Hawk Mountain

The Curragh is where Hawk Mountain seems most at home. He has raced there three times and won two of those races, making him a genuine specialist at the Irish track. His trainer, Aidan O'Brien at Cashel, has quietly built a powerhouse operation—his yard sent out 125 winners this season alone—and he clearly sees something special in this horse. O'Brien has been preparing Hawk Mountain for either Epsom or a trial run in France ahead of the French Derby, a top-level race in the spring. A recent outing to Chantilly, though, showed both his potential and his inexperience. Jockey Christophe Soumillon reported that Hawk Mountain was still "babyish" and very green, a polite way of saying he got a bit overexcited early in the race. The ground at Chantilly was quicker than ideal—he prefers softer, wetter conditions—but the experience has been valuable. For a horse with just six races under his belt and clear room to improve, that kind of seasoning matters. He is very much a work in progress, but the work has produced results that suggest O'Brien's faith in him is well placed.