Giant Sequoia Soars to Futurity Trophy Victory

Never react hastily to a run of bad results. The odd heavy defeat does not mean the person in charge has lost the plot. Manchester United fans ought to absorb the lesson of the Oct. 24 Futurity Trophy Stakes (G1). True, Aidan O'Brien has achieved rather more than Michael Carrick in his time in the hot seat. But even he had a rocky spell this season, when questions were being asked about what was going on. It was at the time when Giant Sequoia ran in the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (G1) at the Curragh. A dual winner took part in a race his trainer had landed 12 times previously... and finished sixth, beaten 11 lengths. Oh ye of little faith! O'Brien did not get where he is today without knowing what to do when things are not quite right. He gave the string time and he is reaping the rewards, as Giant Sequoia himself demonstrated by making a much better fist of his second crack at a group 1. The colt was always traveling well under Dylan Browne McMonagle and moved smoothly through the field on the outside. Although the 11-1 shot looked green in front, he also looked very classy as he powered clear for a 3-length win from Gran Dia (IRE), with Ballydoyle stablemate Noble Exhibit (IRE)—the 11-8 favorite—another length away in third. "He ran badly in the National Stakes when all the horses were sick at the time and obviously he was under the weather," O'Brien said after his record-extending 13th victory in the race, one which took him to the brink of winning a ninth trainers' title. "We gave him time. His work's been lovely. We weren't sure about that ground as he hadn't raced on it before but he looks very classy." Joseph O'Brien's stable jockey McMonagle was delighted to ride his first group 1 winner for Aidan. "The race worked out perfectly for him," he said. "There was a nice, even tempo. He relaxed and I felt from halfway on it was just a matter of sitting into him and he reacted quickly. "He quickened well. When I got to the front he had a nice look. He's still a big baby and he's going to be a lovely horse next year." The fact the Frankel (GB) colt was named after the largest trees on Earth, which can grow up to 300 feet tall, is testament to Giant Sequoia's physical appearance and there are very high hopes for him in 2027. "We always thought he was a classy horse," Aidan O'Brien said. "We're over the moon with him. He traveled well and quickened very well. It's a big team effort and I'm delighted for everybody. "He'll make a good 3-year-old as well. He's a proper horse. He's a Guineas, Derby, French Derby horse, I'd say." Giant Sequoia was bred in Kentucky by John Stewart's Resolute Bloodstock out of the stakes-winning Camelot (GB) mare Pink Dogwood (IRE), runner-up in the 2019 Epsom Oaks (G1) and a full sister to 2018 Irish Derby (G1) winner Latrobe (IRE). Resolute Racing co-owns the colt in partnership with Coolmore and Westerberg.