O'Brien goes for another Phoenix

Aidan O'Brien can retain his stranglehold on the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday with the undefeated Henry-thenavigator, a Kingmambo colt coming off a sharp score in Royal Ascot's Group 2 Coventry Stakes.

This first European Group 1 test of the year for 2-year-olds has been won by an O'Brien trainee in eight of the last nine years, Holy Roman Emperor and George Washington having taken the last two runnings after David Wachman had ended Ballydoyle's six-race winning streak with Damson in 2004. Kieren Fallon has the assignment aboard Henrythenavigator in the six-furlong, $410,000 Phoenix. Out of the Sadler's Wells mare Sequoyah, who won the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes as a juvenile, Henrythenavigator is a half-brother to the twice-classic-placed filly Queen Cleopatra.

O'Brien will also saddle listed winner Warsaw and Group 3 runner-up South Dakota, but Henrythenavigator has more to fear from the Ger Lyons-trained filly Elletelle. Winner of the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, she was just 1 1/4 lengths third behind You'resothrilling, O'Brien's highly rated European juvenile filly, in the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket last month. Also dangerous is Captain Royale, a five-length Ripon maiden winner trained by Jeremy Noseda.