O'Brien juveniles on display in Europe this weekend

Aidan O’Brien has three 2-year-old fillies pre-entered in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and two 2-year-old colts pre-entered in the $1 million Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf. And there are plenty more where those came from.

O’Brien has two more juveniles entered in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud on Saturday in France and three, including favored Magna Grecia, in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes on Saturday at Doncaster in England.

Magna Grecia will have O’Brien’s son Donnacha on his back when he starts in the one-mile Trophy Stakes, forecast to be run over good-to-soft ground down a straight course. Magna Grecia, a son of Invicible Spirit, won his debut at Naas, then was second, beaten a neck by the promising Andre Fabre-trained colt Persian King, in a highly rated edition of the Group 3 Autumn Stakes on Oct. 13 at Newmarket.

O’Brien’s other two less-well-regarded entrants are Circus Maximus and Western Australia, the latter a possible pacemaker. Second and third choice with the British bookmakers are Turgenev and Phoenix of Spain. Turgenev, a Dubawi colt trained by John Gosden for Princess Haya of Jordan, has two wins and a second from his first three starts, but until Saturday has been kept in considerably easier company. The Charlie Hills-trained Phoenix of Spain won the Group 3 Acomb Stakes before running into Europe’s leading 2-year-old, Too Darn Hot, to whom he finished second by 1 3/4 lengths in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes, also run at Doncaster. If Magna Grecia is taken down, Phoenix of Spain looks the one most likely to do it.

Meanwhile, across the English Channel and down south into France, O’Brien is running short on jockeys. Seamie Heffernan, an O’Brien regular, has the mount on Norway in the 1 1/4-mile Criterium, but O’Brien turns to Mickael Barzalona, not often used by the Irish maestro, to ride Sydney Opera House. Sydney Opera House has turned overseas bettors sideways, finishing second to stablemate Mohawk at a long price in the Grade 2 Royal Lodge Stakes, but then floundering as the favorite Oct. 13 at Newmarket in the listed Zetland Stakes.

Norway needed three tries to win a maiden race but romped third out at Naas, and it was he who won the Zetland, coming home an easy three-length winner. Sydney Opera House’s runner-up Royal Lodge always felt flimsy and Norway again is the better prospect Saturday.

Fillies are allowed in the Criterium (and get a four-pound weight break from the colts) and two appear to have a chance. Gosden sends in Shambolic, who wasn’t quite ready for the step into Group 1 competition when she finished fourth in the Fillies Mile on Oct. 12 after showing plenty of talent winning her first two starts, and should be ready to take a step forward at this longer trip. Wonderment last was seen finishing third in the Group 3 Prix du Conde, a race won in encouraging fashion by Godolphin’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hope, Line of Duty.