Sea Siren to chase more Group 1 Glory

Champion Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien will test his new stable acquisition Sea Siren back at Group 1 level after her emphatic win at Fairyhouse in Ireland on the weekend.

sea siren

Sea Siren winning one of her 3 Group 1s, the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.

The multiple Group 1 winner was having her first start for the O’Brien stable, impressing with a solid win in the Listed £32,000 Belgrave Stakes over six furlongs.

Michael Kirwan, general manager for Coolmore Australia said that is was great to see Sea Siren back in the winner’s list and she will be given her chance back in the top grade.

“It was great to see Sea Siren back in the winning groove,” Kirwan said.

“There are lots of options for her now, including the Group 1 Prix Maurice De Gheest in three weeks at Deauville.”

Sea Siren was having her last start for Australian trainer John O’Shea when a lacklustre eighth to Lethal Force in the Group 1 £500,000 The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (6 furlongs) at Royal Ascot on June 22.

The Fastnet Rock mare had saluted three times at Group 1 for O’Shea in Australia and looked to be back to her best but just failed to make it back to back wins in the Group 1 $650,000 Carlton Mid Doomben 10,000 (1350m) at Doomben when second to Epaulette during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, her final race on home turf.

Sea Siren’s other two Group 1 wins were the 2012 $400,000 Bundaberg Distilling Co. BTC Cup (1200m) at Doomben in the Winter and the 2012 $750,000 Sportingbet Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley in the Spring.

Even though Sea Siren’s win at Fairyhouse was a huge drop in class, her effort to win with a big weight has tempted connections to push on in top class company before heading to the breeding barn.

“She was conceding plenty of weight (7lb, nearly 3.5kg) to her rivals, but she travelled strongly and quickened smartly once he (jockey Joseph O’Brien) asked her to move through her gears,” Kirwan said.

“It’s relatively unusual for 1200m races in Ireland, and Europe in general, to be around a bend. But she had no problem handling it, having excelled at the likes of Moonee Valley and Doomben.”

Winning jockey Joseph O’Brien was also taken with the gutsy win and is looking forward to maintaining his association with her.

“She’s a very exciting mare by an exciting stallion,” Joseph O’Brien said.

“She has loads of pace and a great attitude, she was just a bit idle when she got there and I had to give her one smack to get her to go about her business. She’s exciting for all of the big five furlong and six furlong sprints later in the year.”

If Sea Siren dose regain her best Group 1 form in France, Kirwan said that he hasn’t ruled out a trip to the US for the Breeders Cup.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.