Mohawk Cuts Down Competition in Royal Lodge Stakes

Mohawk ran out a game winner of the Sept. 29 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) to give Aidan O'Brien a 1-2-3 after the John Gosden-trained favorite Beatboxer ran visibly below par to finish last. 

The Ballydoyle-trained runner, fourth behind the exciting Quorto in the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (G1) last time out, was always travelling smoothly and picked up nicely for Donnacha O'Brien in the closing stages to land the group 2 contest by 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Sydney Opera House, with Cape of Good Hope running third.

The son of Galileo, who gave Aidan O'Brien a first win in the race since Daddy Long Legs in 2011, always looked in command at the finish. While the Royal Lodge was a Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Churchill Downs, O'Brien said the Royal Lodge could mark the end of Mohawk's 2018 campaign.

"He's been coming along lovely," O'Brien said. "He loved going a mile and he'll be a lovely middle-distance horse next year. He might not run anymore this year and we could put him away for the classic trials." 

Beatboxer, well-supported in the build-up to the race, was awkward out of the stalls and was scrubbed along by Frankie Dettori two furlongs out before fading to last of the seven runners.