Little Big Bear to Miss Rest of Season

Superstar juvenile Little Big Bear  will not run again this season in order to give him time to fully recover from a foot injury, trainer Aidan O'Brien said.

O'Brien was considering a return in the Oct. 8 Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1) at Newmarket, but told the Racing Post Sept. 13 that he did not want to rush back the brilliant Phoenix Stakes (G1) winner.

Little Big Bear kicked a wall before his Curragh romp and the clip of his shoe went into his hind foot, an incident that made his stunning seven-length success all the more remarkable after being passed fit to race.

The injury ruled the son of No Nay Never  out of the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (G1) on Irish Champions Weekend, and on Tuesday Ireland's highest-rated juvenile colt was not among the entries for the Dewhurst.

O'Brien said: "Everything is fine and we just wanted to leave him for this year.

"He's perfect, there's not a bother on him, we just didn't want to be rushing him back. We had to give him plenty of time to get over it. We felt hurrying him for the Dewhurst wasn't the right thing to do.

"Everything is perfect with him and we felt giving him more time was the right option."

Bookmakers reacted by easing Little Big Bear out to a top-priced 6-1 (from 9-2) for the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) at Newmarket next spring.

His star juvenile may have been missing, but O'Brien was not short of success in the 2-year-old department on Irish Champions Weekend, as Auguste Rodin  ran out a smart winner of the Group 2 KPMG Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown Sept. 10.

Aesop's Fables  filled the role as Ballydoyle's leading candidate in the Sept. 11 National Stakes, but he could manage only fourth, three lengths behind son Joseph's Al Riffa .

O'Brien said: "We were delighted with Auguste Rodin. It was a polished performance and the Dewhurst is a possibility.

"The ground may have gotten the better of Aesop's Fables. We maybe could've been a bit more patient with him, but he seems to have come out of it well and we'll see how he is over the next few days."

Connections Reflect on Tahiyra's Big Run

Little Big Bear's absence was not felt for long at the Curragh on Sunday, as another potential superstar emerged in the form of Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) winner Tahiyra .

A half-sister to Breeders' Cup winner Tarnawa, the Dermot Weld-trained filly showed considerable promise with a comfortable maiden success at Galway in July, and she built on that when producing an outstanding performance to run out a 2 1/4-length scorer from Meditate . 

That success saw her cut to 4-1 favorite for next season's One Thousand Guineas (G1), and jockey Chris Hayes is excited about what she can do.

Hayes said: "Now that the dust has settled, you can appreciate it. It was phenomenal, really, what she did. The ease in which she has done it and the manner in which she put a high-quality filly like Meditate to the sword, she just brushed her aside. It was brilliant.

"Without a shadow of a doubt she's the best juvenile I've ever ridden. I've often thought we've had good 2-year-olds, but you go to the races and get put in your place, that's why there wasn't much talk of her from my side anyways. I was hopeful she was going to show us what she does at home."

Weld said post race that it would be the spring before we see the daughter of Siyouni again, and Hayes says it'll make the next few months easier to get through knowing that she'll be waiting to go.

He added: "If she can do that at two, and the Aga Khan pedigrees only get better as they get older, it'll keep you warm during the winter anyway.

"I presume she'll be trained as a Guineas filly. You'd be hoping she'll fill into that frame. She's not overly big, but neither was Tarnawa, so if she grows a little bit and fills out, she's very exciting."