The Aidan O'Brien-trained Kyprios added a second Group 1 Irish St Leger to his growing haul of accolades at the Curragh on Sunday, and could have Longchamp on his sights to end a special season.
Unbeaten in six starts in 2022, including the Irish St Leger and the Prix du Cadran, the flashy chestnut suffered an injury that kept him off the track for the majority of the 2023 campaign - he was beaten on both of his two runs in the Autumn and there were some concerns that the son of Galileo was not the force of old.
However, Kyprios returned in 2024 with another dominant season, unbeaten in all four preceding starts including the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. It was an easy assignment for the six-year-old to add a second Irish St Leger, with jockey Ryan Moore kicking clear at the three furlong pole to score by two-and-a-quarter lengths from Vauban, with Giavellotto back in third.
With the staying division at his mercy, Kyprios could head to Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe next - a route that Aidan O'Brien has been happy to take with his top stayers in the past.
"He's so special and we can see what he did there today," O'Brien said.
"He's a very, very special horse and every year he seems to be improving. That even looks to be his best again. Ryan said he won so easy.
"It's a special place and a special race and these kind of horses are once in a lifetime.
"In the Ascot Gold Cup very few horses are able to get that far (two and a half miles), but this horse has serious class as well.
Regarding future targets, O'Brien added: "He's so genuine to get through what he did and still be the way he is and stay the way he does and relax the way he does. He's one in a million."
"I'm not sure, he doesn't have to. The way we approach every race is that we see how he is and have a chat and then see if we go again.
"He looks very fresh there. He could run in an Arc, we knew that, at any time. It's important to mind him, do the right thing for him, and let him tell us how he is and where he wants to go at that time of the year.
"There is only one Arc and he has a serious engine. He just doesn't get tired, he keeps going."
