Hawk Mountain prevails in Futurity Trophy sweep for O’Brien

Oct 25, 2025 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Trainer Aidan O'Brien pictured at Royal Ascot (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

The Coolmore partners’ Hawk Mountain ascended to the top of the Euro/Mideast Road leaderboard by capturing Saturday’s Futurity Trophy (G1) at Doncaster. The Aidan O’Brien trainee, who was coming off a score in the Beresford (G2) at the Curragh, added 10 points here to double his tally to 20.

O’Brien was expected to win the Futurity Trophy for a record-extending 12th time, sending out three top contenders in a small field. But Benvenuto Cellini was favored to do the honors, with stablemates Action and Hawk Mountain as the second and fourth choices in the betting.

The O’Brien trio fought out the finish among themselves in a sweep of the top three placings, but not the way the market predicted. Rain made the Doncaster turf heavy, and those conditions worked against Benvenuto Cellini.

Under jockey Ronan Whelan, Hawk Mountain vied with Action for the early lead. Benvenuto Cellini was perched behind them until he angled to the inside and challenged, making it a three-way tussle as they pulled away from the others.

Action, a half-brother to this year’s Epsom and Irish Derby (G1) winner Lambourn, appeared to be going best as he briefly got the upper hand in between them. Benvenuto Cellini could not sustain his bid on that ground and dropped back to third, leaving Action and Hawk Mountain to continue their duel to the wire.

Hawk Mountain finally began to get the better of Action, who bravely tried to re-rally. Yet Hawk Mountain prevailed by a half-length after slogging down the straight mile in 1:43.85.

Hawk Mountain wins the G1 William Hill Futurity Trophy! 🌹🏆 pic.twitter.com/Rim2Ih1bkb

— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) October 25, 2025

Action banked five points for his runner-up effort, increasing his total to eight. His three previous points came via his third in the Royal Lodge (G2).

Benvenuto Cellini earned three points for finishing third, another 2 3/4 lengths adrift. There was a 12-length gap back to Rochfort Bridge in fourth (two points). Oxagon, the second choice, never got traction and trailed home last of the five (one point). Item was scratched because of the heavy going.

Hawk Mountain, who paid $8.60 stateside, improved his record to 3-for-4. Since finishing fifth in his debut at seven furlongs, the bay has won three straight at a mile – a Curragh maiden, the Beresford, and the Futurity Trophy.

A homebred by Coolmore’s late sire Wootton Bassett, Hawk Mountain is out of the multiple Group 1-winning Galileo mare Hydrangea. The colt is a half-brother to Group 1-placed stakes victress Wingspan and to current stakes winner Officer.

O’Brien was scoring his 23rd Group 1 victory this season, inching closer to his all-time record of 28 in a calendar year. The master of Ballydoyle has more chances in the Group 1s in France on Sunday, plus a squad for the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.

Although Hawk Mountain is the pro tem leader on the Euro/Mideast Road, next year’s scoring races will reorient the entire picture. Horses interested in pursuing the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail on dirt will come to the fore, replacing the ones we’ve seen competing in European races for juveniles on turf. The action turns to Dubai next, with the Jan. 23 UAE 2000 Guineas (G3) on the dirt at Meydan.