AIDAN O’BRIEN has fanned the flames of 1000 Guineas gamble Santa Barbara once more.
The Irish trainer revealed his 11-8 favourite is tearing up the Ballydoyle gallops, despite only ever having one race in her life.
Ryan Moore is set to ride the three-year-old who has been backed from as big as 33-1 into an eye-wateringly short-priced favourite.
O’Brien, who has won four of the last five renewals of the race, said: “Anything she works with, she always looks to be going easier than it, no matter what we work her with.
“She’s never really been asked to see what’s in there, but whatever she works with she always looks to be dominating them.
“Everyone will be excited to see what she does when she does come off the bridle. It’s a Guineas and it’s going to happen at some point.”
Her stablemate Mother Earth will be the other declared O’Brien runner in Sunday’s Classic at Newmarket.
But all attention is on Santa Barbara with the bookies already fearing the worst.
O’Brien added: “She was always very highly thought of here and when she won her maiden she did that very easily.
“She’s done very well over the winter and her work into the spring has looked very good all of the time.
“She’s been working with all the fillies really and that’s how betting markets are made up I suppose. But look, she doesn’t know that.”
O’Brien will travel across to Newmarket over the weekend with son Joseph O’Brien who saddles second-favourite Pretty Gorgeous.
The pair will have to quarantine for five days on their return to Ireland but if the gossip is correct it should be worth it.
O’Brien continued: “She always looked very special last year and of all the two-year-old fillies she was always at the top of the pecking order.
