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Irish Guineas Hangs In The Balance

Saturday's Curragh card which features the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas is in doubt after 35 millimetres of rain hit the track overnight Thursday. With a morning inspection called, chief executive Pat Keogh is hoping for a turnaround with the course currently waterlogged in places.

“We got a lot more rain than we anticipated overnight. We were forecast 15 millimetres at the most in the last 24 hours,” he explained on Friday. “It's come completely out of left field, unfortunately. The track would not be raceable today. We'll just have to monitor things as we go along. If more rain came than was forecast, that would give us a problem. We're hopeful, but we will have a precautionary inspection tomorrow morning.”

In the event the fixture takes place, an ability to handle testing ground is obviously a given and with the easy surface in part to blame for the eclipse of Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains, it is hard to see Jim Bolger welcoming the deluge for the seeker of the prestigious G1 English-Irish 2000 Guineas double. He does have a proven lover of the ground as back-up in Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), who relished similar conditions when taking the G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in October. If he is none the worse for his infection suffered when fourth in the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown May 9, the homebred is made for the stamina test this race will provide.

Another with Group 1-winning form on testing ground is Van Gogh (American Pharoah), who was very much at home on it when taking Saint-Cloud's G1 Criterium International by four lengths in October. Out of the 2001 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Imagine (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), he ran eighth in the May 1 G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on contrasting ground and Aidan O'Brien expects improvement.

“He was very close to being fifth in the Guineas, he just got tired in the last 50 yards,” he said. “Maybe our Newmarket horses were a couple of weeks behind where we thought they were. He came out of the race very well. He is a big, strong traveller. He had very good form at the back end of last year and we have been very happy with him since as well. I don't think he is a horse that needs soft ground. His form ended up on soft ground at the end of the year, but that was just because of the weather.”

Runner-up in a soft-ground G1 Dewhurst S., Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is the pick of Ryan Moore and he is looking for a much-improved performance from him and another Newmarket Guineas disappointment in Battleground (War Front). The latter ploughed through the soft when winning the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot last June, but there is more evidence that Wembley will be able to give his best on this type of ground.

“Our three colts are on a retrieval mission after the 2000 Guineas, though to be fair I thought Van Gogh shaped very well there on ground that would have been too quick for him and this deeper surface will really play to his staying strengths,” he said. “Clearly, Wembley and Battleground didn't run up to expectations at Newmarket, but we know both are much, much better than that and Wembley is another colt who will prefer this softer ground. He just wasn't himself at Newmarket and I wasn't hard him on there once his chance had clearly gone at the two-furlong pole. It was soft when he finished second to the French Guineas winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Dewhurst, and we clearly anticipate better from him and Battleground here.”

It is hard to be categoric about the ground for Zhang Yuesheng's Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), as he took this track's G1 Phoenix S. on good-to-yielding in August and is by a sire whose progeny excel when there is cut underfoot. Handling a quick surface when third in the 2000 Guineas, he will have his stamina stretched by this examination and trainer Jessie Harrington is far from confident about his ability to handle conditions.

“The ground won't suit him, but it's going to be the same for all of them,” she said. “I've been very happy with him since Newmarket.”

Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' La Barrosa (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) is another unproven on this going, having flopped when fifth in the Criterium International but he was back to form when runner-up to Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Newmarket's G3 Craven S. over this mile trip last time Apr. 15.

“La Barrosa disappointed on testing ground at Saint-Cloud, but we feel there were other contributing factors that day,” Charlie Appleby explained. “It was the end of the season and he scoped dirty post-race, so I think you can put a bit of a line through that run. His preparation has gone well and he put up a very good performance behind Master of the Seas on his three-year-old return. A repeat of that effort should make him very competitive.”

There has to be doubts as to whether the Ballydoyle support cast will turn up in their expected numbers, with the Apr. 10 Dundalk maiden winner Cadamosto (Ire) (No Nay Never) already a non-runner on five occasions this term. He is due to take part in the G3 GAIN Marble Hill S., where stablemate The Entertainer (Ire) (Caravaggio) is also engaged having scored on his sole start at Navan last Saturday. Deep ground is an unknown in general for juveniles and it will be interesting to see if the well-regarded Donnacha O'Brien-trained Masseto (GB) (Territories {Ire}) lines up against the colt he beat on debut at Navan Apr. 25, Celtic Times (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}).

Also on the card is the G2 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands S., where the Hambleton Racing colourbearer Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) reappears under a three-pound penalty for his success in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. in similar conditions in October. Also forced to carry a penalty is Teruya Yoshida's Champers Elysees (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) in the G2 Lanwades Stud S., with the G1 Matron S. scorer hardened by a return fourth in the seven-furlong G3 Athasi S. at The Curragh May 3.

At a similarly rain-hit Haydock, the six-furlong G2 Sandy Lane S. and G2 Temple S. over five will represent wars of attrition for the sprinters. Slow, sapping ground is a question mark for Yoshiro Kubota's unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) in the Sandy Lane, given how electric he was on good-to-firm at Hamilton May 2.

“He has done everything right so far this year and he answered everything that we have asked of him since his debut on the all-weather,” trainer Archie Watson said. “He is going back up to six furlongs and we are hopeful that he will handle the softer ground up there, as the ground was quick last time out at Musselburgh. This is a big step up in class and it should give us an idea of where we are with him.”

Shadwell's G3 Horris Hill S. winner Mujbar (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) loves it deep and is a proven stayer at this trip, so everything is set up for a big effort from the half-brother to the G1 Commonwealth Cup hero Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

“He is obviously proven on soft ground, as he won his Group 3 in those conditions at Newbury last year,” trainer Charlie Hills said. “I was slightly disappointed with his run in the Greenham, but I've been really pleased with him since and he is training a lot better now. For some reason at Newbury he just ran a bit fresh with the choke out and that probably cost him.”

In the Temple, a clutch of classy sprint fillies and mares trained in the North clash with Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}), Lady In France (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) and Keep Busy (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) having been third, fourth and fifth respectively in ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye in October. John Quinn trains Liberty Beach and Keep Busy and said of them, “They are two good fillies and you have got to run them somewhere, it would be unfair not to run one of them so we're just hoping for a bit of luck. I don't think any extra rain would be a problem for either of them. They've form in good ground and they have shown they go in soft ground, which is important. Liberty Beach was a very good 2-year-old and showed very strong form last year while Keep Busy was a very tough two year old and has just kept on improving.”

At the other end of the stamina spectrum, Koji Maeda's G3 Prix Belle de Nuit winner Believe In Love (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) returns in York's G3 William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies' S. over a near-14-furlong trip.

In Sunday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas, John Oxley's 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) heads 14 fillies with soft ground holding no fears based on the evidence of her impressive success in Newmarket's G1 Fillies' Mile in October. Denied the chance to contest the May 2 Newmarket Classic due to an unsatisfactory scope, she will not be renewing rivalry with her G1 Moyglare Stud S. conqueror Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) after that peer was a significant scratching at the confirmation stage on Friday. Drawn widest of all, she encounters Doreen Tabor's G2 Lowther S. winner Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who was taken out of Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at ParisLongchamp but has fared little better with the draw here in 12. Also wide in 11 is Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor's May 9 G3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial scorer Joan of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while the May 2 G1 1000 Guineas third Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) is in nine.

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Crunch Time At Leopardstown As Derby Nears

Leopardstown's G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial has a considerable reputation as one of the leading preps for Epsom's blue riband, so it is a surprise that no horse since 2002 has won both this 10-furlong contest and the English Classic. That could change this year, with the current Derby looking a wide-open affair at present and Jim Bolger holding the aces in the 3-year-old colt department. Fresh from winning the G1 2000 Guineas with Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) last Saturday, the master of Coolcullen saddles Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) on Sunday and all eyes will be on how the G1 Futurity Trophy hero shapes on his return at a trip that should bring out further improvement in him. There is reportedly nothing between Mac Swiney and Poetic Flare and the fact that the latter is staying at a mile for now makes the placing of his star colts all the easier. “Mac Swiney will be running over a mile and a quarter at Leopardstown and we'll take it from there,” he said. “He'll go on any ground.”

Ballydoyle's 'TDN Rising Star' Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) beat fellow Bolger representative Flying Visit (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) in the G3 Ballysax S. over this course and distance Apr. 11 and leads Aidan O'Brien's challenge for a 14th renewal. “It was always the plan to go for the Derrinstown after he won the Ballysax,” he said. “Everything has gone well with him since and he seems to be in good form.” Third in the Ballysax, Fiona Carmichael's Taipan (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) holds the fourth-placed Lough Derg (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) on that form while Joseph O'Brien puts forward Aquis Racing and Al Mamoura Partnership's Apr. 14 course-and-distance maiden winner Southern Lights (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). “Southern Lights is a gorgeous horse that we've always had high hopes for,” he said. “He is a very laid-back character and he seemed to wake up as the race progressed last time. This is obviously a huge step up in class for him, but he has earned the chance to be tested in a race like this and we can't wait to see how he measures up.”

Also on the card is the G3 Amethyst S. and G3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial over a mile, with the latter playing host to the Joseph O'Brien-trained Sense of Style (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) who bids to build on her return third in the seven-furlong G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial on Apr. 11. “She had to contend with plenty of traffic to deliver her challenge that day and stepping up back to a mile will be a help to her,” her trainer said. “There should be improvement to come in fitness terms and I'd be hopeful that she'll run a big race.” Also in the mix are Juddmonte's Apr. 14 course-and-distance maiden scorer Acanella (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and The Aga Khan's Shandra (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), who has not been seen since making a winning debut over seven furlongs at The Curragh in August.

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Knockout Year For Teofilo

Though 2020 will go down as a dreadful year for many, it can be regarded as an annus mirablilis for Darley stallion Teofilo (Ire).

To an extent, every son of Galileo (Ire) at stud has to make do with seeking glimmers of light within the long shadow cast by the 12-time champion sire. Last year, Teofilo came closest of any stallion to Galileo's tally of Group 1 winners by being responsible for six of his own, in France, Germany, Australia and Hong Kong.

Now 17, Teofilo also played a lead role in establishing Galileo as a stallion on the up in the minds of the bloodstock cognoscenti. It didn't take long.

In 2006, several members of Galileo's first crop made Classic breakthroughs. Nightime (Ire), who would go on to arguably even greater things as the dam of Ghaiyyath (Ire), won the Irish 1000 Guineas under Pat Smullen, while Sixties Icon (GB) led home a 1-2-3 for Galileo in the St Leger when beating The Last Drop (Ire) and Red Rocks (Ire). The latter won the GI Breeders' Cup Turf on his next start.

Alongside all this, the juvenile Teofilo was proving to be the standout of his sire's second crop, cruising unbeaten through a succession of races which his trainer/breeder Jim Bolger would utilise with the same outstanding results the following year with another son of Galileo, New Approach (Ire). Alas, after winding up his 2-year-old season with victories in the G1 National S. and G1 Dewhurst S., Teofilo would never be seen on a racecourse again. Knee trouble in the spring of his 3-year-old year meant he would sit out his Classic season awaiting his place at Kildangan Stud.

It is probably fair to say that his own stud career has been something of a slow burn, but overall it is one which has generated some significant heat. His 12th crop of runners is currently being prepared to take to the track, among them being the juvenile half-sister to the champion 2-year-old Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal), who has been assigned to Charlie Appleby. The stand-out of his 2-year-olds last year was Gear Up (Ire), bred and sold by one master trainer, Jim Bolger, to another, Mark Johnston, who nurtured him to victories in the G3 Acomb S. and G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Bolger's own Group 1-winning juvenile of 2020, the Vertem Fututity victor Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), has Teofilo as his broodmare sire, his dam Halla Na Saoire (Ire) being an unrated half-sister to Halla Siamsa (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), the dam of Teofilo's Dewhurst S. winner Parish Hall (Ire).

Bolger's prints are all over recent generations of this family: the 3×3 inbreeding to Sadler's Wells of Parish Hall, the 2×3 inbreeding to Galileo in Mac Swiney. And, just as Bolger can be credited with having played a significant role in the early days of Galileo's stud career, so too has he been important for Teofilo. Another of the Group 1 winners of 2020 was the Bolger-bred Twilight Payment (Ire), his sire's second winner of the Melbourne Cup in three years.

This alone should reinforce his merit in the minds of Australian buyers when they come to Europe and encourage them to greet his stock with the same enthusiasm with which they do the offspring of Camelot (GB). Earlier in his stud career Teofilo spent five shuttle seasons in Australia which yielded the Group 1 winners Kermadec (NZ), Happy Clapper (Aus), Humidor (NZ), Sonntag (Aus) and Palentino (Aus). The classy miler Kermadec is now a Darley Australia stallion with the dual Group 1 winner Montefilia (Aus) among his first crop 3-year-olds.

The studs of Europe are not exactly awash with sons of Teofilo. Tweenhills Stud's Havana Gold (Ire), out of the crack sprinter Jessica's Dream (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}), was himself a Group 1-winning miler and his best offspring is the G1 Flying Five winner Havana Grey (GB), who is now resident at Whitsbury Manor Stud. Elsewhere, Mickley Stud, where Havana Grey was born and raised, now stands the substantial Massaat (Ire), who was runner-up in the both the 2000 Guineas and the Dewhurst. Diplomat (Ger) is on the LM Stallions roster at Dorset's March Hare Stud and Jim Bolger stands Parish Hall at his own Redmondstown Stud.

Teofilo's list of Group 1 winners was boosted to 21 last season with the addition of Gear Up, Twilight Payment, Subjectivist and the fillies Donjah (Ger) and Tawkeel (GB). Furthermore, his highest earner, the Hong Kong-trained Exultant (Ire), won two Group 1 races in 2020 to take his tally to five top-level wins.

A runner to follow with interest in 2021, along with Pintaubo's half-sister, will be the Preis Von Europa-winning mare Donjah, who has left German champion trainer Henk Grewe to join Chad Brown's stable in the U.S. And while Gear Up holds entries for the Derby and Irish Derby, his juvenile brother is bound for overseas having set a new record for the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale when sold by Clare Manning's Boherguy Stud for £325,000 to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. His sterling price tag is owing to the fact that the sale had to be moved from Fairyhouse to Newmarket because of Covid restrictions.

As this elite snapshot shows, Teofilo's strength is perhaps that he cannot be pigeonholed. Certainly his offspring tend to be later-maturing middle-distance types, but he is clearly able to get classy runners across a range of distances—and durable ones at that—at a highly respectable rate of 10.4% black-type winners to runners.

Teofilo has had seven three-figure crops of foals since he retired to stud but Gear Up is a product of one of his smallest crops of 64. His 2021 book is restricted in number and, judging by his exploits last year, it seems safe to assume that demand will outstrip supply.

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Racing Review of the Year: Part 2

The Juveniles

The dark clouds had gathered come Ireland’s opening turf fixture of the year at Naas in March, with the meeting held behind closed doors and giving rise to now customary scenes. As the curtain was raised, an oft-repeated sketch unfolded with Jim Bolger homebred Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) annexing the first juvenile event of the year, a feat which the trainer had previously achieved on multiple occasions including with Poetic Flare’s sire in 2012. Normal service resumed but, then again, not. The global pandemic soon tightened its grip and a wide-ranging lockdown left much of Europe at a standstill, Scandinavia being a notable exception, until Germany set the powerhouses rolling again in May.

Germany doesn’t schedule early juvenile contests as a matter of course and so France led the way in that sphere. Haras de la Gousserie and Guy Pariente’s Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) registered a comfortable two-length score over six furlongs at Saint-Cloud in the first such event as the season, belatedly, geared up once more. He’d go on to claim an emphatic eight-length tally in ParisLongchamp’s G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day before posting a commendable fifth in Keeneland’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. One day later, Haras de Colleville-based Goken (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) became Europe’s first freshman sire off the mark when subsequent Listed Prix La Fleche and G3 Prix du Bois victrix Livachope (Fr) annexed a five-furlong dash at Chantilly.

Fellow freshmen Dariyan (Fr) and Bow Creek (Ire), both sons of Shamardal, followed suit at Lyon-Parilly and Baden-Baden, respectively, before the year’s breakout star Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) notched a quickfire double in early June. Bridge Dress Me (Ire) became the Tally-Ho Stud resident’s first-of-many at Rome’s Capanelle venue and fellow Goffs graduate Muker (Ire) repeated the dose, within the hour, at Newcastle. Chemeh (Ire)‘s Boxing Day victory over 8 1/2 furlongs at Siracusa extended his European record haul to an astounding 56 individual first-crop winners for the shortened season.

The usual run to early June heralds last calls for Royal Ascot preparations, but this year became the hunting ground for gameday time and many heats were oversubscribed and primed for splitting. In a welcome move, the Royal meeting’s 2-year-old contests were scheduled for the latter part of a subdued week and opportunity knocked in the Listed Windsor Castle S. for The Queen’s Tactical (GB) (Toronado {Ire}), who added Newmarket’s G2 July S. before finishing off the board in three starts at the highest level. Listed Chesham S. victor Battleground (War Front), the first foal out of Arc heroine Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ballydoyle’s lone juvenile success of the week, fared better in the aftermath by annexing Goodwood’s G2 Vintage S. in some style and running second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Dandalla (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), another Karl Burke diamond mined for little outlay, produced the younger generation’s best Royal performance with a six-length G3 Albany S. win, doubling up in Newmarket’s G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. and closing her campaign with a G1 Cheveley Park S. fifth.

“I think he’d look better running in someone else’s silks,” joked trainer Michael Bell after The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) provided his Ballyhane Stud freshman with a first winner in the process of lowering the all-aged track record at Great Yarmouth at the beginning of June. He franked that form and emulated his sire’s 2016 G2 Norfolk S. success, doing so in the Qatar Racing colours second time out. Runner-up finishes in the G2 Prix Robert Papin and G1 Phoenix S. followed and preceded off-the-board efforts in the G1 Middle Park S. and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Frequent flyer Wesley Ward is usually outta there come former ‘Heath Day’, but his enforced delay was rewarded with a fourth renewal of the G2 Queen Mary S. when Stonestreet Stables’ Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) backed up a Gulfstream Park debut score in the five-furlong dash. She also annexed Deauville’s G1 Prix Morny and closed out the year with a fourth in Keeneland’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Marie McCartan’s Nando Parrado (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) had given little indication of future highs when a debut fifth at Newmarket earlier in the month and outstripped that form, and then some, by claiming G2 Coventry S. glory at the meeting’s new record high odds of 150-1. Tried at the highest level in two subsequent starts, he ran second to Campanelle in the G1 Prix Morny and then to Sealiway in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Royal Ascot winners claimed three of the six Newmarket July and Glorious Goodwood juvenile fixtures, with outliers headed by subsequent G1 Vincent O’Brien National S. fourth Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G2 Superlative S. at HQ and subsequent G1 Middle Park S. hero Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) making all in the G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood.

Richard Hannon trainee Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) tarnished The Lir Jet’s record in the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly while Laws of Indices (Ire) (Power {GB}) subdued Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the G2 Railway S. at The Curragh. Lucky Vega exacted revenge, three weeks later, in the G1 Phoenix S. over the same six-furlong course and distance. The Co. Kildare venue also played host to a hot renewal of August’s G2 Futurity S., which went the way of Jim Bolger’s newest standardbearer Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) at the expense of subsequent G2 Golden Fleece S. winner Cadillac (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Golden Fleece runner-up and G1 Criterium International hero Van Gogh (American Pharoah).

Other August highlights include the G3 Acomb S. win of subsequent G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud victor Gear Up (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}); the G2 Gimcrack S. score for subsequent G1 Middle Park S. third Minzaal (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}); the G2 Prix du Calvados victory of subsequent G1 Prix Marcel Boussac unlucky-in-running fourth Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}); and the early rounds of the Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) versus Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) ding-dong, with the former, trained by Donnacha O’Brien, drawing first blood in the G3 Silver Flash S. and the Joseph O’Brien-trained latter gaining revenge in the G2 Debutante S. at The Curragh. They’d meet again down the line with Shale reasserting in September’s G1 Moyglare Stud S. and Pretty Gorgeous levelling up in October’s G1 Fillies’ Mile.

September presented an informative edition of the G1 Vincent O’Brien National S., with Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) exhibiting rare acceleration to rise above a hot field featuring subsequent G1 Dewhurst S. first and second St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), as well as the aforementioned Master of the Seas, Lucky Vega, Laws of Indices and Mac Swiney. Thunder Moon closed his year with a third in the Dewhurst.

In common with Thunder Moon, Jeff Smith’s Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never) had not appeared until August and backed up a Newbury debut score for the Andrew Balding stable with a second to the battle-hardened dual sales-race winner Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) in early September’s G3 Dick Poole Fillies’ S. at Salisbury. She reversed that form at the end of the month when defeating G2 Lowther S. victrix and subsequent GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf third Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) in the G1 Cheveley Park S., with Happy Romance fourth.

Other notable performances during the month included George Strawbridge’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Indigo Girl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a homebred full-sister to G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares heroine Journey (GB), snagging Doncaster’s G2 May Hill S. en route to a second in the G1 Fillies’ Mile; Michael Pescod’s G1 Dewhurst ninth Chindit (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) securing a third G2 Champagne S. for Richard Hannon; and the G2 Beresford S. victory of the hitherto unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Suffering just one reversal in her first seven starts, Charley Rossi trainee Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) notched a trio of claiming scores in the provinces and scaled the heights when steered by Rossi’s partner Jessica Marcialis to a popular success in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day. She closed her year with a fourth to Gear Up in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud later in October. Best of Lips (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}), who had saluted in Cologne’s G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten, was another left in Gear Up’s wake at Saint-Cloud. Elsewhere in Germany, Manfred Schmelzer’s Noble Heidi (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) edged Baden-Baden’s G3 Preis der Winterkonigin and entered winter quarters having won three of her four races. Sealiway, Pretty Gorgeous, St Mark’s Basilica and Van Gogh also enjoyed their elite-level moments during the month, but, with ever-tightening controls coming into force, the season concluded as it began and resumed: under something of a cloud.

However, Jim Bolger trainee Poetic Flare opened up the year in style and was on parade in the final days, winning Leopardstown’s G3 Killavullan S. a week before Mac Swiney’s G1 Futurity swansong. Thus, Bolger bookended the season with a hint of nostalgia and the Coolcullen maestro once again has a live contender for the Derby. Maybe, just maybe, hope of a return to some form of normality is not forlorn.

Dark Horses

Britain: Michael Tabor’s Star Seeking (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) was a shade testy during the preliminaries when making her debut in a seven-furlong novice fillies’ heat at Leicester in September. However, she displayed an impressive turn of foot before being heavily eased for a one-length win in the process of earning ‘TDN Rising Star’ status. The Sir Michael Stoute trainee, unseen since and light on entries, hails from a family featuring MG1SW sire Linngari (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) and 2020’s G2 King Edward VII S. and G2 Great Voltigeur S. victor Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}).

Ireland: Coolmore’s Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), a half-sister to GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Iridessa (Ire) (Ruler of the World {Ire}), is another once-raced ‘TDN Rising Star’ and posted a highly encouraging 2 1/2-length debut score in a mile maiden at The Curragh in September. Held in high regard by rider Seamus Heffernan, the March-foaled bay retains entries for the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Irish Oaks. She is a granddaughter of GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare and GI Matriarch S. heroine Starine (Fr) (Mendocino).

France: Juddmonte homebred Petricor (GB) (Frankel {GB}) caused something of a stir when powering to a taking 1 1/2-length success in a 7 1/2-furlong debutantes’ heat at Deauville, but has remained under wraps since that ‘TDN Rising Star’ display in August. The Andre Fabre trainee hails from a family featuring MG1SW sires Brian Boru (GB) (Sadler’s Wells), Workforce (GB) (King’s Best) and Best Solution (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}).

Germany: The dying embers of Germany’s turf schedule yielded two late-season efforts of note. Klaus-Henning Schmoock’s homebred Wintermond (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) encountered testing conditions in a nine-furlong maiden at Hoppegarten in November and made light of soft-to-heavy going en route to an impressive eight-length rout. The Stefan Richter trainee is kin to MGSW G2 International Topkapi Trophy victor Wonnemond (Ger) (Areion {Ger}) from the family of MG1SW sire Windwurf (Ger) (Kaiseradler {Ger}) and 2019 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

No less impressive was Stall Lucky Owner’s Kir Royal (Ger) (Lord of England {Ger}), who also caught the eye on debut in November and outclassed his rivals in a seven-furlong maiden on soft ground at Munich. One of eight winners for his stakes-placed dam, the Henk Grewe trainee is from the family of G2 German 1000 Guineas heroine Kali (Ger) (Areion {Ger}).

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