Order Of St George is off to a winning start this preparation with victory over his two rivals in the in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan.
The six-year-old, part-owned by Australian Lloyd Williams, ran second to Torcedor 12 months ago as the 4-5 favourite, but he made no mistakes on Sunday.
Having his first race since lifting the British Champions Long Distance Cup, Order Of St George was much shorter at 2-9 on this occasion, but there were few anxious moments for his supporters in the Group Three race over a mile and three-quarters (2600m).
British raider Lord Yeats, trained by Jedd O’Keeffe, set out to make it a true test and Paul Mulrennan upped the tempo when they turned for home.
Ryan Moore was wise to the move and eased Order Of St George towards the middle of the course to make his challenge.
Leading at the furlong (200m) marker, Aidan O’Brien’s charge pulled away to score by 5-1/2 lengths.
“I’m delighted with him, and hopefully he’ll go for the Saval Beg (at Leopardstown on May 25) which is what we usually do and then on to Ascot,” trainer Aidan O’Brien said..
“He finishes out very well when he gets into his tempo, and he gallops up the hill. Ryan said he was very relaxed and moved very well. They would be the two things that you would love to hear.
Paddy Power left Order Of St George unchanged at 7-2 for the Gold Cup which he won in 2016 while RaceBets cut him to 5-2 favourite from 3-1.
