Aidan O’Brien set himself up for a clean sweep of the Irish Classics yesterday by winning his 14th Group One race of the season at the Irish Oaks.

The win was O’Brien’s seventh consecutive win in the Irish Classics and his third consecutive win in the Irish Oaks. This achievement puts him within reach of the world record for most Group One races won in a season, currently standing at 26.

After dominating at the Oaks, O’Brien will now target the last round of Classics for the season, with the St. Leger and Irish St. Leger still to be contested.

O’Brien’s first task will be to secure a win in the English St. Leger. In contrast to his achievements in Ireland, the champion trainer has fielded only one winner in the English Classics this season, winning the 2,000 Guineas with Henrythenavigator.

O’Brien’s best bet for the English St. Leger is Frozen Fire, who is also listed for the Irish equivalent. However, O’Brien has several other talented thoroughbreds in the mix, with Honolulu, Mahler and Yeats all  poised to compete in either of the St. Leger Stakes races.

The flat racing fraternity is buzzing after the launch of the championship format Sovereign Series concept this week. After centuries of viewing the United Kingdom’s top group one races in isolation, plans are afoot to link 10 existing group one races into an official season championship.

The proposed series will combine some of the richest races in the sports into a £10 million championship, where racehorses will not only be paid out cash prizes for individual race wins, but will also accumulate championship points according to performances. At the end of the season the top three racehorses will stand to share a further purse of £2 million.

Comparisons have been made between the proposed Sovereign Series and major sports tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League and 20Twenty Champions League, both of which were designed to broaden support for their respective sports.

While the Sovereign Series promises to inject fresh life into thoroughbred racing, it may be a while yet before racing fans see the best racehorses in England participating in a season championship. Broadcasting rights are yet to be agreed upon and the aspiring organisers of the series still require the endorsement of some of the biggest names in British racing.