2000 Guineas by a head from stablemate Haatem.

The Wathnan-owned Haatem claimed the Group 3 Craven back in April over a mile before dropping to 7f for success in the Jersey Stakes at the Royal meeting.

The pair also finished 2-3 in the 2000 Guineas won by Notable Speech.

While losing an obvious world-class performer, O’Brien’s attention will switch to Sandown this weekend.

City Of Troy was one of eight declared for Saturday’s Group 1 Coral-Eclipse and has been installed the 1-3 favourite.

His task looks to have been made a lot easier after White Birch was ruled out for the second big meeting in a row due to unsatisfactory bloods.