Hawk Mountain Leads O’Brien and Coolmore 1-2-3 Sweep at Doncaster

The Wootton Bassett colt, bred at Coolmore and ridden by Ronan Whelan, captured the William Hill Futurity Trophy (G1) to complete a Ballydoyle clean sweep

Down the center of the track, Hawk Mountain proved too strong for his stablemates at Doncaster / HRI

DONCASTER, Inglaterra (Special for Turf Diario).- Aidan O’Brien once again etched his name into the record books Saturday at Doncaster, saddling the first three finishers in the William Hill Futurity Trophy (G1), one of Britain’s most prestigious 2-year-old contests. The Irish maestro struck gold with Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett), who led home stablemates Action (Frankel) and Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel), the favorite who couldn’t quite handle the heavy ground.

Ridden by Ronan Whelan, Hawk Mountain was the least favored of the Ballydoyle trio at 18-5, but showed poise and class to outbattle Action in a tight finish by half a length, with Benvenuto Cellini completing the trifecta another 2 3/4 lengths back. The result underscored the depth of O’Brien’s team, giving him a record 12th victory in the Futurity Trophy and his 23rd Group 1 win of the 2025 season.

“He’s a big colt, with speed, stamina, and a wonderful mind—it’s exciting to think about what he might do next year,” said O’Brien of the son of the outstanding Hydrangea (Galileo), a multiple Group 1-winning mare and one of Coolmore’s finest homebreds. “We think Action will be more of a middle-distance horse, while Hawk Mountain could stay at a mile before stretching out. He’s very calm, barely sweats, which is unusual. He’s a true home product, and a lot of people at the farm have been involved with him from day one—it’s a team achievement.”

For Whelan, who has been building a strong partnership with Ballydoyle through 2025, the victory marked another milestone.

“He’s still quite immature, and my main task late on was keeping him straight and focused,” the jockey explained. “He’s so laid-back, almost lazy, but when you ask, he really responds. He showed his ability in the Beresford already—he relaxes and then finds another gear effortlessly. It’s hard to say how good he could be. This is my second Group 1 for them this year, in my first full season working with the team, so it’s very special to repay their trust.”

Hawk Mountain is the fourth foal out of Hydrangea, a mare of rare versatility who combined speed and stamina in equal measure. A Group 1 winner at both a mile and a mile and a half—having taken the Matron Stakes (G1) and British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1) on soft ground—she has already become an exceptional producer. In addition to her latest top-level winner, she is the dam of Wingspan (Dubawi), victress of the Hurry Harriet Stakes (L) and runner-up in last year’s Fillies & Mares, and Officer (Dubawi), this season’s Tetrarch Stakes (L) winner.

Hydrangea is a full sister to The United States and Hermosa, both Group 1 winners—the latter a dual 1000 Guineas heroine in England and Ireland. Hermosa is now adding to the family legacy as the dam of Trinity College (Dubawi), winner of the Hampton Court Stakes (G3) and runner-up in the Grand Prix de Paris (G1).

Hydrangea currently has a yearling full brother to Hawk Mountain, a newborn colt by Justify, and was covered again by the American sire for the 2026 season. With such a lineage, the Coolmore dynasty shows no signs of slowing—and with Hawk Mountain, O’Brien has unveiled yet another name destined for the upper echelons of European racing.