Free Eagle | Racing Post

By Tom Frary

Leopardstown, €17,500, Mdn, 6-13, 2yo, 7f 30yT, 1:35.60, gd.
JUSTIFIER (IRE) (c, 2, Free Eagle {Ire}–Pale Orchid {Ire}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}), the 9-2 second favourite for this debut, travelled easily behind the leading trio throughout the early stages. Staying on to overhaul Potala Palace (GB) (Dansili {GB}) inside the last 100 yards, the chestnut had a length to spare over that rival at the line. In doing so, he becomes the first winner for his first-season sire (by High Chaparral {Ire}) who stands at the Irish National Stud for a fee of €12,500. The useful sprinting dam, who has a yearling filly by Mehmas (Ire), is out of the G1 Moyglare Stud S. scorer Chelsea Rose (Ire) (Desert King {Ire}) who in turn produced last year’s G1 St Leger and G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the G3 Prix de Ris-Orangis winner and G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest runner-up Thawaany (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}). Sales history: €60,000 Ylg ’18 GOFOR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $12,170. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-Sean Jones & David Spratt & Mrs Lynne Lyons; B-Tally Ho Stud (IRE); T-Ger Lyons.

Summer Romance at Arqana last month | Zuzanna Lupa

By Sean Cronin

   Godolphin’s Summer Romance (Ire)(Kingman {GB}) faced just three rivals in Thursday’s British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies’ S. at Great Yarmouth and outclassed what was placed before her to earn ‘TDN Rising Star’ status at the first attempt. The grey had already earned a degree of fame when bettering a 300,000gns price tag at last year’s Tattersalls October Book 1 sale with the second-highest price, €800,000, at last month’s Arqana Breeze-Up sale and doubled up in style on the Norfolk coast. The 8-13 favourite bowled along in second as €230,000 Goffs November foal Huboor (Ire) (More Than Ready) set a modest pace. Angled into the clear and shaken up with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining, the response was immediate and she quickened impressively to seize control passing the furlong marker before running on powerfully under negligible cajoling in the closing stages to easily account for Bredenbury (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) by two lengths.
   “It’s nice to see Kingman’s progeny doing so well, he’s already had some nice winners and is set to be a great stallion,” said James Doyle, who rode the winner’s sire to victory four times at the highest level. “She breezed very well and, quite rightly, cost a small fortune, but I was keen not to give her a hard race on this sticky ground. She’s got small feet so we were a little concerned with the going beforehand, but she coped with it fine. Both sire and dam handled similar conditions well and, once we delved into the pedigree, it gave us a little bit of confidence. I knew from her breezing days that she’d be able to drop down and quicken in a short space of time and that’s exactly what she did. She’s been working well with winners at home and there’ll be some nice races coming up for her.”
   Summer Romance becomes the third scorer for Serena’s Storm (Ire) (Statue of Liberty) and the grey is kin to G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G1 Coronation S. heroine Rizeena (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). Serena’s Storm is a winning half to last month’s G1 Prix d’Ispahan hero Zabeel Prince (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), MG1SP dual Australian Group 2 winner Puissance de Lune (Ire) (Shamardal), last month’s Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial victress Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal), the dual stakes-placed Majesty (Ire) (Shamardal) and a yearling filly by Iffraaj (GB). The winner’s third dam Serena’s Sister (Rahy), who produced MGSW & MGISP sire Doubles Partner (Rock Hard Ten) and the stakes-winning Stormy Venus (Stormy Atlantic), is a full-sister to storied MGISW US champion Serena’s Song, who in turn is the dam of seven stakes performers headed by G1 Coronation S. victress Sophisticat (Storm Cat).

2nd-Great Yarmouth, £5,800, Mdn, 6-13, unraced 2yo, f, 6f 3yT, 1:21.41, sf.
SUMMER ROMANCE (IRE), f, 2, by Kingman (GB)
1st Dam: Serena’s Storm (Ire), by Statue of Liberty
2nd Dam: Princess Serena, by Unbridled’s Song
3rd Dam: Serena’s Sister, by Rahy
1ST-TIME STARTER. Sales history: 300,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT; €800,000 2yo ’18 ARQMA. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $4,761. O-Godolphin; B-Roundhill Stud (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. 

Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Better The Devil | Racing Post

2nd-Hamilton, £6,400, Mdn, 6-12, 2yo, 5f 7yT, 1:01.11, gd.
BETTER THE DEVIL (c, 2, Daredevil–Hen Reception, by Henny Hughes) brushed aside an early inconvenience at the break and was sharply into stride from the outside stall to claim the stands’ side fence and lead after the initial stages of this debut. Holding sway throughout, the 4-1 chance was shaken up soon after passing the quarter-mile marker and lengthened clear in impressive fashion under mild urging up the hill to easily outpoint experienced 6-4 favourite Spring Bloom (GB) (Power {GB}) by 2 3/4 lengths, becoming the first winner for his WinStar Farm-based freshman sire (by More Than Ready). “He knew his job when he came to us–he was prepared for the [Goffs] breeze-up sale and met with a setback so didn’t go there–and he’s a very nice horse,” said winning trainer Archie Watson. “He’s been a bit of a slow learner since we got him, but he hit the lids well and was able to get the rail. He’s got a nice pedigree and I’m sure he’ll do well if and when we get him on the synthetic surfaces.” Half-brother to a 2019 colt by Unified, the bay is the second scorer out of a half-sister to GII Fantasy S. victress Ruby’s Reception (Rubiano) and GII General George H. placegetter Heritage Hall (Unbridled’s Song). He shares his GSW third dam Court Hostess (Sovereign Dancer), herself out of a winning half-sister to MG1SW sire Mashaallah (Nijinsky II), with GI Del Mar Debutante S. heroine Union Strike (Union Rags) and MGSW GII Pennsylvania Derby-winning sire Handsome Mike (Scat Daddy). Sales history: $14,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $5,252. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
1ST-TIME STARTER. O-Better The Devil; B-Two-Turn Farm LLC (PA); T-Archie Watson.