Tag: Never Ending Story (Ire)

Never Ending Story’s Brother Debuts at Killarney

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. Monday's Insights feature a full-brother to high-class racehorse Never Ending Story (Ire), going two furlongs farther than that sibling did on debut last term.

17.20 Killarney, Mdn, €15,000, 2yo, 8f 20yT
NAVY SEAL (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) is introduced by Aidan O'Brien over the longest trip for a maiden in Britain and Ireland so far in 2023, going two furlongs further than his high-class full-sister Never Ending Story (Ire) did as she debuted last term. That first foal out of the GI Belmont Oaks heroine Athena (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) turned into a dual group 3 winner and G1 Prix de Diane runner-up, so this February-foaled bay has a hard act to follow. Descended from Urban Sea (Miswaki) and also connected to the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), his mettle will be tested against fellow Derrick Smith colour-bearer Bremen (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the Donnacha O'Brien-trained son of the triple Australian group 1 heroine Sea Siren (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and full-brother to last month's G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Warm Heart (Ire) who created such a strong impression when narrowly failing on debut at Tipperary earlier this month.

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Newmarket: “I’ve No Doubt She’s Got Enough Toe.” Falmouth Speed Test For Nashwa

Whether or not connections of Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) allow the G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine to run in Friday's G1 Tattersalls Falmouth S. at Newmarket, the elephant in the room is the supplemented Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who could just be ready for a reinvention at the July Festival. Not seen at this trip since the 6 1/2-length Haydock novice success that earned her TDN Rising Star status, the apple of Imad Al Sagar's eye has been as far as 12 furlongs when a creditable third in the Oaks before apparently settling into a niche at or around a mile and a quarter with wins in the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Nassau S.

While it is on the face of surprising that she is winless since the latter contest, there has been a creeping feeling that the intermediate trip is too far for her now that she has filled her substantial frame. That was no more obvious than last time, when she had Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) beaten until tying up in the last handful of the extra 42 yards added to the 10 furlongs of Newcastle's G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. Attempts to curb her enthusiasm have proven fruitless even for the ultra-skilled hands of Hollie Doyle and it would be no surprise to see her allowed to rock and roll from the front on a track that strongly favours that approach.

“She has grown and developed a lot over the winter [and] is a really big, burly mare now,” her rider and number one fan explained. “I think she has taken a time to come to hand and has taken a few runs to get straightened out, really. It seems the obvious route to go down after her last two runs and I've no doubt she's got enough toe. Time will tell, because this is a different ballgame.”

 

Via Sistina Part Of Falmouth Quandary

With so many fillies going down in trip, this is a far from straightforward renewal of the Falmouth, but then this is a race which can throw curveballs such as Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) at 16-1 last year upsetting Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Like Nashwa, Via Sistina is another sharpening up at a mile having beaten the aforementioned Al Husn by six lengths in devastating fashion when the rain came to Newmarket on the weekend of the Guineas Festival. That rampage over the nine furlongs of the G2 Dahlia S. outshines her subsequent triumph in the Pretty Polly and the fact is that the less give in the surface the less advantage she has.

“There are very few horses in training that can be favourite for Group 1 races over various trips and I think she has that versatility in that she stays and has got plenty of boot,” trainer George Boughey said. “She showed a proper turn of foot in the Dahlia and I think over a mile she would be equally as effective. It is a bit of a question mark coming back to the mile as she hasn't ever been there, but for her career going forward we want to try and keep some speed in her.”

 

 

Is This One For The Closers?

With the memory of last year still fresh, it is hard to see anything other than Prosperous Voyage going forward again and with the increasingly free-going Nashwa here alongside another who has set the pace before in the G2 Duke of Cambridge S. runner-up Random Harvest (Ire) (War Front), this could be a case of the leaders setting it up for the finishers. Via Sistina fits that bill, but if the ground is too lively then the likes of the G1 Coronation S. runner-up Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Juddmonte's Sandringham H. winner Coppice (GB) (Kingman {GB}) come into the equation. There is no telling what the plan is in Ryan Moore's mind for Ballydoyle's Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), another reverting to a mile after a hit-and-miss season which includes a second to Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) in the G1 Prix de Diane which puts her in the mix.

 

 

Grand Prix

The Gosdens have a strong chance of a Group 1 double on Friday, with Lady Bamford's Oaks heroine Soul Sister (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) the fly in the colts' ointment in ParisLongchamp's Grand Prix de Paris. Partnered by Kieran Shoemark for the first time, the homebred faces Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard's TDN Rising Star Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}) who was fourth in a hot G1 Prix du Jockey Club; the G3 Prix Hocquart winner First Minister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was beaten by Feed The Flame in the spring but who hails from the stable of the 13-times successful Andre Fabre; and Ballydoyle's Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) who brings the G1 Irish Derby form into sharper focus.

“It's a competitive field and we're getting three pounds off the colts,” Shoemark said. “This is a tough task and it is the first time a filly has ran in the race for 10 years, so it is something that doesn't happen very often but John and Thady Gosden have her in good order and hopefully we go there with a good chance.”

 

Star Of Mystery Takes Aim At The Duchess of Cambridge

Charlie Appleby's opening fixture of the July Festival was a mixed bag on Thursday, so a big effort from TDN Rising Star Star Of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) would be welcome in Friday's G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. So impressive over this course and distance in the Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' S., this comes quick enough but with a disappointing turnout of only four her claims are obvious. “Star Of Mystery came out of her recent win in good order and this looks a natural progression for her,” he said. “A couple of her rivals bring Royal Ascot form into the race, which always warrants respect, but she looks the one to beat based on her Empress Stakes display.”

Those Royal Ascot runners will not include Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's G3 Albany S. third Soprano (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), who was ruled out on Thursday due to a medication administration error, but the filly who followed her home in fourth there steps out on Friday. Amo Racing's TDN Rising Star Persian Dreamer (Calyx {GB}) is the form threat to Godolphin's favourite and trainer Dominic Ffrench Davis is hopeful.

“Persian Dreamer ran a blinder and she was the last horse off the bridle,” he said. “I think if she had been drawn on the other side she would definitely have been in the first three, but she ran very well and has come out of the race well. Any rain would be appreciated because she does like to get her toe in a little bit. She's a lovely filly and I think she is going to stay further. She will get seven and a mile next year and I think she will get seven later this year. I think she is going to be a very classy filly if we can keep her in one piece.”

 

Little Big Bear Still In The July Cup

Aidan O'Brien is leaving a decision on the participation of Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) in Saturday's G1 July Cup at Newmarket until later in the week after declaring last year's G1 Phoenix S.-winning champion juvenile. One of only nine engaged in the six-furlong feature, the TDN Rising Star had been a doubt for the contest after suffering a bruised foot but his inclusion means that Rossa Ryan has been booked for his G1 Commonwealth Cup conqueror Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}). The G2 1895 Duke of York S. winner Azure Blue (Ire) (El Kabeir) and Marc Chan's G1 British Champions Sprint S. hero Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) are other notables in the smallest field for the July Cup since 1997, when Compton Place (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) caused a 50-1 shock.

 

 

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Classic Heroine Nashwa Supplemented To Falmouth

Imad Al Sagar's Classic winner Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) has been supplemented at a cost of £20,000 to the G1 Falmouth S. at Newmarket on July 14.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the dual Group 1 winner captured both the Prix de Diane and Nassau S. after running third in the G1 Oaks at Epsom last term. A good second in the G1 Prix de l'Opera that October, she ended her season with a fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in the U.S. Now four, the Blue Diamond Stud homebred was fourth to Group 1 winner Above The Curve (American Pharoah) in the G2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud in May, and improved to be second in the G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. at Newcastle at the end of June.

John Gosden, who also trains former Falmouth favourite and now G1 Sussex S.-bound Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), said, “We have supplemented her for the Falmouth. As you know, she has been very slow to come to hand this year. The race in France brought her on a bit. Again the other day, she probably went a little hard early, but didn't finish off.

“She is in great form and she needs racing, and we don't really want to be waiting from two weeks ago all the way to the Nassau S. So, it is close to home and she's in great form and I don't think she'll have any problem with the mile.”

Last week's G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine Via Sistina (Ire) (Fasnet Rock {Aus}) is one of nine signed on to face Nashwa for trainer George Boughey, while Ralph Beckett's G1 Coronation S. runner-up Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}) will carry new silks in the Newmarket showpiece having been purchased by Wathnan Racing. Aidan O'Brien will likely saddle both Breeders' Cup winner Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) and G1 Prix de Diane second Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

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Churchill’s Blue Rose Cen Completes Rare Treble In The Diane

As Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}–Queen Blossom {Ire}, by Jeremy) dominated the final 300 metres of Sunday's G1 Prix de Diane Longines, there was time for collective appreciation of the arrival of a new starlet for France. In pounding her peers in Chantilly's 10 1/2-furlong Classic by upwards of four lengths, the early gift from the racing gods to Leopoldo Fernández Pujals's fledgling breeding operation entered revered territory as only the fourth to add this prize to the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Doing so in a time second only to that of the great Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), the unstoppable homebred pulled off the treble that places her in French racing's own Sacré-Cœur. Whether anybody truly believed beforehand that Christopher Head's versatile, straightforward and fearless filly was in the same league as the country's past queens Allez France, Divine Proportions and Zarkava (Ire) is questionable, but following this rampage it is a debate with legs.

Granted, she had the ideal draw in one and an almost acting bodyguard in stablemate Wise Girl (Fr) (Recoletos {Fr}) to her left throughout the all-important early hustling stages of this race, but when push came to shove from the top of the straight the 16-5 favourite was all business once again. For a brief period passing the two pole, Ryan Moore looked as if he might make a fight of it on Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) but that threat was quickly extinguished as Aurelien Lemaitre disappeared into the distance. At the end of a renewal that had looked so strong on paper beforehand, there were notable disappointments such as the 10-3 second favourite Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who never entered contention and wound up sixth, but one dominant force whose hogging of all the headlines was throroughly deserved.

With this Spring being a momentous and emotive time for the distinguished Head dynasty, it was even more fitting that Blue Rose Cen was to achieve her landmark 10 years on from the last of the family's Diane winners, the aforementioned Treve. For Christopher, it was a difficult thing to summarise. “I have a lot of thoughts for my grandparents today and I really hope they are looking down on this,” he said. “Blue Rose Cen is magical. Really. She changed my life. I see no imperfection in her–she is perfect overall, strong physically and with a strong mind. She runs with passion.”

Looking nothing like the group 1 star she has turned out to be when well beaten on her debut, ironically at this venue over an inadequate six furlongs last May, Blue Rose Cen spent the next two months building towards a black-type bow with wins at Saint-Cloud and Clairefontaine but met one marginally too good when the time came in Deauville's Listed Criterium du FEE. A short neck ahead of her that day was Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Ballydoyle's slow-burner who was on his own progressive course heading to eventual glory moments in the G3 Prix de Conde and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Buoyed rather than bowed by that experience, Blue Rose Cen went to ParisLongchamp four times and with each passing visit grew in stature through the varying demands of the G3 Prix d'Aumale, the Marcel Boussac, G3 Prix de la Grotte and Pouliches. It is back there where she could achieve true immortality in October, just as Allez France and Zarkava did before her and her strong-closing final three furlongs in 35.16 suggests she can pack at least most of her formidable punch in the country's great monument which is staged virtually always on the testing ground on which she has already proven so agile.

Head would not be drawn on a possible Arc bid in the immediate aftermath. “We will have to discuss the rest of the season–in a few days we will have a meeting with Yeguada Centurion to discuss her future, as we had a plan up until the Diane. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a new distance and we will have a discussion and make a plan for the rest of the season.”

The Arc may also ultimately be the target for the third-placed 43-1 shot Tasmania (Ger) (Australia {GB}), Gestut Schlenderhan's stamina-endowed homebred who failed by a short head to get the silver medal and whose final three furlongs were run in an eye-catching 34.75 on a stunning black-type debut. It will also be a race to forget for connections of Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion), who faded to be last, TDN Rising Star Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who also bowed out of the action early and ended up 13th, as well as the Pouliches runner-up Lindy (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) who had a prominent position but no answer to the winner's kick as she backtracked to finish eighth.

Pedigree Notes
Blue Rose Cen, who was providing her emerging-force second-season sire with a third Classic, is the only known foal to date out of the G3 Park Express S. and GIII Santa Barbara S. winner Queen Blossom (Ire) (Jeremy), a daughter of the G3 Silver Flash S.-placed Mark Of An Angel (Ire) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}). She in turn is a granddaughter of the 10-times-winning South African mare Grey Angel (GB) (Kenmare {Fr}), whose career included two of those at group 3 level and a runner-up finish in the G1 Gosforth Park Fillies & Mares Challenge H. This is also the family of the GI Arlington Washington Futurity hero Well Decorated and the prolific sire Distinctive.

Sunday, Chantilly, France
PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES-G1, €1,000,000, Chantilly, 6-18, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT, 2:05.09, g/s.
1–BLUE ROSE CEN (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Churchill (Ire)
1st Dam: Queen Blossom (Ire) (GSW-Ire & US, $220,859), by Jeremy
2nd Dam: Mark Of An Angel (Ire), by Mark Of Esteem (Ire)
3rd Dam: Dream Time (GB), by Rainbow Quest
O/B-Yeguada Centurion SLU (IRE); T-Christopher Head; J-Aurelien Lemaitre. €571,400. Lifetime Record: 9-7-1-0, €1,250,730. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Never Ending Story (Ire), 126, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Athena (Ire), by Camelot (GB). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €228,600.
3–Tasmania (Ger), 126, f, 3, Australia (GB)–Tusked Wings (Ire), by Adlerflug (Ger). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Gestut Schlenderhan (GER); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €114,300.
Margins: 4, SHD, HF. Odds: 3.20, 16.00, 43.00.
Also Ran: Wise Girl (Fr), Elusive Princess (Fr), Jannah Rose (Ire), Lady Ewelina (GB), Lindy (Fr), Romina Power (Fr), Caroline Street, Novakai (GB), Left Sea (GB), Pensee Du Jour (Ire), Khahira (Fr), Running Lion (GB). Video, sponsored by TVG.

 

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