Trainer Aidan O’Brien enters Mission Central in the July Cup, seeking a poignant victory after recent successes with Limestone and the anticipation surrounding Thundering On in the Irish Oaks. The Irish horse Limestone, fresh from a Royal Ascot win, drops back in trip and dons first-time blinkers. Home hopes include the unbeaten Varandir and Alam. Thundering On, the Epsom Oaks heroine, steps back up to 12 furlongs for the Curragh classic after a fourth-place finish in the Pretty Polly Stakes. O’Brien expresses satisfaction with Thundering On's recent training.
British champion jockey Oisín Murphy returns home to Kerry to ride at Killarney for first time Dylan Browne McMonagle on Limestone wins the Queen Mary Stakes on day two of Royal Ascot.
Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty ImagesWinner of Royal Ascot’s Queen’s Vase on his last start, Limestone drops back in trip for the mile-and-a-half contest that O’Brien won as a jockey 14 years ago on Imperial Monarch. ’s mount renews rivalry with Ancient Egypt, whom he narrowly beat in the King Edward VII Stakes. The Irish horse sports first-time blinkers. O’Brien hoping for bittersweet July Cup victory with Mission Centralrunner-up Maltese Cross also travelling from England for William Haggas.
A trio of home hopes include the Aga Khan Studs’s unbeaten Varandir as well as Alam, fifth to Browne McMonagle and O’Brien are represented by Sons And Lovers in the Group Two Prix Maurice De Nieuil after the big race. The partnership is also looking forward to Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh with their Epsom heroine Thundering On.
The filly has subsequently finished only fourth to older rival Estrange in last month’s Pretty Polly Stakes but will return to 12-furlongs in the Curragh classic. Last year, Minnie Hauk was the 16Thundering On, ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, on the way to winning the Epsom Oaks. Photograph: Mike Egerton for The Jockey Club/PA “I’ve been happy with how she has been training the last couple of weeks,” said O’Brien.
“She’s trained well since the Pretty Polly and we’re looking forward to seeing her back on the track. Going back up in trip should suit her well, hopefully. ” Tuesday’s acceptance stage will see the complexion of the fourth classic of 2026 at HQ become clearer, although already committed to the Oaks is the Ribblesdale Stakes winner Earth Shot.
She endured a troubled passage through last month’s Ascot contest due to a loose horse but still managed to win on her first start for new owners, Wathnan Racing. Having missed the opening weeks of the Irish flat season with a back injury, Browne McMonagle has been rapidly making up ground in his title defence. Before Monday’s Killarney action, he was on 34 winners for the season, 11 behind leader Colin Keane.
His Paris diversion works out well for British champion jockey Oisín Murphy, who will ride for the first time at his home track in Killarney on Tuesday evening. Murphy grew up just outside Killarney and was a racegoer there as a child. The 30-year-old star has previously ridden at Kerry’s other racecourse in Listowel but is looking forward to competing on home ground.
“I grew up going to Killarney as a child and it’ll be great to be back there and being able to ride. I remember hanging around outside the weighing room waiting for jockeys’ autographs and goggles and whatever else.
“It looks like I’ve got some really nice chances, I’ll have lots of family and friends there and hopefully it’s a good day,” he said. The five-time cross-channel champion has had a turbulent career, mixing brilliance with controversy, including a lengthy ban in 2022 for breaching British racing’s coronavirus protocols. He has also been penalised after returning positive tests for alcohol and cocaine.
Murphy was banned from driving a year ago after a crash earlier in 2025 when he admitted to being over the alcohol limit. Despite that, he has enjoyed continuous big-race success around the globe, including the 2019 Japan Cup on Suave Richard. He has also won twice at the Breeders’ Cup.
However, he has enjoyed just eight winners in his native Ireland. They include Roaring Lion in the 2018 Irish Champion Stakes. The first of his six rides on Tuesday is on Joseph O’Brien’s Celtic Motif in a maiden. She is back in Ireland after four winless starts in the US.
She had smart juvenile form with O’Brien and still boasts a 92 rating. There is domestic jumping action too at Downpatrick on Tuesday, where Gordon Elliott’s hopes include Playtime in a novice hurdle. Jim Bolger aiming for more Classic glory as Sparan Nua added to Irish OaksO’Brien hoping for bittersweet July Cup victory with Mission Central‘Friends who visit me in Ireland ask why are you complaining?
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