Dettori To Ride Mostahdaf in Juddmonte International

Jockey Frankie Dettori will be aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained G1 Prince of Wales's S. winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) for the G1 Juddmonte International at York over the Knavesmire on Aug. 23, Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold announced on Saturday. The veteran rider deputises for the 5-year-old's regular jockey, Jim Crowley, who was suspended for his winning ride aboard Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 King George & Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot on July 29.

“John put Frankie on him this morning and said 'I think Frankie's the man', so he will ride him at York,” Gold said. “He had a sit on him this morning and seemed very happy with the horse. We'll try and keep him in one piece and then they'll both be reunited at York.”

Though Dettori has not regularly ridden for the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's Shadwell recently, he has worn the distinctive blue and white silks to victory on the international stage a number of times. Dettori is set to hang up his tack at the end of this year.

“He obviously won on Sakhee (Bahri) back in the day and more recently I remember him winning the [G3] Greenham at Newbury on Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream [GB]) [in 2015],” Gold said. “He's ridden plenty for us over the years and it will be very nice to hopefully give him a decent ride in his final year.”

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Making Waves: A Wolf Party At Saratoga

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victories of a quartet by Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega (Ire).

 

Lope De Vega Filly Best At Saratoga

Making her debut, Ozara (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) eked out a win at Saratoga for Cheyenne Stable, LLC and Christophe Clement (video).

Bred by the Fleche D'Or Partnership, the bay was a 350,000gns yearling at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. The second winner for her dam Cercle D'Or (Ire) who also won at two, the filly has a yearling half-sister by Frankel (GB). Dual-purpose sire Golden Horn (GB), who won the G1 Derby and the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and two other top-level races, is a half-brother to Cercle D'Or.

Lope De Vega's progeny have a strong success rate in America, with 37 of his 68 runners (54%) becoming winners. His seven stakes winners (10%) now include six at the graded level, with Program Trading (GB) joining Newspaperofrecord (Ire) and Aunt Pearl (Ire) as a Grade I winner this past weekend and Carl Spackler earning his graded stripes on Friday.

 

 

Queen For A Day

German group winner Kalifornia Queen (Ger) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) won for the first time in over two years with a tally at Saratoga on Friday (video). Owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, LLC, First Row Partners, and Michael Caruso, the 6-year-old has collected a litany of stakes-placings on both sides of the Atlantic, with a third in the 2021 GI E. P. Taylor S. among them.

Bred by Stall Torjager, the chestnut was purchased for €70,000 out of the BBAG October Mixed Sale in 2018. Sent into training with Henk Grewe, she made seven starts in Germany and France for her breeders, with her best effort a victory in the 2020 G2 Diana-Trial. Put through Arqana's sales ring the same day as her European finale, the filly realized €260,000 at the 2020 'The Arc' Sale. Out of G3 German St. Leger heroine Kaldera (Ger) (Sinndar {Ire}), who was third in the G2 Grosser Hansa-Preis at four, Kalifornia Queen is the last known foal out of her dam.

 

 

Honourable Mentions

Now a Grade I winner with his strike in Saturday's Saratoga Derby Invitational S., Program Trading (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is the third progeny of his sire to feature in Making Waves this week. Already highlighted in a May column, the 19th Grade/Group 1 winner for his sire is a son of Dreamlike (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and secured the victory for Klaravich Stables, Inc. and trainer Chad Brown.

 

Friday afternoon marked the win of 'TDN Rising Star' and fellow Lope De Vega-sired colt Carl Spackler (Ire) in Saratoga's rescheduled GII Hall of Fame S. (video). The e Five Racing Thoroughbreds-owned Brown trainee was already featured in February, and is his sire's 116th stakes winner and 65th group/graded winner worldwide.

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Book 1 Millionaire Diego Velazquez A New TDN Rising Star In Ireland

Saturday's Bord Na Mona Recycling Irish EBF Maiden at the Curragh has been a springboard to success in the G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. for Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who annexed two of the last three editions. This year's renewal witnessed the emergence of another potential candidate after Aidan O'Brien trainee Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) romped to 'TDN Rising Stardom' in the seven-furlong contest.

He had already caused a stir at Newmarket last October, when knocked down for 2.4-million guineas at Tattersalls' Book 1 sale, but was unable to fulfil a June engagement over this strip after suffering an allergic reaction. There was a buzz in the air for this belated debut and the April-foaled bay was hammered down to odds-on favouritism. The eventual winner was slightly askew leaving the gates and soon recovered to stalk the tempo in a prominent second. Asked to stretch soon after passing halfway, the 2-5 pick quickened stylishly to seize control approaching the final furlong and powered clear in impressive fashion to easily outclass Guildenstern (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) by 4 3/4 lengths.

Frankel, a 'TDN Rising Star' himself, now has 37 on a roster which also features multiple Group 1 winner Nashwa (GB), Sunday's G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois contender Onesto (Ire) and leading juvenile filly and stablemate Ylang Ylang (GB).

“We had him ready to run about a month ago, but he'd a little setback so we had to stop and start again,” O'Brien explained. “We wanted to get him out and he was ready to come racing today. Ryan [Moore] said he was very babyish, but he obviously has a massive engine. He doesn't even know what he's at yet, he only came on the bridle with 50 yards to go and only realised he was racing then. We felt he could go anywhere, but looking at today you'd like to give him another run somewhere before he goes for a big one. He was absolutely half-speeding with horses [at home], but didn't take hold of the bridle today. That can happen first time as it did with Paddington first time in Ascot last year. He's probably going to come on and learn a lot from it.”

Diego Velazquez, immediately identifiable due to his four white socks, has the option of Leopardstown's G2 Golden Fleece S. on Irish Champions Weekend next month, according to the trainer.

Diego Velazquez, the latest of 11 foals, becomes the seventh for Listed National S. victrix Sweepstake (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), whose own dam Dust Flicker (GB) (Suave Dancer) is a full-sister to G3 Prix de la Nonette victrix Dust Dancer (GB). Dust Dancer, in turn, is the second dam of G1 Phoenix S.-winning sire Zoffany (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) and G3 Bengough S. winner Projection (GB) (Acclamation {GB}). Dust Flicker is also kin to G3 Fred Darling S. heroine Bulaxie (GB) (Bustino {GB}), herself the dam of G2 Premio Lydia Tesio victrix Claxon (GB) (Caerleon). Claxon is responsible for GIII Hillsborough S. victrix Cassydora (GB) (Darshaan {GB}), whose three stakes scorers include multiple Group 3 winner Ernest Hemingway (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G3 Prix d'Aumale victrix Toulifaut (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). The winner's siblings include G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud victor Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and MGSW G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. and G1 Coronation Cup placegetter Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}).

 

1st-Curragh, €20,000, Mdn, 8-12, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.22, gd.
DIEGO VELAZQUEZ (IRE), c, 2, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Sweepstake (Ire) (SW & GSP-Eng & US, $114,162), by Acclamation (GB)
2nd Dam: Dust Flicker (GB), by Suave Dancer
3rd Dam: Galaxie Dust, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
(2,400,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €11,800. *1/2 to Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}), G1SW-Fr, MGSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng & UAE, GISP-US, $2,756,270; and Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), MGSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW & G1SP-Eng, $413,216. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg & Brant; B-Epona Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore.

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The Curragh: “Hopefully We Can Get Revenge.” Unquestionable Set For Phoenix Rematch

The Curragh stages Europe's first Group 1 contest for the current crop of 2-year-olds on Saturday and it is fair to say that a Keeneland Phoenix S. without the anticipated presence of River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is up for grabs. While Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore contingent opted to send the G2 Coventry S.-winning 'TDN Rising Star' to Deauville for the Prix Morny, the way is clear for another 'TDN Rising Star' son of that sire to step into his place. Unquestionable (Fr) has the obstacle of yet another Wootton Bassett colt in Bucanero Fuerte (GB) to overcome and he couldn't quite manage that in the course-and-distance G2 Railway S. last month, but this is the Phoenix and O'Brien that we are talking about.

Ballydoyle's commander-in-chief has almost made this race his private property since 1998, with a sequence of 17 winners. Remarkably, the gap between Sioux Nation in 2017 and Little Big Bear (Ire) last term was the only time in that period that he had gone more than a year without collecting and the Railway has always been a race to sharpen his prospective Phoenix colt. Ryan Moore has enjoyed even more success than usual on the stable's big guns in Ireland in 2023 and he said on his betfair blog, “This lacks a stand-out. Only a short-head separated Bucanero Fuerte and Unquestionable in the Railway and hopefully we can get revenge after our colt had to miss Goodwood because of the worsening ground.”

Other than Bucanero Fuerte, Royal Ascot's Coventry also featured Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) who was just 3/4 of a length behind having been sent for home some way out. Bronsan Racing and Theresa Marnane's G3 Marble Hill S. winner has been given a freshener since then and trainer Jessica Harrington issued a positive update on the £1.1-million Goffs London sensation. “Hopefully he'll run a good race and we don't get too much rain between now and then so we have a bit of nice ground on the day. He's won on soft, but I'd prefer better ground as he's a good-moving horse,” she said.

No filly has won this since La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}) in 2011, but the unbeaten Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) had some smart fillies behind when capturing the G3 Albany S. for the Fowler-Medallion Racing-Weston-Reeves collective and there is no definitive marker as to how the two sexes stand up. “She was in control the whole way in the Albany and did everything you'd like, so you'd have to respect the form and she seems quite versatile,” jockey Oisin Murphy said.

 

Sweet Solera Up For Grabs

While Ascot stages its longstanding Shergar Cup with its alternative appeal, Newmarket quietly gets on with the business of helping to sort the 2-year-old pecking order. Like the Phoenix, the G3 Molson Coors Sweet Solera S. also lacks a standout candidate but Godolphin's four-length course-and-distance winner Wild Goddess (GB) (Camelot {GB}) fits the bill with her connections and pedigree as she tackles the Listed Star S. second and third Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) and Soprano (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}). The latter is back on more suitable ground, having been third behind Porta Fortuna in the Albany and we'll know more what that form means by late afternoon on Saturday.

At Haydock, there is an intriguing blend of youth and old talent in the 10-furlong G3 Rose Of Lancaster S. with the impressive Listed Lyric Fillies' S. winner Midnight Mile (Ire) (No Nay Never) taking on Shadwell's unpredictable Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) with weight-for-age on her side.

 

Inspiral Confirmed For Marois Defence

   John and Thady Gosden have given the green light for Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to attempt back-to-back successes in Sunday's G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville following her last-of-five effort in the G1 Sussex S. She will encounter her G1 Queen Anne S. conqueror Triple Time (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and also Yeguada Centurion SL's G1 Prix du Jockey Club runner-up Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), as well as the G1 Prix Jean Prat-winning course specialist Good Guess (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) in a competitive 11-runner affair.

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