Native Trail returned to his imperious best to give Godolphin an English, French, and Irish 2,000 Guineas treble when landing the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas (G1) Saturday at the Curragh.
The imposing son of Oasis Dream, who ended his 2-year-old career as the unbeaten European champion after wins in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes and Group1 National Stakes, ran a massive race to finish second behind stablemate Coroebus in the 2,000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket and duly made amends with a comfortable 1 3/4 length win from New Energy in the Irish equivalent. Godolphin also captured the French equivalent, the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1), with Modern Games.
Guided by William Buick, Native Trail covered one mile in 1:39.28 on turf rated as yielding.
Imperial Fighter was third in the field on nine.
Trainer Charlie Appleby is just the second trainer to win the English, French and Irish 2,000 Guineas in the same season, and the first to achieve the feat with three different colts.
“Everyone wants to see the champion 2-year-old hopefully fulfill their 3-year-old careers and that is what Native Trail has done,” Appleby said on Godolphin's website. ”He lost nothing in defeat in the English Guineas – Coroebus was a horse that we thought of highly – and we will never know if it would have been a closer contest if they had been drawn next to each other.
“It's nice to have conversations where, instead of trying to find one to win a race, you are trying to potentially keep them apart. Modern Games will head to the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (G1) and Coroebus was always going to go to the St. James's Palace Stakes (G1).
“Now Native Trail will have to come into the Royal Ascot conversation as well over the next 10 days or two weeks. We all know that the St. James's Palace Stakes is a fantastic race and it's the last chance for the 3-year-olds to compete against each other over a mile.
“Native Trail has a racing head that gives himself a chance of getting 10 furlongs. He is doing nothing wrong over a mile at the moment, but going through the line is always the strongest part of his race. More importantly, I think we need a conversation over whether we let him and Coroebus take each other on in the St James's Palace Stakes first.”
Purchased from Oak Tree Farm by Godolphin at the 2021 Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up, Native Trail was originally bought from Kildaragh Stud by Mags O'Toole and Norman Williamson for 67,000 guineas at Book 1 of the 2020 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
Out of the Observatory mare Needleleaf, a half sister to the Group 1 winning sprinter African Rose, Native Trail's classic success also represents a major triumph for breeder Jose Delmotte, who purchased Needleleaf from Juddmonte Farms at the 2015 Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 60,000 guineas.
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