Donnacha O’Brien’s instant momentum showed no sign of stopping on Thursday as the sole Galileo (Ire) in the G3 Frank Conroy Silver Flash S. line-up Shale (Ire) flew the flag for the newest of the family’s prodigies at Leopardstown. Having won a mile maiden on slow ground at Gowran Park July 8, the daughter of the runaway G1 1000 Guineas heroine Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) was positioned in a clear second early by under up-and-coming riding star Gavin Ryan. Sent past the weakening race animator Finest (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}) approaching the furlong pole, the generously-priced 14-1 shot had first run on TDN Rising Star Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) and with stamina assured galloped relentlessly to record a 1 1/2-length success. That 2-1 favourite was completing a forecast for the O’Brien brothers Donnacha and Joseph, with A Ma Chere (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) finishing well adrift 3 1/2 lengths back in third.
“She’s a lovely filly and I’m very grateful that connections let me keep the ride,” commented Ryan, the Co. Tipperary-born five-pound claimer. “She had won her maiden nicely on slow ground and our only worry was the quicker ground today, but she’s a very versatile filly with a lot of class. She travelled into the race well and stayed on gamely. Donnacha said to make sure we were up and forward, as she has a wicked high cruising speed and she’s probably a miler ideally. I think that was a good race and I know Joseph thinks his is a classy filly.”
Shale, who was sixth on debut in the course-and-distance maiden in which the subsequent G3 Marble Hill S. winner Minaun (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) was second June 21, had taken her Gowran maiden by 3 1/4 lengths last time and is a filly with limitless potential given her outstanding pedigree. Donnacha was on hand to say, “She had improved plenty from her maiden and her work was good–the race worked out nicely, as they went a good gallop and she got a nice tow into it. To look at her, you would say she wants quick ground so I was a bit surprised how well she handled it the last day. Joseph likes his filly a lot and obviously it’s quick enough out there and not easy to make up ground, So I’d say they are two smart fillies. We’ll look at the [G2] Debutante and the [G1] Moyglare. It would be the obvious path with those two-year-old fillies.”
In the pre-Serpentine era, Homecoming Queen was one of the first examples of what her trainer could do with slow learners as she took eight starts to break her maiden before going to Newmarket and winning the 2012 renewal of the mile Classic by nine lengths. Bred solely to Galileo, Shale is her third black-type performer and her best after the stakes-placed First of Spring (Ire) and G2 Futurity S. third Berkeley Square (Ire). She is a daughter of Lagrion (Diesis {GB}), which makes her a half-sister to the former Ballydoyle great Dylan Thomas (Ire), the juvenile champion Queen’s Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and Remember When (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) who was promoted to second in the 2010 G1 Epsom Oaks.
Remember When has produced five black-type winners all by Galileo headed by the aforementioned G1 Epsom Derby hero Serpentine (Ire) and Wedding Vow (Ire) who captured the G2 Kilboy Estate S. and was runner-up in the G1 Nassau S. Queen’s Logic, whose unbeaten career was cut short by injury, has 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) who is in turn the dam of Queen Kindly (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who also took the Lowther. Homecoming Queen’s 2019 Galileo offering is a colt.
Thursday, Leopardstown, Ireland
SILVER FLASH S.-G3, €59,000, Leopardstown, 8-6, 2yo, f, 7f 20yT, 1:27.69, gd.
1–SHALE (IRE), 128, f, 2, by Galileo (Ire)
   1st Dam: Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Eng at 7-9 1/2f, 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 BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Donnacha O’Brien; J-Gavin Ryan. €30,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $46,087. 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-E.A.R.L. Ecurie Haras du Cadran, Enrico Ciampi & S.A.S.I.E.I. (FR); T-Joseph O’Brien. €10,000.
3–A Ma Chere (Ire), 128, f, 2, Kodiac (GB)–Mad About You (Ire), by Indian Ridge (Ire). O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm (IRE); T-Dermot Weld. €5,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3HF, NO. Odds: 14.00, 2.00, 10.00.
Also Ran: Snowfall (Jpn), Oodnadatta (Ire), Hazel (Ire), Finest (Ire), Takeko (Ire). Scratched: Meala (Ire), No Speak Alexander (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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