Caravaggio back in winners’ circle

Caravaggio wins the Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh but is not certain to travel to Australia.

Caravaggio has bounced back to winning form in the Group Two Flying Five stakes at the Curragh but trainer Aidan O’Brien is lukewarm on a trip to Australia for the $10 million Everest.

The colt looked a superstar in the making after extending his unbeaten record to six in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, but was only fourth in the July Cup at Newmarket and disappointed again in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.

“We wanted to come back here and get the confidence back,” O’Brien said.

“We think he’s a great horse. He’s relaxed, he quickens, he travels.

“We put the wrong shoes on him the last day and he had no traction in Deauville.

“We were a little bit worried as he came back very sore after the last time and when they come back sore, you are always worried the next time.

“He has all the options. He obviously has the sprint in Ascot and also America.

“We were talking about Australia earlier in the year, but it might be too much as we had to do a little bit with him the last two weeks to get him here and get everything working.

“We’ll see, but the lads will decide that themselves.”

Caravaggio was the odds-on favourite in the hands of Ryan Moore in the 1000m-race on Sunday (Monday AEST).

It was not completely plain sailing for the three-year-old, with Moore at work some way from the finish, but the further Caravaggio went, the better he looked and he was well on top of stablemate and 50-1 shot Alphabet at the line.