Curragh Group 1 Double For Dubawi As Eldar Eldarov Takes The Irish Leger

Connections of Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) can be satisfied that Sunday's G1 Irish St Leger went by without drama, but the glory was with KHK Racing's TDN Rising Star Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}–All At Sea {GB}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) as he returned to form to provide his sire with a group 1 double on the Curragh's star-studded card. Putting a largely underwhelming summer behind him, having been seventh in the G1 Gold Cup and fourth in the G1 Goodwood Cup, the 16-5 second favourite enjoyed a perfect tow from Yashin (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) until taking over approaching two out.

With the 4-6 favourite Kyprios in pursuit, the Roger Varian-trained G1 St Leger hero had to keep it up but he kept answering David Egan to beat the Ballydoyle star by 3 1/2 lengths, with Dawn Rising (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) 2 3/4 lengths away in third. The field had been cut to four following the withdrawal of Emily Dickinson (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), but what this renewal lost in numbers it made up for in terms of quality with the market confidence in Kyprios notable.

For Egan, the win was especially important given his connection to the area. “I had my first Classic winner last year, but to do it where I grew up at Osborne Lodge, which is at the five-furlong pole, means a lot,” he said. “It's what dreams are made of and for all the team connected with the horse. My first main job was riding out for Willie McCreery, who I saw today, and he was a great man to learn from and gave me a lot of experience and taught me a lot. He has a tendency to miss the break, but the race went so smooth, he was a race-fit horse today and was as tough as nails.”

Eldar Eldarov, who had earned TDN Rising Star status on his debut at Nottingham in October 2021, also won the G2 Queen's Vase last June but with three of his four outings after the St Leger seeing him finish out of the frame there were the beginnings of doubts as to whether he was going the wrong way. Varian was relieved, but unwilling to accept that he had been disappointing this year. “He's run some great races in defeat this year and it's nice to win two Legers,” he said. “He's entered up in France on Arc weekend and there is the two-mile race at Ascot. He seems to be really best at a mile and six furlongs, but there aren't too many of those races around. He deserves to run one more time this year and it's most likely Ascot.”

Aidan O'Brien said of Kyprios, “A lot of people have done a lot of work to get him to here–all of the vets have done incredible work to get him back. We didn't think we would ever see this day, so to have him back and be happy and for Ryan to be happy is something. He's going to come on a lot and Ascot looks lovely for him. He will have a nice bit of time before now and then and will love going round there. It would be great to see him come back to what he was and this was a great comeback run.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Putting the icing on the cake for Dubawi on the afternoon, Eldar Eldarov hails from a family of Kirsten Rausing's finest performers. Out of the Listed Prix de Liancourt winner All At Sea, whose first foal was the listed-placed A La Voile (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and fourth is this year's G3 Gallinule S. third Kingswood (GB) (Roaring Lion). The second dam is the three-times group 1-winning Albanova (GB) (Alzao), responsible for the G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup winner Algometer (GB) (Archipenko), the Listed Stand Cup S. scorer Alignak (GB) by the Sea The Stars's son Sea The Moon (Ger) and the listed winner Alwilda (GB) (Hernando {Fr}).

Alwilda has made her name by producing the six-times group 1-winning Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}), while the listed-winning third dam Alouette (GB) (Darshaan {GB}) also produced Albanova's dual G1 Champion S.-winning full-sister Alborada (GB) whose descendants include the G2 City of York S. winner Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. and G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Albaflora (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}).

All At Sea is also connected to the G1 Prix Royal-Oak heroine Allegretto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Alzao's G2 Nassau S. winner Last Second (Ire) who is in turn the dam of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulians-winning sire Aussie Rules, as well as the pair of Sadler's Wells group 1 winners Yesterday (Ire) and Quarter Moon (Ire). Her unraced 2-year-old filly by Study of Man (Ire) is named A La Belle Etoile (Ire), she has a yearling colt by Lope De Vega (Ire) bought as a foal for 300,000gns by Brooklyn Bloodstock at Tatts December who is due to sell at next month's Tatts Book 1 Sale, and a filly foal again by Study Of Man.

Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
COMER GROUP INTERNATIONAL IRISH ST LEGER-G1, €600,000, Curragh, 9-10, 3yo/up, 14fT, 3:01.72, g/y.
1–ELDAR ELDAROV (GB), 137, c, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: All At Sea (GB) (MSW-Fr, $133,622), by Sea The Stars (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Albanova (GB), by Alzao
     3rd Dam: Alouette (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
TDN Rising Star. (£110,000 Ylg '20 GOFOR; £480,000 2yo '21 ARQDEA). O-KHK Racing Ltd; B-Miss K Rausing (GB); T-Roger Varian; J-David Egan. €348,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, 10-5-1-0, $1,202,836. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kyprios (Ire), 137, h, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Polished Gem (Ire), by Danehill. O-Moyglare/Magnier/Tabor/Smith/Westerberg; B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €120,000.
3–Dawn Rising (Ire), 137, g, 6, Galileo (Ire)–Devoted To You (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-J P McManus; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €60,000.
Margins: 3HF, 2 3/4, 5. Odds: 3.20, 0.67, 3.50.
Also Ran: Yashin (Ire). Scratched: Emily Dickinson (Ire).

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4,000th Winner For O’Brien As Dubawi’s Henry Longfellow Makes Up For City Of Troy Absence In The National

As much as Sunday's G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. was about the withdrawal of City Of Troy (Justify) and the impressive winning performance of fellow TDN Rising Star Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}–Minding {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), it was testament to Irish racing's totemic figure Aidan O'Brien who marked the occasion with a 4,000th training career success. Who else could pull a colt of the quality of the freakish G2 Superlative S. winner from such an important status event and still win it by five lengths, burying an impressive G1 Phoenix S. scorer in the process? The answer is why at just after 4pm on Sunday we were reflecting on such a remarkable landmark statistic.

City Of Troy's participation was decided as soon as the stable's Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) trailed in last in the preceding G1 Moyglare Stud S., in turn issuing her own damning verdict on the state of the rain-affected ground. Losing such an attractive proposition from a fixture of this nature would normally have been a dampening experience to say the least, but Henry Longfellow is some deputy having won the course-and-distance G2 Futurity S. last month and the money spoke as he upstaged Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the market as the 10-11 favourite for the race his sire won in 2004.

Cuban Thunder (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}) was acting as pacemaker for Bucanero Fuerte, but instead lit up his stablemate by chasing him for a few precious moments after the break until getting to the front. While Gary Halpin made sure the pace was unforgiving, Ryan Moore always looked happier than Kevin Stott setting true seven-furlong fractions as the Phoenix hero revved too high. Even before the two-furlong marker, the writing was on the wall and Henry Longfellow came into his own from there to inflict a greater defeat on Islandsinthestream (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) than he had in the Futurity. Bucanero Fuerte was a spent force at the line, beaten another 7 1/2 lengths in third.

This was as fitting a race to mark O'Brien's achievement, being the country's premier juvenile contest named in honour of his illustrious predecessor at Ballydoyle and the scene of his first group 1 success via Desert King (Ire) in 1996. Thirty years on from his first runner and winner Wandering Thoughts (Ire) at Tralee, the trainer was typically keen to deflect praise to the team around him and happier to discuss his 12th winner of one of the races in which he still trails Vincent O'Brien, who had 15 of these throughout his esteemed career.

“It's pure teamwork all the way and hard to believe,” he said. “I'm so grateful to so many people–incredible. Great people, great horses and great teamwork. This horse's pedigree is second to none. Minding was the best mare we ever trained and this was the best out-cross that she could go to,” he said. “He travels and he quickens and that is very difficult for other horses to handle. His mam won over a mile, a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half and handled the ground no problem and he's got a lot of her and his dad in him, so he looks a very special horse.”

“The plan was originally to run him in the Dewhurst, but Ryan said it was closer to soft than good-to-yielding and we promised ourselves we wouldn't run City Of Troy on soft ground,” he added. “City Of Troy hadn't run for a good while and was going to improve from the run. Sometimes in that ground they can have a hard time. He would die on his feet for you today and we didn't want to do that to him once the ground turned. Henry Longfellow ran last month with an ease and had no problem with it. He's fast and looks a miler and I don't know how much further he'll stay. We'll look at the Dewhurst for City Of Troy now.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Becoming the 55th group 1 winner for his sire, whose son Too Darn Hot (GB) sired his first on the card, Henry Longfellow is the second foal and first runner for the aforementioned seven-times group 1-winning phenomenon Minding whose successes included the Oaks, 1000 Guineas and Queen Elizabeth II S. Her dam Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who proved another big mover and shaker for this stable by winning the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Matron S., produced only Galileos for Coolmore and to great effect.

They included another Oaks winner in Tuesday (Ire), who went on to glory in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, and a G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine in Empress Josephine (Ire), as well as the G3 Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial winner Kissed by Angels (Ire). From the family of the sires Great Commotion and Lead On Time, Minding also has a yearling full-sister to Henry Longfellow and a filly foal by Wootton Bassett (GB). She has been bred to Gun Runner for 2024.

Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
GOFFS VINCENT O'BRIEN NATIONAL S.-G1, €400,000, Curragh, 9-10, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.54, g/y.
1–HENRY LONGFELLOW (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: Minding (Ire) (MG1SW-Eng, MG1SW-Ire, $3,213,340), by Galileo (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Lillie Langtry (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Hoity Toity (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. TDN Rising Star. O-Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €240,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $347,112. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Islandsinthestream (Ire), 131, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–A Mist Opportunity (Aus), by Foxwedge (Aus).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (€135,000 Ylg '22 ARQDOY). O-Islandsinthestream Partnership; B-Haras d'Etreham & Katelanis Bloodstock (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €80,000.
3–Bucanero Fuerte (GB), 131, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Frida La Blonde (Fr), by Elusive City. (€165,000 Ylg '22 ARAUG). O-Amo Racing Limited & Giselle De Aguiar; B-Gestut Zur Kuste AG (GB); T-Adrian Murray. €40,000.
Margins: 5, 7HF, 22. Odds: 0.91, 12.00, Evens.
Also Ran: Cuban Thunder (Ire). Scratched: City Of Troy, Givemethebeatboys (Ire).

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Observations: Skellet Bids to Make Up for Unlucky Debut

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Insights features Skellet, a half to MGSW Skitter Scatter.

 

15.10 Salisbury, Mdn, £30,000, 2yo, f, 6f 213yT
SKELLET (IRE) (Kingman {GB}) was one of the unluckiest losers all season at Sandown on her debut for the Ralph Beckett stable last month and with her killer pedigree steps out for this Bob McCreery Memorial British EBF Quidhampton Maiden Fillies' S. with a score to settle. Anthony and Sonia Rogers' homebred is a half to the G1 Moyglare Stud S., G2 Debutante S. and G3 Silver Flash S. winner Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) and the G2 Superlative S. runner-up Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), as well as the graded-stakes-placed dam of the recent GI Belmont Oaks Invitational winner Aspen Grove (Ire) (Justify). Among the newcomers is Allan Belshaw's homebred Times Edition (GB) (Kingman {GB}), a Roger Varian-trained half-sister to the Gi Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and GI Just a Game S. heroine Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), and Cheveley Park Stud's Santa Croce (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), a Sir Michael Stoute-trained daughter of the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Fillies' Mile winner Nannina (GB)  (Medicean {GB}).

15.30 Haydock, Novice, £10,000, 2yo, c/g, 7f 212yT
GULF LEGEND (FR) (Dubawi {Ire}) cost €300,000 when bought privately for Bon Ho at the Arqana Deauville August Sale, months before his half-brother Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}) achieved notoriety as the winner of the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Also a half to the smart Sacred Life (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), the James Ferguson trainee encounters the €575,000 top-priced colt of last year's Goffs Orby, Stall Perlen AB's Odin Legacy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), a Richard Hannon-trained half-brother to the stable's recent G3 Oak Tree S. winner Magical Sunset (Ire).

HOW THEY FARED
16.29 Cork, Mdn, €16,000, 2yo, f, 8fT
Foxtrot Zulu (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), the 450,000gns Tatts Book 1 half-sister to Going Global (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), failed to threaten as the well-backed 4-6 favourite and could only manage a staying-on third, beaten around four lengths.

 

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Dubawi’s Aablan On Top In The Solario

Landing a late gamble in Saturday's G3 Solario S., Godolphin's Aablan (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) made it three wins from the last seven renewals of Sandown's staging post for Charlie Appleby.

Sent off the 7-4 favourite, the Newmarket maiden scorer was settled in a share of third early by James Doyle with the pace set by Inishfallen (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) far from exacting. Taking until the final yards to work his way past that long-time leader, the son of the multiple group winner Promising Run (Hard Spun) prevailed by a neck, with Devil's Point (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) 1 1/4 lengths away in third.

Appleby's assistant Alex Merriam was on hand to welcome the winner and said, “A furlong out I thought we weren't going to win and James has said he is a horse that wants a mile in time, so that is probably what we will look at next. I think James has taught him a good bit there. He has done it the right way and got him to settle. He is a big raw horse so he might need a bit of time between his races.”

James Doyle added, “He is quite flamboyant in his early paces and it is key to conserve that energy at this stage. The race couldn't have worked out much better, as we were able to get that cover straight away which helped him find a rhythm, although it took a little time. He hasn't got an electric turn of foot, but I knew this distance would be perfect with the stiff finish. I think going further is going to be better for him. As we have seen, he is a lively character that takes a bit of managing but the boys have done great job with him.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Aablan is the first foal out of Promising Run, whose career tally included successes in the G2 Al Rashidiya, G2 Cape Verdi, G2 Balanchine and G2 Rockfel S. A daughter of the G1 Grande Premio Zelia Gonzaga Peixoto de Castro heroine Aviacion (Brz) (Know Heights {Ire}) and half to Dubawi's G3 Lillie Langtry S. runner-up Arabian Comet (Ire), her yearling filly is by Night Of Thunder (Ire).

 

 

Saturday, Sandown, Britain
VIRGIN BET SOLARIO S.-G3, £60,000, Sandown, 9-2, 2yo, 7fT, 1:32.50, gd.
1–AABLAN (IRE), 129, c, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
                1st Dam: Promising Run (GSW-Eng, MGSW-UAE,
                                GSW-Tur, $933,721), by Hard Spun
                2nd Dam: Aviacion (Brz), by Know Heights (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Arbulus, by Liloy (Fr)
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Godolphin (IRE);
T-Charlie Appleby; J-James Doyle. £34,026. Lifetime Record:
2-2-0-0, $48,398. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Inishfallen (Ire), 129, c, 2, Exceed And Excel (Aus)–Kyllarney
(GB), by Kyllachy (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK
   TYPE. (£70,000 Ylg '22 GOFFUK). O-Manton Thoroughbreds
VIII; B-Mount Coote Estates (IRE); T-Brian Meehan. £12,900.
3–Devil's Point (Ire), 129, c, 2, New Bay (GB)–Hairy Rocket (GB),
by Pivotal (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
(€200,000 Wlg '21 GOFNO1; 475,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT).
O-Clive Washbourn; B-Hamwood Stud Unlimited Company
(IRE); T-David Menuisier. £6,456.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, SHD. Odds: 1.75, 22.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Starlore (GB), Mortlake (Ire), Cerulean Bay (Ire). VIDEO.

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