Entered for both the Group I Epsom and Irish Derbies and a slew of other Group I races including the Irish 2000 Guineas, progressive Fastnet Rock colt Buckaroo opened his stakes account winning the Listed Tetrarch Stakes (1m) at the Curragh overnight.
Trained by Joseph O’Brien for Qatar Racing, Buckaroo won a maiden at Galway and was competitive in a couple of Group races last season before returning to finish second in the Group III Ballysax Stakes last month.
Sent out favourite for this one mile assignment, he was a class above bolting clear to win by four lengths under Shane Crosse.
"I was really happy with that. I took a bit of a chance coming back to a mile, but I thought he'd been working with plenty of pace, maybe more than I was giving him credit for in his earlier days,” said Joseph O’Brien.
"He looks like an Irish Guineas horse.
"He's a big, strong, powerful horse and has quite a laid-back attitude. I discussed it with Sheikh Fahad and we decided to come here and find out if he was a Guineas horse.
"I see him as more of an eight to 10-furlong horse than a 10 to 12-furlong horse. He seems to be versatile ground-wise."
Buckaroo is the best of three winners from stakes-winning Galileo mare Roheryn, a daughter of fast More Than Ready filly La Chunga, who won the Group III York Albany Stakes and Summer Stakes.
He is the 186th stakes-winner for champion sire Fastnet Rock and is his 25th bred from a daughter of Galileo, the nick running at 19.8% SW to runner.
