Back-To-Back Irish Legers For Galileo’s Search For A Song
Search For a Song | Racingfotos.com
Dermot Weld’s esteemed career has been characterised by several landmark moments and there was another at The Curragh on Sunday as the master of Rosewell House delivered the high maintenance Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in perfect order to record back-to-back wins in the G1 Comer Group International Irish St Leger. In receipt of all the allowances when taking the race by the scruff of the neck in dynamic fashion 12 months ago, the Moyglare Stud homebred was content to creep into contention from rear this time as Oisin Orr played the waiting game. Travelling like the winner a long way before she loomed at the side of the ultra-game Ebor H. winner Fujaira Prince (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) at the furlong pole, the 7-1 shot who had been pulled up during her penultimate start in the July 5 G3 Munster Oaks asserted for a two-length success as Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) earned third place, a neck further behind. “At times she is difficult to keep right, but when she is right she is very good,” commented Weld, who was joining the late great Dr Vincent O’Brien on nine winners of this prestigious prize and who had earlier captured the G1 Prix Vermeille with Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal). “She was highly-geared earlier in the year and very unlucky in Cork, but also lucky as the man riding her used his head when he pulled her up after getting the bump on the bend. She was very free in the early part of the year as well, but that’s my job to train them and teach them. I had to get the confidence of the filly to learn to relax–it took time to her get her right, but it just shows that patience still pays dividends.”
Much water has passed under the bridge since Weld produced Vintage Crop (GB) (Rousillon) to land him his first Irish St Leger in 1993, weeks before that legendary performer pulled off the unthinkable at the time by becoming the first overseas-trained winner of the G1 Melbourne Cup. At that stage, Vincent O’Brien was at the end of his career but by the end of the decade Aidan was in command at Ballydoyle and the Irish racing scene was at the beginning of its revival. Twenty years into the new century, the strength-in-depth in the sport in this country exemplified by this weekend is remarkable, yet Weld is still more than capable of mixing it with the legions of competitors within the nation’s boundaries. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” the man who also trained the record-holding four-time Irish Leger hero Vinnie Roe (Ire) (Definite Article {GB}) succinctly stated in his post-race interview. “You have the best trainers in the world and I would say the best horses and maybe the best jockeys. You are only as good as your team and it’s been a special day. It’s my ninth Leger and I’ve trained her for the day for a long time.”
Search For a Song was in charge all of a mile out in the 2019 renewal, where she tanked Chris Hayes to the front and stayed in the clear as Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) stayed on in her slipstream. That was only her fifth career start, having previously finished fourth in the G1 Irish Oaks here and won York’s Listed Galtres S. so expectations were high that she could go on to do something special as a 4-year-old. Instead, she was well below-par when sixth in the 10 1/2-furlong G2 Mooresbridge S. here June 12 and things hardly improved as she stumbled badly on the first bend during Cork’s Munster Oaks. As a result she was 50-1 for the July 26 G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at this venue and having been detached ran on strongly to be third before being pulled out of the course-and-distance G3 Irish St Leger Trial S. when in season Aug. 14.
“I wanted to get that run into her over a mile and a quarter in case people thought she was just a staying mare and you saw what the filly that beat her in the group 1 did yesterday,” Weld explained. “I was quietly confident today and it was lovely from Oisin, who was only 23 the other day. He switched her off beautifully. He’s put a lot of work into her, settling her and relaxing her to have her totally at ease and turning in I felt she would come and win. Chris [Hayes] rode her beautifully last year, don’t get me wrong, but Oisin has wonderful hands and he fills horses with confidence. I love horses getting into a rhythm and making gradual progress and that’s what he does very well. I thought that if everything went right, we had a great chance of a group 1 double as the autumn has always been the target for both her and Tarnawa and they are both peaking now. When you win the Vermeille and Irish Leger on the same day and you’re training only 100 horses, which is no number of horses in Ireland nowadays, you get a very big kick out of it. There is one more group 1 for her in France and then I look forward to training her next year. I’ll have to talk to Eva-Marie [Bucher Haefner] about it.”
Search For a Song is one of six individual black-type and five group winners out of the incredible Polished Gem (Ire) (Danehill), whose other daughter of Galileo, Amma Grace (Ire), had run second at 50-1 in the card’s appropriately-named G2 Moyglare “Jewels” Blandford S. Search For a Song’s other full-siblings of note are the Listed Esher S.-winning stayer Falcon Eight (Ire) and the 2-year-old colt Kyprios (Ire), a winner for Ballydoyle on debut at Galway on Tuesday. Polished Gem’s Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) was one of the best runners for this stable in recent times, winning the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. before taking up duties at the Irish National Stud. She also produced the seven-times group-winning Custom Cut (Ire) (Nonowcato {GB}), the triple group scorer Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}), whose finest hour came when capturing the British Champions Fillies & Mares S. when it was a group 2, and the Australian group 3 winner Valac (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).
Polished Gem’s dam is the 1988 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Trusted Partner (Affirmed), whose leading performer was the GI Matriarch S. and G2 Sun Chariot S. heroine Dress To Thrill (Ire) also by Danehill. On another day when Moyglare bloodlines came to the fore, Trusted Partner is also the third dam of this fixture’s G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. hero Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and was already the ancestress of the G3 Sirenia S. winner Love Lockdown (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}) and G1 Criterium International winner Vert de Grece (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}). The third dam Talking Picture (Speak John) landed the GI Matron S. and GI Spinaway S. before producing five stakes winners of which four share the US Triple Crown winner Affirmed as a sire. They include Easy To Copy, whose descendants are the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Sydney Cup hero Gallante (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Silence Please (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) who was second in Saturday’s G3 Kilternan S.
Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
COMER GROUP INTERNATIONAL IRISH ST LEGER-G1, €400,000, Curragh, 9-13, 3yo/up, 14fT, 3:06.50, gd.
1–SEARCH FOR A SONG (IRE), 134, f, 4, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Polished Gem (Ire) (Broodmare of the Year-Ire), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Trusted Partner, by Affirmed
3rd Dam: Talking Picture, by Speak John
O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Dermot Weld; J-Oisin Orr. €232,000. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 3yo-Ire at 14f+ & SW-Eng, 9-4-1-1, $771,456. *Full to Falcon Eight (Ire), SW-Eng & GSP-Ire; and Amma Grace (Ire), GSP-Ire; and 1/2 to Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 9.5-11f, G1SW-Eng, GSW & G1SP-Ire, $926,416; Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}), Hwt. Older Mare-Ire at 11-14f, MGSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng, $518,947; Custom Cut (Ire) (Notnowcato {GB}), Hwt. Older Horse-Ire at 7-9.5f, MGSW-Eng & Ire, $951,925; and Valac (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), GSW-Aus, $277,097. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Fujaira Prince (Ire), 137, g, 6, Pivotal (GB)–Zam Zoom (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire). (90,000gns Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Roger Varian. €80,000.
3–Twilight Payment (Ire), 137, g, 7, Teofilo (Ire)–Dream On Buddy (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). (€200,000 5yo ’18 GOFHIT). O-Lloyd J Williams; B-Jim Bolger (IRE); T-Joseph O’Brien. €40,000.
Margins: 2, NK, 3. Odds: 7.00, 3.00, 4.50.
Also Ran: Barbados (Ire), Passion (Ire), Sovereign (Ire), Micro Manage (Ire), Raa Atoll (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Zoffany’s Thunder Moon Cuts a Dash In the National
Thunder Moon | racingfotos.com
Sunday’s G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. at The Curragh looked of vintage variety on paper and although it lost a notable in Ballydoyle’s Battleground (War Front), an incident-packed renewal ultimately witnessed a colt to quicken the pulse in TDN Rising Star Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Purchased by Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez from Anne Marie O’Brien following his scintillating debut success over this course and distance Aug. 9, the 15-2 shot tracked the pace but was holed up with nowhere to go inside the final two furlongs. Declan McDonogh was looking for racing room down on the rail and it came in plenty of time as the fleet-footed bay darted through a gap to cut down St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the final 75 yards. Surging to the line, he had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over that rival’s fast-finishing stablemate Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who snatched the runner’s-up spot by a short head. “I was always going to ride him cool down on the fence from the one draw and take all the chances,” McDonogh explained. “They didn’t go hard enough to get a spread on them and so they bunched up a little bit and I had to check him. He was always giving me the feel that he was going to run them down and he was very impressive. He did extremely well to recover and win smoothly–he has the makings of a smart colt.”
Thunder Moon had won a Dundalk barrier trial July 29 prior to his emphatic 3 3/4-length defeat of the useful yardstick Colour Sergeant (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) here last month, but was still the least-experienced member of the line-up in what is always an daunting test for greenhorns. It is unknown how the Listed Chesham S. and G2 Vintage S. winner Battleground–who was taking out after a bout of coughing–would have fared, while Zhang Yuesheng’s Aug. 9 G1 Phoenix S. hero Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) had little luck in running and finished with gusto to be fifth. The other 2-1 joint-favourite, Godolphin’s July 11 G2 Superlative S. scorer Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), had his chance and looked the winner when swooping two out but had raced keenly from the break and probably paid for his exertions. Even Khalid Abdullah’s Masen (GB) (Kingman {GB}) was compromised, as he reared in the stalls and when given the go-ahead to start did too much on the front end. Added to that, Wembley and St Mark’s Basilica were tardy from the gates and the eventual runner-up lost almost as much there as he was beaten in the finish.
Despite the unsatisfactory nature of the way the contest unfolded, there was enough overall quality to make this a race to follow closely and few would bet against the winner coming out on top when meeting any of these rivals in the future. McDonogh had words of warning for those who hope for a second shot at Thunder Moon. “He was only in third gear through the race and didn’t even feel like he was in top gear at the line, so he’s a very exciting colt,” he said. “Even when I checked, he didn’t lose a whole lot of momentum and was straight back into his stride and powered on again. He has a great will-to-win and a great heart–he really wants to please you. I won this on another horse for Kevin Prendergast [Kingsfort (War Chant)] who had only won a maiden beforehand and it takes a proper one to do that. If he has a nice tempo to run at over a mile he’ll relax and stay well. I’d say the ground was as slow as he wants it, he has a real fast-ground action and I think fast ground will suit him really well as he’s a strong traveller. It’s been a long time since I rode one like him–he has a lot of qualities and has the mind to go with it.”
Thunder Moon’s family is that of the day’s G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with his third dam being the high-class Moyglare distaffer Trusted Partner (Affirmed). It was a granddaughter of that G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine, the unraced Small Sacrifice (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), who caught the eye of Anne Marie O’Brien at the 2007 Goffs November Mares Sale and she showed her keenness of judgement by securing her for only €18,000. A half-sister to the G3 Horris Hill S. third Aahaykid (Ire) (Intikhab), she went on to produce the Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. winner Table Rock (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) who was later renamed Anticipation (Ire) in Hong Kong. Small Sacrifice is a full-sister to Out of Thanks (Ire), who produced the G3 Sirenia S. winner Love Lockdown (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}), while another of her half-siblings Tiny Petal (Ire) (Grand Lodge) threw the G1 Criterium International hero Vert de Grece (Ire) also by Verglas. This is the family of the GI Matriarch S. heroine Dress To Thrill (Ire) (Danehill) and her full-sister Polished Gem (Ire) who just this week further enhanced her mighty reputation. Small Sacrifice’s yearling colt is by Caravaggio.
Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
GOFFS VINCENT O’BRIEN NATIONAL S.-G1, €250,000, Curragh, 9-13, 2yo, 7fT, 1:28.53, gd.
1–THUNDER MOON (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Zoffany (Ire)
1st Dam: Small Sacrifice (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
2nd Dam: Trust in Luck (Ire), by Nashwan
3rd Dam: Trusted Partner, by Affirmed
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Mrs C C Regalado-Gonzalez; B-Whisperview Trading Ltd (IRE); T-Joseph O’Brien; J-Declan McDonogh. €150,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $189,183. *1/2 to Table Rock (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), SW-Eng & SP-HK, $643,136. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Wembley (Ire), 131, c, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Inca Princess (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €50,000.
3–St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), 131, c, 2, Siyouni (Fr)–Cabaret (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (1,300,000gns Ylg ’19 TATOCT). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Robert Scarborough (FR); T-Aidan O’Brien. €25,000.
Margins: 1HF, NO, HF. Odds: 7.50, 22.00, 9.00.
Also Ran: Master of the Seas (Ire), Lucky Vega (Ire), Charterhouse (GB), Laws of Indices (Ire), Mac Swiney (Ire), Military Style, Masen (GB). Scratched: Battleground. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Galileo’s Shale Gets Her Revenge In the Moyglare
Shale turns the tables on Pretty Gorgeous | racingfotos.com
Much has been made of the ability of the average Galileo (Ire) to endure more than a fair amount of engagement in battle, but there continues to be example after example as the weeks of the flat season roll on. There seems especially to be something in The Curragh’s hallowed turf to bring out those mystical qualities from within his charges and on Sunday it was Shale (Ire) who was drawing on it to garner the G1 Moyglare Stud S. Having beaten Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) in the G3 Silver Flash S. at Leopardstown Aug. 6 only to lose out to her in the Aug. 22 course-and-distance G2 Debutante S., Donnacha O’Brien’s juvenile starlet was back in the ring to win on points as it came down to a slog. Tracking the Debutante third Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) throughout the early stages, the 9-2 second favourite was the first to come under a ride as Ryan Moore started to niggle before the halfway point. TDN Rising Star Pretty Gorgeous was tracking her every move and after Shale had earned the lead passing the two-furlong pole she was set upon by her arch-rival. John Oxley’s Joseph O’Brien trainee was in front briefly 200 yards from the line, but by the time they reached it Shale had the call over the 11-10 market-leader by 3/4 of a length, with Oodnadatta (Ire) (Australia {GB}) 1 3/4 lengths back in third. “She’s an incredibly tough filly and she’s done it very well,” commented Donnacha, who ironically had ridden Intricately (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) for Joseph when winning this in 2016. “I know how much Joseph thinks of his filly, so I was surprised to beat her at Leopardstown. She was the first off the bridle and I didn’t think she was going to do anything at halfway, but she found a lot for pressure, toughed it out and was going away at the line. These Galileo fillies can keep improving and she has with every start.”
There was little sign when Shale was sixth on debut behind Oodnadatta in a seven-furlong Leopardstown maiden June 21 that she would hit these heights, but that has turned out to be a smart contest from which the subsequent G3 Marble Hill S. winner Minaun (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) sprang, among others. Off the mark over a mile on testing ground next time at Gowran Park July 8, the daughter of the emphatic G1 1000 Guineas heroine Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) may have been in part benefitting from a front-runner’s bias back at Leopardstown as she held Pretty Gorgeous at bay in the Silver Flash reverting to this trip. When she was put in her place so readily in the Debutante last time, that looked to be the deciding blow in the contest but Shale’s doughtiness ultimately told in this championship bout.
“The ground was a little bit more in our favour today,” Donnacha added. “She’s a very low mover, so you would think she wants quick ground but her mother was the same and when they are very clear-winded and tough they tend to go on most conditions. I definitely thought she’d be closer today, but I wasn’t going to say that I thought she’d go and win as we don’t look under the bonnet at home. She has a few options–it could be the [G1 Prix] Marcel Boussac or Newmarket [for the G1 Fillies’ Mile] and after that she could go to America for the Breeders’ Cup. She’ll be even better when she goes back up in trip.” Pretty Gorgeous’s rider Declan McDonogh said, “It was a bit messy early, but I headed the winner and she then got a bit tired. I’ve no excuses–she ran a blinder.”
Homecoming Queen, who took the 2012 renewal of the Newmarket mile Classic by nine lengths, is another of the Coolmore broodmares locked on to Galileo and she now has three black-type performers including the stakes-placed First of Spring (Ire) and the G2 Futurity S. third Berkeley Square (Ire). Her dam Lagrion (Diesis {GB}) produced the mighty Arc hero Dylan Thomas (Ire), the juvenile champion Queen’s Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and the G1 Epsom Oaks second Remember When (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) whose son Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is this year’s G1 Epsom Derby hero. His G2 Kilboy Estate S.-winning full-sister Wedding Vow (Ire) was also runner-up in the G1 Nassau S., while Queen’s Logic produced the G2 Diadem S. and G2 Lowther S. winner and G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp and G1 Haydock Sprint Cup runner-up Lady of the Desert (Rahy). Homecoming Queen’s 2019 Galileo is a colt.
Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
MOYGLARE STUD S.-G1, €250,000, Curragh, 9-13, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:27.19, gd.
1–SHALE (IRE), 128, f, 2, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Eng at 7-9.5f, G1SW-Eng & GSW-Ire, $458,335), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)
2nd Dam: Lagrion, by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Wrap It Up (Ire), by Mount Hagen (Fr)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Donnacha O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €150,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $241,134. *Full to Berkeley Square (Ire), GSP-Ire; and First of Spring (Ire), SP-US. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pretty Gorgeous (Fr), 128, f, 2, Lawman (Fr)–Lady Gorgeous (GB), by Compton Place (GB). (€55,000 Wlg ’18 ARQDE; 525,000gns Ylg ’19 TATOCT). O-John C Oxley; B-EARL Ecurie Haras du Cadran, Enrico Ciampi, SAS I.E.I. & Ecurie La Boetie (FR); T-Joseph O’Brien. €50,000.
3–Oodnadatta (Ire), 128, f, 2, Australia (GB)–Bewitched (Ire), by Dansili (GB). O-Robert Scarborough & Susan Magnier; B-Robert Scarborough & Carradale (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. €25,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 4.50, 1.10, 22.00.
Also Ran: Bubbles On Ice (Ire), Thunder Beauty (Ire), Aunty Bridy (Ire), A Ma Chere (Ire), Divinely (Ire), Snowfall (Jpn), Teresa Mendoza (Ire), Mother Earth (Ire), Elanora (Ire), Star Image (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Flying Five Glory For Dream Ahead’s Glass Slippers
Glass Slippers takes the Flying Five | racingfotos.com
It was all about the fillies and mares in Sunday’s G1 Derrinstown Stud Flying Five at The Curragh, with last year’s G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp heroine Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead) prevailing after a tussle with compatriot Keep Busy (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}). Last seen finishing second to Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in Goodwood’s G2 King George S. July 31, the Bearstone Stud homebred was in touch against the far rail but under the pump at halfway. Rallying gamely to wear down Keep Busy in the last 100 yards, the 9-2 shot answered Tom Eaves’s every call to score by half a length, with the same margin separating her and the Irish filly Sonaiyla (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). In perfect symmetry, there was also that distance to the mare Maid In India (Ire) (Bated Breath {GB}) in fourth as the distaffers dominated. “Kevin [Ryan] was very happy with her and this had always been the plan, as she takes time to warm into the season and comes good at this time of year,” the winning rider said. “It’s paid off and she’s an amazing filly who was spot-on for today. She found a few pounds and kept improving from the middle of the year last year and has thrived again. You can do anything with her, she is so relaxed and has a great mind and is very tough. They went a good pace and I had to squeeze at halfway, but I knew she’d come home as she stays well.”
Whatever is in the air in the North of England, it seems to aid the development of top-class sprinting fillies and mares and despite the disappointments of Que Amoro (Ire) (Es Que Love {Ire}) and Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) here, it is notable that the first, second and fourth are trained by Kevin Ryan, John Quinn and Eric Alston respectively. Glass Slippers was winning the G3 Qatar Prix du Petit Couvert at ParisLongchamp on this day last year, coming alive after a lethargic first half of the race to back up her breakthrough win in Deauville’s Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud. When she went to the Abbaye, she was a different proposition as she took early control and galloped relentlessly clear for an authoritative three-length success.
No match for Battaash in his own backyard at Goodwood, she will meet him again on the first Sunday in October according to Ryan. “She has a lot of class and loves it when they go really quick, but the ground was tacky today so she’s done well to cope with that,” commented her trainer, who was forced to watch from home. “Darren Bunyan has done a marvellous job with her the last 48 hours, it’s not easy handing it over to someone else, but he’s produced her in tip-top shape so I’m very thankful to the Curragh and Darren. It was [Bearstone Stud’s] Terry Holdcroft’s decision to miss the Nunthorpe and give her a bit more time and he’s obviously been vindicated. She’s an amazing filly, so simple to train and makes my job very easy. She’ll go back for the Abbaye now.”
Glass Slippers is the last living foal and second black-type winner out of Night Gypsy (GB) (Mind Games {GB}) following the Listed Radley S. scorer and G3 Oh So Sharp S. runner-up Electric Feel (GB) (Firebreak {GB}). The dam is a full-sister to the Listed Hilary Needler Trophy winner and stakes producer On the Brink (GB) and a half to Eastern Romance (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) who also achieved black-type success in France in the Listed Criterium de Vitesse and was runner-up in the G3 Ballyogan S.
Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
DERRINSTOWN STUD FLYING FIVE S.-G1, €250,000, Curragh, 9-13, 3yo/up, 5fT, 1:00.58, gd.
1–GLASS SLIPPERS (GB), 129, f, 4, by Dream Ahead
1st Dam: Night Gypsy (GB), by Mind Games (GB)
2nd Dam: Ocean Grove (Ire), by Fairy King
3rd Dam: Leyete Gulf (Ire), by Slip Anchor (GB)
O/B-Bearstone Stud Ltd (GB); T-Kevin Ryan; J-Tom Eaves. €150,000. Lifetime Record: Hwt. Older Mare-Fr at 5-7f, G1SW-Fr & GSP-Eng, 15-6-2-1, $550,517. *1/2 to Electric Feel (GB) (Firebreak {GB}), SW & GSP-Eng; and Aunt Nicola (GB) (Reel Buddy), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Keep Busy (Ire), 128, f, 3, Night of Thunder (Ire)–Look Busy (Ire), by Danetime (Ire). (34,000gns Ylg ’18 TAOCT). O-Mrs Doreen Tabor; B-Hackcanter Ltd & P Gleeson (IRE); T-John Quinn. €50,000.
3–Sonaiyla (Ire), 129, f, 4, Dark Angel (Ire)–Sinaniya, by More Than Ready. (€110,000 3yo ’19 GOFNOV). O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan’s Studs SC (IRE); T-Paddy Twomey. €25,000.
Margins: HF, HF, HF. Odds: 4.50, 18.00, 11.00.
Also Ran: Maid In India (Ire), Make A Challenge (Ire), Equilateral (GB), Liberty Beach (GB), Kurious (GB), Silver Spear (Ire), Rapid Reaction (Ire), You’resobeautiful (Ire), Que Amoro (Ire), Alligator Alley (GB), A’Ali (Ire). Scratched: Na Blianta Beo (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Shamardal’s Tarnawa Powers to Vermeille Triumph
Tarnawa | Scoop Dyga
His Highness The Aga Khan’s Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), who annexed the G2 Blandford S. on this weekend last year, defeated this semester’s Blandford victress Cayenne Pepper (Ire) (Australia {GB}) when successful in last month’s G3 Give Thanks S. at Cork. At the top of her game for Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille over 12 furlongs at ParisLongchamp, she displayed an impressive turn of foot to down a stellar cast in taking fashion. Settled in rear for most of this stamina test, the 28-5 chance made eyecatching headway out wide in the straight and powered clear once quickening smartly for the lead approaching the final furlong to easily account for Raabihah (Sea the Stars {Ire}) by three lengths, with that rival edging the pacesetting Dame Malliot (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) by a short head for second.
“She is a marvellous filly, the Prix Vermeille is a very, very prestigeous race and she needed to be good to win there,” said assistant trainer Mark Weld. “She has lots of speed and class and deserves a Group 1 win. She was very impressive when winning the Blandford last year, just like last month in the Group 3 [Give Thanks] at Cork. We have a lot of hopes for her and she is very straightforward. The whole family have got better with age, particularly the females. She is a pleasure to train and we are very lucky to have her. I have just spoken to my father and we will have a look at the next step. She holds an entry in the [Oct. 4 G1] Prix de l’Opera and she is comfortable over 10 furlongs, so that’s a possibility.” The Arc is not yet out of the equation as stud manager Georges Rimaud revealed, “She was in good form and Dermot [Weld] was keen to run her here in search of a first Group 1 win. She is nice, she is consistent and won well. She is not in the Arc, but today she won the supplementation [fee] so it is a possibility that she will come back on the first Sunday in October.”
The Arc also remains on the agenda for runner-up Raabihah, according to Jean-Claude Rouget. “She ran well, but now she is racing against tougher rivals,” he reflected. “She was beaten by a good, older filly and proved that she is the best 3-year-old filly in France. We will see how she is over the next two weeks, I have spaced her races and never trained her hard so I think that she can improve on that and be at her best in three weeks’ time. This defeat hasn’t altered plans and, if she is well in herself, she will run in the Arc.”
Tarnawa, a half-sister to the unraced 2-year-old colt Tazaral (Ire) Fastnet Rock (Aus) and a weanling filly by Siyouni (Fr), is the first foal bred from MSW dual G3 Curragh Cup third Tarana (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), herself the leading performer for G3 Noblesse S. third Tarakala (Ire) (Dr Fong), who in turn is the best horse produced by Listed Oyster S. second Tarakana (Shahrastani). Continuing the theme, Tarakana is the leading light out of Tarafa (Ire) (Akarad {Fr}), herself a half-sister to five black-type winners headed by G3 Princess Royal S. victress Tashtiya (Ire) (Shergar {GB}), G3 Prix Messidor victor Tassmoun (Kalamoun {GB}) and Listed Chester S. winner Tarikhana (Ire) (Mouktar {Ire}), who in turn is the dam of G1 Prix Royal-Oak hero Tiraaz (Lear Fan). Tarafa is also kin to the dam G1 Phoenix S. heroine Damson (Ire) (Entrepreneur {GB}).
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE-G1, €360,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-13, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT, 2:26.42, gd.
1–TARNAWA (IRE), 131, f, 4, by Shamardal
1st Dam: Tarana (Ire) (MSW & GSP-Ire, $141,525), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Tarakala (Ire), by Dr Fong
3rd Dam: Tarakana, by Shahrastani
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-H.H. Aga Khan; B-His Highness the Aga Khan’s Studs S.C. (IRE); T-Dermot Weld; J-Christophe Soumillon. €205,704. Lifetime Record: MGSW-Ire, 12-6-2-2, €512,912. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Raabihah, 123, f, 3, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Garmoosha, by Kingmambo. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Shadwell Farm (KY; T-Jean-Claude Rouget. €82,296.
3–Dame Malliot (GB), 131, f, 4, Champs Elysees (GB)–Stars In Your Eyes (GB), by Galileo (Ire). O-A E Oppenheimer; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs (GB); T-Ed Vaughan. €41,148.
Margins: 3, SHD, HF. Odds: 5.60, 1.20, 14.00.
Also Ran: Laburnum (Ire), Wonderful Tonight (Fr), Even So (Ire), Mashael (Fr), Valia (Fr), Grand Glory (GB). Also Ran (DNF): Alkandora (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Galileo’s Mogul On Top in Paris
Mogul takes the Grand Prix de Paris | Scoop Dyga
Third in York’s G2 Great Voltigeur S. last month, Coolmore’s G2 Golden Fleece S. and G3 Gordon S. winner Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) claimed the full set of pattern-race levels with a stunning victory at odds of 17-2 in Sunday’s G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp. His two prior starts at the highest level yielded a fourth in last term’s G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster and a sixth in this year’s G1 Epsom Derby. He was hidden away in rear for most of the 12-furlong trip and inched closer along the false straight as his pacemaking stablemate Nobel Prize (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) signalled signs of distress. Making rapid headway along the fence in the straight proper, the eventual winner was not for catching once quickening for control when angled out with 300 metres remaining and stayed on strongly under a late drive to easily hold the running-on G1 Deutsches Derby hero In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}) and G2 Prix Greffulhe victor Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}) by 2 1/2 lengths and a short head.
“Aidan [O’Brien] seemed quite confident before the race and told me that he was a horse that needed to be held up a bit, but had a huge turn of foot and that the longer I could wait the better as he doesn’t do too much in front,” explained winning rider Pierre Charles-Boudot after securing a third straight, and fifth overall, win in the event for O’Brien. “The pace was nice and constant and, turning in, I had a feeling that I was going to get a run down the rail. The horse just picked them off one by one and gave me his all to the line. Coolmore is one of the biggest breeding operations in the world and it is always a pleasure and honour to ride and to win for them. We will see if I get the ride on him in the Arc, it will be interesting.”
Europe’s Autumn showpiece could also be on the agenda for runner-up In Swoop, who delighted trainer Francis-Henri Graffard with a late rattle to finish second, but it’s by no means certain. “That was a great run and, before the race, I would have been happy with second place,” Graffard admitted. “We were worried that he might have been found out for a bit of speed, but he just keeps grafting away. Ronan [Thomas] knows him, he knows to keep after him and, just as I was hoping, he has finished off really strongly. Two weeks ago I would have never thought that he would have come here in such good condition. He takes his work well, I kept him going in strong work throughout the summer and he is very straightforward and willing. I think softer ground would play to his strengths. He holds an entry in the [G1] Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the [G2] Prix Chaudenay and [G1] Grosser Preis von Bayern. I will have a discussion with the owners and we will come to a decision.”
Mogul is one of four pattern-race winners, all by Galileo (Ire), produced by Listed Pontefract Castle S. runner-up Shastye (Ire) (Danehill). He is a full-brother to Japan (GB), who won this event and York’s G1 International S. last year, MG1SP G2 Middleton S. victress Secret Gesture (GB) and G3 International S. winner Sir Isaac Newton (GB). His granddam is G2 Prix de Royallieu winner and G1 Gran Premio di Milano runner-up Saganeca (Sagace {Fr}), who produced G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning sire Sagamix (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud-winning sire Sagacity (Fr) (Highest Honor {Fr}) and G2 Prix de Malleret victress Sage Et Jolie (GB) (Highest Honor {Fr}), herself the dam of the G1 Prix d’Ispahan-winning sire Sageburg (Ire) (Johannesburg). Shastye has a yearling filly by Galileo (Ire) to come.
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
JUDDMONTE GRAND PRIX DE PARIS-G1, €360,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-13, 3yo, c/f, 12fT, 2:24.76, gd.
1–MOGUL (GB), 129, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Shastye (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Saganeca, by Sagace (Fr)
3rd Dam: Haglette, by Hagley
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (3,400,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Newsells Park Stud (GB); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Pierre-Charles Boudot. €205,704. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng & Ire, 3-2-1-0, €394,321. *Full to Japan (GB), Hwt. 3yo-Eur at 9 1/2-11f, Hwt. 3yo-Ire at 11-14f, Hwt. 3yo-Ire at 9 1/2-11f, Hwt. 3yo-Eng at 11-14f, Hwt. 3yo-Eng at 9 1/2-11f, G1SW-Eng & Fr, GSW-Ire, $2,048,117; Secret Gesture (GB), GSW & MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr & Ger, GISP-US, $746,427; and Sir Isaac Newton (GB), GSW-Ire, SW-Eng & GSP-Aus, $403,231; and 1/2 to Maurus (GB) (Medicean {GB}), SW & MGSP-Aus, $403,286. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–In Swoop (Ire), 129, c, 3, Adlerflug (Ger)–Iota (Ger), by Tiger Hill (Ire). O-Gestut Schlenderhan; B-Stall Ullmann (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €82,296.
3–Gold Trip (Fr), 129, c, 3, Outstrip (GB)–Sarvana (Fr), by Dubai Destination. (€60,000 Ylg ’18 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard; B-Michel Monfort (FR); T-Fabrice Chappet; J-Stephane Pasquier. €41,148.
Margins: 2HF, SHD, 1 3/4. Odds: 8.50, 8.00, 15.00.
Also Ran: Serpentine (Ire), Highland Chief (Ire), English King (Fr), Nobel Prize (Ire), Lord Achilles (Fr), Hayzum (Fr), Port Guillaume (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
by TDN
